Wondering about women's colleges...

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi,
So I'm a junior right now and I'm just beginning the college search. </p>

<p>I'm probably out of contention for the Ivies, but I was only interested in two of them anyways. Based on my stats and circumstances, I have been guided towards liberal arts colleges. Out of the liberal arts colleges, not many offer my selected major of neuroscience. </p>

<p>However, all the women's colleges that I have looked at so far (Scripps, Seven Sisters, Agnes Scotts, and Simmons) have the major I'm interested in. </p>

<p>What kinds of things do women's colleges look for in applicants as compared with private non-liberal arts colleges and liberal arts colleges?</p>

<p>For more context, here are my stats:
Ranking: school doesn't rank</p>

<p>GPA (unweighted): 3.42 Freshman year, 3.69 Sophomore Year, Junior year first semester still not released but possible 2 Cs, 3 Bs, 2 As (both Cs in weighted classes, all Bs in weighted classes, 1 A in weighted class, another in non-weighted) </p>

<p>In other words, not an upward trend. Overall unweighted GPA is 3.41, and weighted GPA is 3.75. </p>

<p>Test Scores: SAT: 2150
Math 680, CR 670, Writing 800</p>

<p>No Subject Tests yet, PSAT is 216 (71 CR, 68 Math, 77 Writing) </p>

<p>Extracurriculars: A bunch of STEM activities, plus some art ones, volunteering
Only major awards: Silver Volunteer Presidential Award, Siemens semifinalist</p>

<p>I will have two, possibly three leadership positions in clubs next year. </p>

<p>Any constructive feedback will be great!</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>I think they are looking for pretty much the same thing other liberal arts colleges are looking for, maybe with an added view toward whether you will be happy and comfortable in an all woman environment. Be sure to spend some time visiting (regardless of whether the colleges on your list are women’s colleges or not). One of my personal favorites is Mount Holyoke; both of my daughters applied, although D1 ended up attending another liberal arts college that gave her more merit aid. D2 is just applying this fall, so we will see if she ends up there. My niece also went there, and she is a very bright and interesting young woman. :)</p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr has a pretty good track record for STEM, is near Philadelphia (good train, bus and air travel access) and has a tri-co arrangement with Haverford and Swarthmore colleges which gives you three colleges where you can take classes to count towards your degree. Your UW GPA is a little on the low end so far but your test scores look good. Your GPA does not necessarily put you out of consideration, however. They’re looking for women who love learning and are willing to dedicate themselves to their studies. It is not a party school by any stretch of the imagination and has the reputation of being the “smart sister” of the original seven.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the input! :slight_smile:
I hope I can visit colleges before I apply, but I’m not sure if I can. I guess it depends on how my senior year classes go. Good luck to your D2! </p>

<p>@Vot123: Thanks! I know my GPA is on the low side, but second semester tends to be less busy for me <em>surprise</em> so hopefully I can bring it up by the time I start applying.</p>

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<p>Hey!
If you’re into neuroscience you should definitely look at Wellesley!! I just sent my last application today, and four out of the nine schools I applied to were women’s colleges (Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Barnard and Wellesley). I think something (obvious) that all women’s colleges look for in applicants are strong leadership roles you’ve taken throughout your high school career. They also reallyy love it when you are very passionate about something and really persue it (many of the info sessions I attended stressed about this, and this applies to all LAC). I, for example, love teaching, most of my volunteer works and even my college essay was about that.
I think it’s really cool you’re looking at these colleges! I highly encourage you to visit them, you’ll see with your own eyes how the “women empowerment” these schools stress so much about isn’t just some fake advertisement. Also, for many of them like mount holyoke and bryn mawr, you have the consortiums so you can also take classes in other top notch co-ed schools like Amherst or swarthmore, so it’s not like you are completely isolated from guys. If you have any other questions let me know!!
Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks. :slight_smile:
Wellesley and Bryn Mawr are very interesting to me. Not sure about the others yet…</p>

<p>Most of the schools I’m planning on applying to are in Massachusetts (MIT, Tufts), New York (U Rochester, Vassar, Colgate), or Pennsylvania (UPitt, CMU, Allegheny, Muhlenberg), so if I end up visiting those before I apply, I can definitely visit the seven, now five sisters). Some are in the more southern states, and in my home state California, but most of them are on the East Coast. Well, at least on my tentative college list. I’m still trying to eliminate some…</p>

<p>All my extracurriculars, except maybe brush painting and cello, are science-related in some way. For volunteering, I’ve volunteered at a science summer camp for kindergarteners, and at a kitten nursery. When I write, I write sci-fi or creative non-fiction (usually science related). My clubs that I will have leadership in next year are science-focused. Hopefully I can show my passion for science with these… :)</p>

<p>I think I have a good idea for an essay about my interest in science</p>

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<p>My daughter applied to three women’s colleges last year in addition to a bunch of coed schools. She is now a first-year student at Smith planning to major in biochemistry or neuroscience. Though at the start of the process she didn’t have a preference for women’s colleges, she could now probably give you 50 reasons why you should attend one. :slight_smile: While the following will sound pretty pro-Smith, I’d suggest visiting as many as possible since they have significant differences (we visited all five of the seven sisters as well as many other colleges). The programs, campus, housing, vibe, and location (Northampton) at Smith were the best match for her, but she also liked others a lot (particularly Bryn Mawr).</p>

<p>She took three science classes last term and loved them (plus two humanities courses and loved those also). For her biology lab she opted to take a double-length, year-long lab aimed at students interested in research careers, which she is really enjoying. Her roommate (also a first-year) took all science or engineering courses. They both love their house and a have done a variety of fun activities, including pumpkin carving for Halloween, holiday caroling in town to raise money for charity, sledding, etc. One of them plays a club sport and the other is on a varsity team.</p>

<p>A third of the students at Smith major in science or engineering. The facilities are really nice; there’s a new-ish engineering and science building in addition to the existing science quad, and the science library is the largest at a liberal arts college. There are a variety of research opportunities; my daughter is currently helping a professor do preparatory research for a book she’s writing, and plans to move to lab-based research next year. She also has a week-long Smith-sponsored internship this January teaching science at a nearby high school. There’s a student-run science journal (Smith Scientific) if you’re interested in science writing.</p>

<p>As for your other interests, there’s a science fiction and fantasy club (my daughter isn’t into it but two of her best friends are members), there’s a Quidditch team, and cats and kittens are very popular.</p>

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<p>I am a graduate of Cottey College, a liberal arts college for women in Missouri. Cottey offers Associate’s degrees primarily, and does offer select Baccalaureate degrees, though not in your area of interest. I was a science major at Cottey and spent two years taking Chemistry and Biology classes with PhD’s teaching both the classes and the labs, with an average class size of 13. It was a wonderful experience, and I transferred with ease into the Environmental Biology program at Oregon State University. The biggest benefit you would get at a place like Cottey is the focus on leadership, global awareness and social responsibility. If you want to start your college career with a good foundation in the sciences, while really expanding your leadership skills and worldview, I recommend that you consider Cottey. You meet all of the admission requirments.</p>