A sad day for women’s colleges.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/03/sweet-briar-college-will-shut-down
How very sad indeed.
Sending wishes for good transitions to all at SBC.
This is very sad. My older sister ended up attending what was then Randolph Macon Women’s College–a “rival” of SBC. However, I still remember stopping by Sweet Briar’s beautiful campus one March afternoon many years ago when my family drove up from Florida to take my soon-to-be-freshman sister on a tour of VA women’s colleges. I had no idea that the college had fallen on such hard times.
They actually had a very strong endowment and applications were increasing annually, but their yield (aka students who actually enroll) was on a steady decline. Coupled with increasing financial aid needs, the board of directors felt the trend could not be corrected. They decided to close now and be able to use their endowment for faculty severance and other services rather than have a more dire shuttering. The big issue, which was mentioned in the article, is how rural it was. That was likely a big deterrent for prospective students. Mount Holyoke has also faced some financial troubles, probably also in part due to how rural it is (whereas Smith is actually in a vibrant town).
Wow, that’s so sad and surprising. I feel terrible for the students there! Sweet Briar was pretty aggressive with their market materials to my D last year (she wasn’t interested) and I’m now thinking “whew! Good thing she didn’t apply!” So sad!
@englishivy are you referring to MHC’s troubles last decade, or something recent? They seem to be in very good shape now. I think their yield is increasing, although I am not 100% sure. It’s nearly the same as Smith’s, though, currently.
I agree that MHC currently seems to be in a much stronger position.
@staceyneil @intparent I’m citing a financial report that was released in 2011, so I’m sure things have improved since then and are NOT at the same level of severity faced by SBC. I only meant to say that rural women’s colleges face more challenges. The report states that “Every hard look at Mount Holyoke’s situation in the last few years, including this look, has come to the conclusion that the College’s current financial model is unsustainable.”
You can read it in full here: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/sites/default/files/iplanning/docs/mhc_prelimstrategicplan_spcfinalreport.pdf
I would hardly classify mount holyoke as “rural”. “Suburban” maybe. MHC is served by a reliable FREE bus offering easy access to other five colleges (including smith) as well as all the offerings of modern consumerism along route 9. Mount holyoke’s campus itself is a sprawling park designed by FL Olmstead (of Central Park fame)
There were some links in the other Sweet Briar thread in the Parent Forum where you could look up info on the financial health of colleges, was trying to check MHC, but they now don’t work for me ( did earlier today…).
Interesting choice of that one line quote out of 20 page forecasting document. After reading the entire document, I’m very confident that MHC is adequately planning for future trends in higher ed. MHC has a history of “rolling with times” while maintaining true to its mission. The report simply details that mission and required logistical support. Colleges which don’t plan are the ones who will face hard times.
I think I found the reports mentioned. Judging from the data sets presented MHC (and smith and other sisters) remain in a much more stable position. Comparing sweet briar to the sister schools is apples to oranges.
My only comparison was that rural schools face different problems attracting students than more suburban or uban ones (further exemplified by Barnard’s popularity). While MoHo may be suburban to some, I found the 30 minute drive to Northampton a bit isolating. But to each their own!
Agreed. Barnard location (literally across the street) and co-enrollment with Ivy League Columbia is a big draw. I’m not sure how often MHC students frequent Northampton. As it’s pretty easy to hop a bus /train to a real city. Most of the five college activities focus around Amherst anyway.
To add…BMC and WC offering the ability to enroll in classes at Penn , HC and MIT also set them apart from the sterio-typical womens college. IMO a women’s college that offers co-circ opportunities outside the gates is a more sustainable model.
Happily, it appears that both Smith and Mount Holyoke are offering spaces to academically qualified Sweet Briar students for next year!
Bryn Mawr has also extended transfer application deadlines for SBC students.
Same offer from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, including merit scholarships for SBC transfers.
Hum. Well it looks like there are more transfer options than actual transfer students (less than 300) I wonder where all the faculty will land? (More than 120).
It probably a good jolt to some of the faculty at similar institutions.
@momneeds2no I don’t know about that. These colleges with extended/special transfer considerations are still small. For example, BMC’s class size is around 300. I would guesstimate their quota for transfers is more like 5-15 per semester.
“I would hardly classify mount holyoke as “rural”. “Suburban” maybe.”
Seriously? It felt extremely small town to me. Nothing within walking distance.
In fairness, Wellesley has only typical suburban stores etc within walking distance, but at least you’ve got Boston there. Mt Holyoke really felt incredibly isolated to me.