tell me about your experiences with all women's colleges

[Anonymous]

I went to Smith and loved it - best four years of my life, apart from when my children were born. I came from a very conservative background and attending Smith was like study abroad. I learned so much and found the environment to be very supportive. I also enjoyed frat parties at UMASS on the weekends, so kind of got the best of both worlds.

My daughter is at Bryn Mawr and is having a pretty similar experience - she gets to spend a lot more time in a big city (Philly) than I did though because Smith is much farther from Boston.

[Anonymous]

I went to Smith and for me it was also some of the best years of my life. It was incredibly inspiring to see a woman in every student leadership position and have every sports hero be a woman too. I got an amazing education and was able to do research with my professors. I was a mathematics major and was grateful that every class was filled with brilliant, curious women. There were plenty of boys around at Amherst and UMass so I didn't miss anything there.
Smith prepared me well to pursue a doctorate in Civil Engineering at MIT.

[Anonymous]

The girls that choose to attend an all womens' college (from our all girls' high school) almost always choose Smith. Second would be Wellsley. I haven't seen any chose Mount Holyoke or Bry Mawr. I am not sure why...

[Anonymous]

My DD goes to Scripps College in Claremont, CA. She loves going to a women's college, and also really likes being part of the consortium where she can take other classes. The southern California weather is fantastic and the campus is the most beautiful one I've ever visited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on Barnard?

I’m a Barnard parent. My DD rushed freshman year and most of the “Greek Life” crew is very much like any coed college. The sororities are Columbia chapters, and pretty evenly represented between Barnard and Columbia. Social life. Frat parties etc. she’s having an amazing experience. I have asked about LGBTQ presence, and she has a very diverse group of friends. I think the Greek segment kind of separates those groups to an extent. But not to the point of being exclusionary. I really love that she’s enjoying Greek life but also maintaining friendships with other students who are not part of that community, including some who are LGBTQ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The girls that choose to attend an all womens' college (from our all girls' high school) almost always choose Smith. Second would be Wellsley. I haven't seen any chose Mount Holyoke or Bry Mawr. I am not sure why...

My DD went to an all girls high school and is now at Barnard. But she didn’t consider any other all girls’ colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a student who is not in the lgbt community fit in at an all women's college? Or do those colleges nowadays lean more for those who are?

They absolutely can. My DD and her friends are not lesbian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We looked closely at women's colleges. I liked the idea, but after we researched, we decided against that direction. Imo, there are two types of students: activist lesbian and introverted girls who are often from traditional families (and many international families in this group). The only womens college my daughter considered was barnard- because of job opportunities and bc there are boys to date at columbia/grad school, but she didn't like the activist vibe at Barnard. She chose a different school which is a better fit for her academically and socially. Of note, if interested humanities or social sciences, be sure to check the curriculum, course offerings, areas of faculty research, to understand their ideological preferences. It's eye opening.

I think you over generalized the student bodies, but it sounds like you found a better fit for your child, so it worked out. I would posit that women’s colleges have several other “types”.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is at BMC and loves it. She got a merit scholarship, which was icing on the cake. But it was her first choice. Her second choice would have been Smith but she wanted to be closer to a big city. She is LGBTQ and I think so are all of her group of friends, but that isn’t to say that everyone there is. I really don’t know. She IS pretty introverted, but she had no trouble making friends. She was an excellent student in high school and she is getting good grades, but I think it’s a lot of work. She’s also done some things there that have been new to her too, though….tried some new hobbies that surprised me.

I think it is a bubble but without getting into things I’m really not sorry about that right now. I’m glad.

Campus is very pretty. Dorms are beautiful on the outside but old! The traditions are cool. She takes like half her classes at haverford because of her particular major and minor. But seems to do 95% of her socializing at Bryn Mawr. I know there have been some parties, but she is not a party person. Registration is a pain. Maybe that’s everywhere? I don’t know. It is a small school so classes are limited and you should take that into account. We didn’t but I don’t know that it would have changed her mind.

Overall, she’s very happy and it was definitely the right fit for her. Her friends seem nice. Very into their studies but kind of artsy too?

[Anonymous]

I took my family to visit Wellesley last summer, and was happy to see a joint Wellesley-MIT club (a capella? not sure) hanging out in the campus center having lunch and setting up something. There were a lot of dating opportunities "back in my day", and many of my friends have MIT husbands. But better to ask some recent grads!

[Anonymous]

I went to Wellesley. I'm grateful for the top-notch academic experience, which prepared me well for law school and lifetime learning. I'm grateful too for my wonderful Wellesley friends -- very cool, fun and smart women (I also have lots of Smith alum friends who are very chill). All that said, I missed having male friends during college and found the social/dating scene at Wellesley weird and artificial. My DD looked at Wellesley, but I didn't encourage her to go there. She's at Wesleyan and her experience there is quite similar to mine at Wellesley -- excellent academics and a great friend group, but with a more normal social scene.

[Anonymous]

DD left Scripps after a year. She hated it - found it clique-y and too woke. We are liberals but it was a politically stifling culture

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at Smith and is thriving. There are some men in many of her classes due to the consortium. Many of the students do not fit the stereotype of a masc lesbian you are thinking. It's a wonderful school and community and it depends on what your student is comfortable with. I don't have any concerns or worries that my daughter will be able to manage out in the "real world" interacting with men professionally and personally. At all.

I also have a daughter at Smith and it’s been really wonderful for her so far. I teach at another (not all-women) LAC and it’s been humbling how much better the student experience seems to be at Smith: academic challenge and students who are deeply engaged in their studies, real available support when needed, housing communities that work (and students can choose how involved they want to be), extracurriculars that are inclusive yet also engaged and effective. And the alumnae network!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD left Scripps after a year. She hated it - found it clique-y and too woke. We are liberals but it was a politically stifling culture

Any other Scripps feedback? DD is accepted and strongly considering. The opportunities across the 5Cs is probably greatest appeal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked closely at women's colleges. I liked the idea, but after we researched, we decided against that direction. Imo, there are two types of students: activist lesbian and introverted girls who are often from traditional families (and many international families in this group). The only womens college my daughter considered was barnard- because of job opportunities and bc there are boys to date at columbia/grad school, but she didn't like the activist vibe at Barnard. She chose a different school which is a better fit for her academically and socially. Of note, if interested humanities or social sciences, be sure to check the curriculum, course offerings, areas of faculty research, to understand their ideological preferences. It's eye opening.

I think you over generalized the student bodies, but it sounds like you found a better fit for your child, so it worked out. I would posit that women’s colleges have several other “types”.

NP here. Honestly, I think there's a lot of truth to the previous post. I attended a top ranked college for women about 25 years ago, and that's largely who currently makes up the student body.