<p>Something that Jyber209 said in another thread caught my eye.
[quote]
She would NEVER have considered a single-sex school were it not for her month at Smith that summer. We visited numerous colleges during her high school years and she never found one that compared to what she remembered experiencing at Smith. Smith later invited her to apply with a waiver of the app fee (I suppose a benefit of her being an SSSP alum -- this was just before the Engineering days so no "E") and she is now a happy member of the Smith class of 2006.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Many roads, one story. I haven't spoken to all that many students at the other womens colleges such as Wellesley, Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, etc. but of the several dozen students from Smith that I've spoken to at length, somewhere along the line almost every one has said something along the lines of "Well, I never <em>meant</em> to apply to a womens college but _<strong><em>(fill in the blank)</em></strong>__.</p>
<p>When we first started looking at schools, my daughter was of the same mindset that she would never consider going to an"all girls " school. After much discussion on the fact that she wouldn't be going to an all girls school but a womens college, she kept an open mind to listen to what they had to say. As I stated in a previous thread we attended Barnard's college planning weekend, she got to ask questions, spoke with currents students and felt she could find her place there. In the end she did apply and was accepted to 3 (Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr). </p>
<p>Even though my daughter ended up not attending a womens college , she really values the education, opportunities for researh and support that is provided there and had the process turned out differently she would have been very happy attending a one.</p>
<p>I never meant too apply to a women's college. I just wanted to go to a nice school with tradition in a big city. Barnard seemed to be the nicest of those I considered. In retrospect, I think a lot of its tradition and class comes from being a women's college, but that hadn't occurred to me at the time.</p>
<p>DD is in this spot right now. She was looking for a school with her sport (not a huge sport, but time intensive and somewhat dangerous) and her major (again, not offered in many schools). Wellseley has both so she applied. Big difference from some of the big D1 powerhouses she also was looking at. I keep telling her that if she gets hurt on a D1 scholarship, poof! the money is gone and so is school. So we shall see. There is a big difference as well in what it takes for qualifications for nationals. Her club coachs have always pushed the big D1 schools so I don't know how this will go over. She was heavily recruited for a particular ivy league school, wanted her ED with a likely letter but she withdrew when the major/program wasn't what is was supposed to be upon closer, much closer examination.</p>
<p>So she is frustrated, but the opportunities at this particular college look great, especially within her major. And talked to the coach, sounds pleasant and no-nonsense just like DD. I just don't want her to end up somewhere where they pound the "you-know-what" out of her til she is too tired or gets badly injured. But at the same time she has worked hard to get to where she is and most athletes in her sport don't really develop til college. It is the college coach that makes all the difference, esp. if they end up at nationals.</p>
<p>I think I am just as sick and tired of this as she is frustrated. She is in season now, has states in a month and is pulling her hair out.</p>
<p>D has zero interest in being in or near a big city or attending a women's college. That is precisely why I'm sending her (and she's excited about it,yea!) to either BMC's Women of Distinction Week or Barnard's Leadership Week this summer. Her choice. Women's colleges are such "admissions values", and limiting herself to rural schools is so...so.....limiting (I apologize. I am now officially down to a vocabulary of 30 words and a series of grunts and clicks.). I felt I had to do something to broaden her outlook. Will it work? I don't have the foggiest idea.</p>
<p>I wanted my daughter to look at womens schools but she refused. Didn't want to attend a school that eliminated half of the species. I was disappointed but she did find a school where she clicked. Of the women that she knows that chose womens school ( about 10 in the last few years) 2/3rds of them are now attending coed schools. However the ones that are still at their original schools are very happy( they do all have something in common, they studied abroad for at least a semester- so might want to keep that in mind)</p>
<p>i couldn't go to a school with just girls. I had enough trouble living in an all girl's dorm freshman year - yet alone a school of all girls. The only friends that I have that are girls are the four other girls that I live with - and we barely ever see each other (busy doing stuff our seperate ways). i'd say about 9/10th's of my friends are guys. I really have a hard time being friends with other girls because i find many of them VERY petty and immature - and while people say that guys mature slower than girls - i've found that my guy friends are (for the most part) much more mature than the girls. there were so many times this year where i got frustrated at my roommates, just because of how they acted.</p>
<p>To cross two posts, Fendergirl, a lot of guys your age seem to have a vocabulary of about 30 words and communicate mostly with grunts and clicks. :)</p>
<p>fendergirl, I've found that's a pretty common attitude of the people at my school. That's why it's so great to be here--I've met women who aren't silly and girlish, who are just cool people. I know more people who can say "all of my friends were guys until I came here" than people who spend their weekends gossiping and plotting about boys.</p>
<p>And this is at Barnard, where we could still befriend nothing but guys if we chose.</p>
<p>In fact, in retrospect I think that going to a women's college is a great opportunity for exactly that kind of person. Really restored my faith in the gender, and there's a lot to be said for having close friends who also just happen to be women.</p>
<p>haha, thedad - some guys are like that.. but a lot of girls my age tend to communicate mostly with short skirts and lots of makeup. together, both of these groups get along great!!</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, good luck, DD was like I think most young women today not interested at first in womens' colleges, I made the mistake of mentioning that one might be a good fit, and it is a great value for the selectivity - that was it, no way would she even look at an all female college, not even for a visit.</p>
<p>Sigh. Smith is probably the one school that is a "fit" for my daughter in nearly every way --- except, of course, for one. D's favorite teacher, an alumnus, has talked to her about Smith. A close friend, also an alumnus, has talked to her about Smith. TheDad has written to her about Smith. But, while she admits Smith sounds "wonderful" she will not consider it. At all. Sigh.</p>
<p>primefactor, sorry, just not my thing. :) it's not that i don't have any faith in my gender - of course i do. as i said, i have lived in an all girls dorm (freshman and soph year actually), and it was just WAY too much estrogen :)</p>
<p>Oh, I know. I'm not trying to sell you on it--they're not for everyone--just making clear that the common misconception that girls who go to women's colleges are as ditzy as the general population can be isn't the truth.</p>
<p>I just doubt that living in a girl's dorm at a co-ed college is like going to a women's college. I transferred from a co-ed college; the students are very different.</p>