<p>I'm applying to All-Girls schools, and I want to know what it's like. I've been to a co-ed school my whole life, but I think going to a single-sex school will be cool. Does anybody have any stories or anything they'd like to say about their experience at a single-sex school (whether girls or boys)?</p>
<p>Oh, yeah, or does anyone have any opinions on why you would/wouldn’t go to a single-sex school? Thanks.</p>
<p>-Baillie</p>
<p>My daughter attends a single sex school (Emma Willard) and is absolutely delighted with her decision to attend. She interviewed at, and was accepted to, mostly co-ed schools. She feels that without the distraction and added drama that having boys in the classroom (and general environment) can produce, the girls are more supportive of each other, bond more closely, and are more confident in speaking up in class – no one is ever trying to “dumb down” to impress a boy. Not that such behavior is necessarily typical of co-ed boarding schools, but she did observe quite a bit of it in her local day school.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me with specific questions.</p>
<p>I’m finally leaving my single sex school after 5 years at one, and I’ve gradually grown to really dislike the atmosphere here. It depends so much on the person, but I’ve generally not been very girly and I’ve always gotten on well with boys. I find the atmosphere really stifling and much more competitive than at a mixed school. Also, girls’ schools are generally not so focused on sciences and maths, although they can still be good at it.
I think girls’ schools can be great, but are definitely not for everybody.</p>
<p>@bgal, keep in mind that UKgirl is in school in the UK. I don’t know if the boarding school environment is the same in the UK as it is here. </p>
<p>GG’s school is well known for its STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs, and it is common for the girls to do independent study at nearby universities and polytechnic colleges. And there are MANY “not very girly” girls—in fact, the ability to be oneself creates a more individualistic and more feminist environment, at least at Emma, than what we’ve seen at local coed schools. </p>
<p>Without specific experience with other girls’ schools, I can’t say. What I <em>can</em> state is that girls’ schools, like co-ed schools, each have their own personalities, traditions, strengths, etc. and are not interchangeable. So when you ask about single-sex vs. coed, and folks share their stories, remember too that the stories reflect experiences at a particular school, and of a particular person, who brings his or her own personality and attitude to the mix. I, for example, attended co-ed prep school and an all-women’s college, then a co-ed college, but not because I didn’t care for the single-sex system. On the contrary, I left to study a specific subject. I missed the single-sex learning environment, and remain a big fan of it for high school education.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you in your school search and applications!</p>
<p>My experience was from a state school, not a boarding school. My point was more about the atmosphere and experience for different people in this environment. I don’t know what girls’ boarding schools are like :)</p>
<p>Thank you both for your input! I’m still going to have to say me and my mom are pretty sure we want to stay looking for All-girls schools. Thanks again!</p>
<p>My son went to an all-boy school–no extra credit for figuring out which one haha–and it was the best experience of his life. The school understood BOYS-- how they act, how the y think (and don’t) and how to challenge their energy. Boys did all sorts of things that the would proabably shy away from doing at a co-ed school and the bonding was amazing. </p>
<p>That being said, he, and the others, wished there could have been more regular social contact with a girl school–even just having a informally designated “sister” school would have been nice for him-- there were several with whom they had socials, but as they rotated between the school the boys would meet some girl and then never have a chance to create a relationship with her as there wouldn’t be occasions to do so.</p>
<p>@etondad I applied to a few schools that have links with Eton. It was a big plus for me and others applying from my school; we’d had even less social contact with the opposite sex, even though we have a linked boys school just a town away. Most of us don’t know how to get along with boys, which is going to be awkward next year at a school with 2/3 boys…</p>
<p>I have attended an all girls school since I was a toddler. Around the time I started, we went from boarding and day to day only. I can only give you the perspective from a day point of view, but here goes: </p>
