Women's Colleges

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm a junior and am just starting to look at schools. I'll most likely be looking at five all-women's schools: Barnard, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, Smith and Bryn Mawr. I had a few questions about women's colleges:</p>

<p>What are, generally, the pro's and con's? </p>

<p>Do women who go to these schools have certain stereotypes?</p>

<p>I'm the kind of person who likes to date (men, just to be clear). Is there any dating scene at all at womens colleges?</p>

<p>Is the transition to an all women's environment difficult for a person (like me) who's spent her whole life in co-ed schools?</p>

<p>Any info at all would be great. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>From what I've heard from women who've attended women's colleges is that the atmosphere as a whole is a lot more supportive, there are less distractions, and less cut-throat competition. One of my friends who went to Smith said "Why wouldn't I love it? Women are funny and caring." I didn't really believe this from all the college brochures, but when I went to Scripps College and met the students, I believed, and although I had never considered it before, I now knew I HAD to go!</p>

<p>As for steryotypes, each school has specific ones. I think overall it would be that women are either femenist/lesbians. Neither being necessarily true, of course. </p>

<p>As for dating, it depends what schools. Wellesley I hear is really far apart from other schools with males (is it Harvard that is nearby?). You have to look at each school individually. I'm attending Scripps College next year (in CA) and that school is part of a consortium (it is literally surrounded by four co-ed schools). So that if you ever crave some testosterone, you can cross the street. But again, it depends on school/location.</p>

<p>I think that transitioning depends on a number of things: how far are you from home, do you get homesick, are most of your friends male/female? It's a number of variables, but I don't think the fact that the school isn't co-ed will play into it as much as other variables will. </p>

<p>Hope I answered your questions!</p>

3

<p>BRYN MAWR IS AMAZING!!!!!</p>

<p>Sorry, I just had to say that as I was just accepted from there a couple days ago. I'm SOOOO psyched. I really want to go there and well, it's my first choice. :D</p>

<p>As I don't go to a women's college (yet), I can't really give you a personal outlook on it, but from what I know of the benefits to a women's college education is that it helps you focus on school, which is why you're there (if you're straight, that is XD). A women's college fosters a pretty nurturing environment, which can be a good and bad thing. It encourages women to take leadership positions and to take charge. And I think pretty most women's colleges have awesome traditions, which I think are great ;) And from what I've seen, women's colleges are pretty good with aid. That's just from what I've experienced, at least. That was mostly kind of general, sorry...</p>

<p>Negatives would obviously be the lack of guys XD And the whole nurturing environment... that could also be seen as a negative. OH, and I went to a school, competing for a full-tuition scholarship (which I didn't win, but that's okay ;)), and then one of the speakers who was a current student was addressing the subject of cattiness. She was like, "a lot of people think that, being in an all-girls environment, it must get pretty catty. But think about it. What is it that girls always fight over? BOYS. Obviously, if you have a boyfriend or a date or anything, no one is going to know him. No one is going to care. Him being on campus means that he's hands off and girls respect that." That wasn't a negative, but I just wanted to address that. I can't really think of much, sorry, I really love women's colleges lol XDDDD</p>

<p>Stereotypes? There are stereotypes for particular schools... or do you mean just going to a women's college period? Probably a stereotype is that all women's college students are militant lesbian feminists or something of the sort. Which is really not true. There are stereotypes of the kind of girls who go to particular schools, though... I remember the Simpsons had an episode talking about particular stereotypes for the Seven Sisters', which you might be interested in.</p>

<p>Ohh, dating. There are dating scenes, of course! ;) Bryn Mawr in particular has the Tri-Co with Swarthmore and Haverford, plus U Penn. And they're also close to Villanova. Dating (guys) is definitely available if you so choose. It obviously takes more initiative and effort than if you went to a co-ed college, but they aren't convents or anything. In fact, many have cross-registration so you might even have guys in a couple of your classes... XD</p>

<p>And I can't answer the last question, as I'm a person who's been in co-ed schools all my life and will be transitioning to a women's environment in the fall. But, really, if you really love the women's college environment and what it has to offer, you won't care by the time you get there. At least, that's how I feel. It'll be different, sure, but I don't think it'll be DIFFICULT... at least, no more difficult than it would be transtioning from high school to attend a co-ed college.</p>

