In the not too distant past, women's colleges were never asked to justify their existence. Many, if not most, of the independent colleges and universities in this country were single-sex institutions. Today, only three all-male colleges exist and there are approximately 60 all women's colleges.
So, you may ask, "Why should I consider attending a women's college?" Those of us committed to single-sex education believe that we prepare young women for the real world in a better way—and we have data to back up our beliefs. So, what is it that happens at a women's college that makes it so distinctive and worth a second look?
According to the Women's College Coalition and the results of a survey done by NSSE (the National Survey of Student Engagement), students who attend a women's college enjoy the following benefits:
1. They are more engaged than their peers at coeducation institutions.
2. They are more likely to experience high levels of academic challenge.
3. They engage in active and collaborative learning to a higher degree.
4. They take part in activities that integrate their classroom and outside of classroom experiences more than their counterparts at coeducational institutions.
5. They report greater gains of self-understanding and self-confidence.
6. They are more likely to graduate, and more than twice as likely as female graduates of coeducational colleges to earn doctoral degrees and to enter medical school.
7. They also earn more after graduation than their coed counterparts because they often choose traditionally male disciplines, like the sciences, as their academic major. Women's colleges continue to graduate women in math and the sciences at 1.5 times the rate of coed institutions.
In ourclassrooms we utilize small group activities and collaborative teaching and learning – techniques we know work for women. And, isn't that really the heart of the matter? Everything we do is to educate women. Every focus is aimed at that outcome. That can't help but make a difference. And that is as true in the student life arena as it is in the classroom. Everything that is done by students is done by women. If there is a student initiative, every facet of it will be planned, organized, and executed by women. That alone is fundamental and important.
Last year there was an article in the business section of the Chicago Tribune under the heading "Getting Ahead." The article was written about one of our alumnae who has been on a very impressive career path since her graduation as a Business Economics and Political Science major. The reporter asked her if any classes from college were particularly helpful to her career. She replied, and I quote: "It wasn't what I took as much as where I went. I went to an all-women's college. There were fewer gender pressures. I was encouraged to stand up and speak my mind. If I'd gone to a coed school from the start, it would have been a lot harder. Later, when I was thrown into environments that were primarily all-men, it didn't occur to me not to participate."
In closing. I think a quote from my friend Nancy Bekavac, the former president of Scripps College, sums it up perfectly. She said, "All colleges and universities offer opportunities to women – but women's colleges offer every opportunity to women." I hope you will take a hard look at the option of attending an all women's college – I know you will be excited by what you find.
http://www.thehighschoolgraduate.com/editorial/MI/why-should-you-attend-a-womens-college.html