<p>The girls only atmosphere is great for competitiveness and girls getting attention in the classroom. Girls are also more likely to study sciences in their senior years at school than at co-ed schools. Socially, its quite nice as there is no boyfriend drama that spills over into school (well, until it comes time to find ball dates). </p>
<p>However, you are less likely to find boy friends (and boyfriends, for that matter) especially if you’re boarding. So if your current group of friends is mainly male, you should carefully consider how well you’ll get on in a single sex environment. </p>
<p>There can also be a reputation for “*****iness” in all girls schools. I have never been co-ed. so I can’t say, but in my girls school there is a “popular” but rather catty group of girls, and the rest of the year group who are kind, caring and have friendships that last more than two weeks. If you’re strong in yourself, you won’t get sucked in to the that group. If you’re not, be very careful (unless you want to be an it girl, I suppose). </p>
<p>Unless you pair up with a boys school, drama production will be interesting. Lots of fun crossdressing. Come to think of it, even we do pair up with boys schools this happens anyway. Nothing like a bunch of adolescent boys tripping over their dresses while singing in falsetto. </p>
<p>Finally, from the boarding point of view (this is gleaned from the experiences of boarding friends at other school, and from camps/trips/school sleepovers): if you sneak out at night/are caught out of bed you will get more leniency and understanding from teachers. They will know it is your attempt at a Harry Potter/Enid Blyton style adventure rather than you sneaking out for sex. Of course, at most schools you’ll be too busy catching up on sleep to bother with that.</p>
<p>My D1 (now a senior in college) attended an all girl boarding school (as a day student). At the time, deciding to go to an all girl school, she was hesitant. Many times during high school she questioned her decision (there is drama!). Now she has perspective and recently told me that going to an all girl high school gave her so many positive strengths.</p>
<p>In college most of her classes are predominantly male. In fact she is at that rare LAC that has more males than females. Her HS experience, she felt, gave her the strength to believe that what she had to say in class or contribute to a team really mattered. That strength to speak up, especially when there are only 2 or 3 females in the class, was invaluable. It gave her a confidence in herself, academic and personal, that has paid off in college.</p>
<p>There are a number of other things she mentioned but that is what has stuck with me.</p>
<p>What benefits do all girls schools have for the girl who is already very confident in who she is and has no qualms speaking up in a classroom full of boys?</p>
<p>My D was ambivalent about the idea of single gender throughout her time at BS, but now, as a senior, she is glad for it. Since we have one at a single gender and one at a coed, I have some (limited) basis for comparison. To her, and us, single gender has meant a lack of focus on appearance and relationship status. She gets to focus on her personal growth and not her appearance or getting the attention of the opposite sex. As parents, we are so pleased with who she has become without pressure to be attractive to the opposite sex. At 18 she is far more ready to think about dating than she was at 15.</p>
<p>The single sex environment can lead to competitiveness and pressure, and at my school that means more focus on appearance and relationships.</p>
<p>Interesting UK girl. In my experience, the coed schools have WAY more focus on appearance and the longing for, acquiring of, and agonizing over, relationships (at least with the opposite sex). As for drama, that’s part of high school, whether single sex or coed. It’s unavoidable, and age appropriate.</p>
<p>Neato, GG was already a confident kid who could speak up. She feels that at (her) all-girls school, she is developing deeper friendships than she would at a coed hs. And she says the lack of drama about boys and what to wear is refreshing. I think that she is learning to be a better self-advocate, which might have happened in any school (again, age, maturity, etc.), but it is something that her girls school focuses on, which many coed schools do not (they may assume that it comes in time, but they do not necessarily actively encourage it). I can’t speak to the all-boys experience, but this focus seems to be typical of modern American girls’ boarding schools. I understand that at boys schools, it is often the ability to participate more heavily in arts, without being judged less masculine, that is a benefit.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a freshman at Westover, and I LOVE it! The girls here are so down to earth, every morning I just roll out of bed, not worrying about what I’m wearing or makeup. I’ve made amazing friends here, I really recommend all-girls.</p>
<p>Oh god, all-girls scares me!!</p>