<p>Oh, and I really love the Seven Sisters and everything, but investigate other women's colleges. Really. They give out, from what I've seen at least, great merit aid and have a ton to offer. In fact, I'm trying to decide between Hollins (the college where I was competing for the full-tuition scholarship) and Bryn Mawr, so I'm definitely going to a women's college next year. Good luck!!</p>

4

<p><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=CZ1pZjb-YyA%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://youtube.com/watch?v=CZ1pZjb-YyA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>the simpsons clip :)=</p>

5

<p>*Free ride... free ride...</p>

<p>And a hot plate!*</p>

<p>Oh my God, I cracked up.</p>

<p>I remember falling in love with Wellesley through the brochure. It just seemed so elegant and ... ahhh. I don't know. I was about to apply to Sweet Briar in VA because of their crazy traditions and whole sisterhood thing (seriously, it's almost like a giant sorority) but my parents snipped it because they never heard of it.</p>

<p>Oops. I didn't answer any questions.</p>

6

<p>I've visted/researched/considered all the the women's college you mentioned, with the exception of Barnard (It's too urban for me ...I still know some stuff about it, though).</p>

<p>On Dating: I'd look hard at Barnard if you want a boyfriend with the women's college experience. They're very close to Columbia and are right in New York. It'll probably be easiest to meet guys at Barnard of all the schools you mentioned. After that, Bryn Mawr has the closest relationship with a coed campus (Haverford) and, of all the ones one your list that I visited, the most guys roaming around. Wellesley is a 30/40 min bus ride away from Boston, but the town of Wellesley itself seems isolated when you're there. However, people from Wellesley can hook up with guys from Havard, M.I.T., and other surrounding schools. Mt Holyoke and Smith are part of a 5-college consortium (with 3 coed schools --- amherst, umass, and hampshire), which is supposed to be very helpful when it comes to meeting guys. Of the two, Smith is the less isolated because of the town it's in. Like another person mentioned, you may also want to look at Scripps in California -- it's small (like 800 students), but it's literally within walking distance of 4 other coed schools. It's a wonderful campus and I've heard rave reviews of it.</p>

<p>Just as a warning, I've heard mixed reviews from women's college students about how easy it is to meet guys. Sometimes they say "It's easy!" while sometimes they say "It's difficult and I want to transfer." Talk to current students, read reviews (try studentsreview.com or campusdirt.com, or look at guide books), post in more specific college forums (the Smith one is especially active), and visit if at all possible (this is really important, IMHO). </p>

<p>I myself applied to Bryn Mawr, Smith, and Scripps and am strongly considering all these places. </p>

<p>There are definitiely sterotypes of some of these schools, but don't pay a whole lot of attention to them. The lesbian stereotype is especially common (for Smith in particular), but most people at any women's college are straight. Then again, if you're homophobic, or just generally not comfy around gays, DO NOT go to a women's college. They are certainly more gay-friendly on average. Another stereotype, which I think Wellesley especially gets cought up in, is the whole "finishing school" stereotype. It's total folly. Don't believe it. </p>

<p>Financial aid is supposed to be very good at the seven sisters, if that's an important thing for you.</p>

7

<ul>
<li><p>I went to a girl's high school and now I'm at a women's college (Scripps). The appeal of Scripps was that I LOVED the environment of my high school but I didn't want 4 more years of gender isolation, even if there existed ways of getting around it. Schools with cross-enrollment (or the consortium, as exists here: <a href="http://www.claremont.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.claremont.edu&lt;/a> ) are a way around one of the only cons I know of, which is just that sometimes, no matter your personality, no matter your sexual preference, it's just nice to have some testosterone around.</p></li>
<li><p>I didn't have trouble transitioning into a single-sex environment, but I also wasn't at dating age, which I suppose can add a dimension of strangeness. The people I knew who had any trouble were those who were used to having mostly male close friends. I've also never had trouble transitioning out. I was recently the only female in a sizable class and I hardly noticed until other students pointed it out to me. In a bizarre way, I think that single-sex education has better prepared me for "the real world" than co-ed education would have. It's a personal thing, but I think it really allowed me to gain confidence, overcome some shyness, learn to speak up, to debate, and so forth. I've heard people criticize single-sex education because it doesn't mirror the real world, and "girls should know how to deal with men," but my own experience has made me kind of roll my eyes at this critique. I bounce back and forth between all/mostly female classes, all/mostly male classes, and balanced classes without trouble or discomfort.</p></li>
<li><p>I get sick of the women's college stereotypes. I also get annoyed when I hear that someone would just "NEVER apply to that school. It's a women's college" (where by "apply" I mean "even vaguely consider"). It's not anything that affects me. It's just mildly obnoxious.</p></li>
<li><p>The pros, for me, have been innumerable. I'd urge you to spend nights at various campuses. Also, it's important to recognize that even though they all share an important trait, women's colleges can be very, very different from one another. Shop around; bring this type of question up with students from each school :-)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Most women's colleges are DEFINITELY not isolated</p>

<p>barnard---take classes at columbia, plus in nyc
bryn mawr--- upenn
wellesley---harvard and apparently do most partying at MIT (you can also cross register there if you are a science/math major!!!)</p>

9

<p>Barnard College essentially shares a campus with Columbia University. Barnard is an autonomous unit and one of the three undergraduate colleges of Columbia University. Logistically, the Barnard campus is across the street (Broadway) from the main undergraduate campus (Columbia College).</p>

10

<p>People have covered this topic well, and I'm heartened to not (yet) see the usual parade of the uninformed telling you what they imagine the huge drawbacks to be. The most obnoxious of which is probably "doesn't prepare you for the real world" (and thank you, Student615, for addressing this!).</p>

<p>I think the biggest con is that there ARE people who say/think the kinds of things Student615 and arianneag mentioned--the "EW!" factor, the belief that you will emerge unable to deal with men, that they coddle you, that you'll spend 4 years dodging man-haters and lesbians, that they teach napkin-folding and good posture. Please.</p>

<p>The pros are well-covered here.</p>

<p>On a personal note, I am profoundly grateful that I chose a woman's college. It was sort of an odd choice for me. I never thought I would go to a single-sex college, as I was sort of tomboyish, and tended to have more guy friends than girlfriends, and underneath it all was truly boy-crazy.... but it was wonderful.</p>

11

<p>But face it: all colleges have stereotypes. If you tell someone you went to Harvard, people will think you're either a genius [which is "good"] or a snob [which is "bad"]. Likewise, when you say you go to a women's college, SOME people will tell you that you must be pampered, lesbian, etc. On the other hand, some people will be impressed. For instance, I had a teacher who went to a women's college who got me a T-shirt from her alma mater when she found out I toured the place! She said that women's colleges are unfairly neglected. It can go either way.</p>

12

<p>The only thing about women's colleges that I don't understand: all the brochures I recieved from them contained, in some degree, the message "You'll meet men too, we promise!!!" It just seems weird that one of the selling points of your single-sex college would be that it's not really single-sex.</p>

<p>Not really responding to OP, but it's been on my mind for a while now and I needed to get it out.</p>

13

<p>Booradleyeatscat: A fair point, certainly. I think it's just necessary to remember that women's (and all other) colleges are <em>businesses</em> and are trying to sell themselves. Like other schools, women's colleges want to attract a diverse group of well-qualified students, and the idea that "I'll never meet guys" can be a significant and unnecessary deterrent. Such brochures respond directly to the concern, which <em>hopefully</em> allows some hesitant prospective students to give a second look. I don't think that "it's not really single-sex" is in the intended message. </p>

<p>I give tours at a women's college and some of the most popular questions are related to this concern. Many prospective students who could enjoy, benefit from, and otherwise be very interested in a particular school are turned off by the (often mistaken) idea that they won't meet guys (and this goes for purposes of both friendship and dating). It saddens me to think of how many students don't even GET to the touring stage because they won't consider a women's college at all. Granted, it's not the place for everyone, but I think that a lot of people base this judgment on myth rather than on fact, and <em>that's</em> the unfortunate part.</p>

14

<p>Barnard is a great choice. Not only do you have Columbia across the street, but you have all of NYC. If you go to a rural school you may not have as vibrant social experience as an urban school.</p>