Most Respected (Best) Women's College?

Irresponsibility · 04-23-2011, 03:45 PM

Is there one? I was thinking of Wellesley or Smith (in terms of academic rigor and PhDs/leaders they produce), but I'm fairly uneducated in this area so I thought I'd ask you all. Not sure if there's an HPY of the women's college world.

shootingstar1 · 04-23-2011, 07:18 PM

Wellesley for sure.
It's not Smith, don't even kid yourself.
They're all exceptional though but I'd say Wellesley is the cream of the crop.

rocket6louise · 04-23-2011, 08:51 PM

haha, you're just going to start a fight on this thing
my money would say EITHER Smith or Wellesley.

Bryn Mawr is great, but forgotten
Moho plays second fiddle to Smith
Barnard is overshadowed by Columbia
Scripps is still a bit obscure, as are Agnes Scott, Mills, Sweet Briar, Hollins, Stephens, and Converse.

My opinion is that Smith is the BEST, but it's biased

Eternal Icicle · 04-24-2011, 03:54 PM

Even Wellesley is not a sure bet for recognition. I go to Scripps and was talking to some east coasters on my study abroad program. I told them where i went, the other schools in the consortium, and when i still got blank stares, I tried, "well, it's a little bit like the Wellesley of the West?" and then one of their faces lit up and she said- "OH, you mean Wesleyan!" Um.....

howiegrange · 04-24-2011, 04:08 PM

Smith, Wellesley, and Mount Holyoke!

mardad · 04-24-2011, 05:36 PM

Both of my daughters chose Barnard over Wellesley. This was based more on the basis of feel than statistics. I suspect it has to do with New York as well. I thought they might take Wellesley because it is in Boston and they have a cousin who is working on his PhD at MIT. I like Wellesley and Bryn Mawr. Smith and Mount Holyoke have very nice programs as well but it may be the remoteness.
If you have a choice among these institutions you will probably make your decision based on something other than who produced the most PhDs. They will all teach you more than you can possibly take in, so you will be the limiting factor not the school. Visit each school and get a feel. There was an earlier post where the interviewer told the applicant in the middle of the Wellesley interview, "You seem more like a Barnard woman to me." I haven't really detected a "type". The campuses seem pretty diverse except that all of the young women study pretty hard at all of these schools.

mardad · 04-24-2011, 05:41 PM

i forgot to mention, Scripps is too close to where we live. I told my daughters they had to go more than 60 miles from home. If you're an Easterner, give Scripps a try. My wife and I fly in and out of the same airport that the students from the Claremont colleges use. We have met a large number on their way home to New York and Connecticut. You might like it.

agentwood · 04-25-2011, 09:11 PM

As a Barnard grad, obviously I'm biased. Barnard is the most selective of the women's colleges, but all of the Seven Sisters (the ones that are still all-women, at least) are top notch. After Barnard I would probably place Wellesley. It's a fantastic school.

Irresponsibility · 04-27-2011, 05:40 PM

Thank you for the response!

passiongirl · 04-28-2011, 12:19 AM

Wellesley for sure! #4 Best Liberal Arts school in the nation (according to U.S. news and World Report), BEST women's school in the nation, hands down. Academic rigor, beautiful campus, diverse, small classes, amazing professors, I could go on forever....Wellesley's the one

purplepoppy07 · 05-01-2011, 08:23 PM

In terms of name recognition, I would have to say Barnard. Mainly because of the Columbia affiliation plus I live really close to NY so everyone knows Barnard. In terms of academics and quality of education, probably Wellesley. Wellesley's my number one choice

rocket6louise · 05-01-2011, 10:32 PM

I think Smith has incredible name recognition as do Barnard and Wellesley. It all depends what's the best fit for you though. Barnard was too urban(a huge plus for some) and Wellesley was more down to earth than Smith.

SmithieandProud · 05-02-2011, 12:16 AM

Smith, obviously.

icesk8mom · 05-02-2011, 05:41 AM

The difference in educational value between the Sister Schools: Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley is slim. They are all most respected and will provide outstanding opportunities.

There are all sorts of rankings, including Mount Holyoke's #1 for classroom experience by Princeton Review's 2011 Best 373 Colleges. Important indeed!

gadad · 05-02-2011, 07:56 PM

So - our vote tally so far is:

Wellesley 4.37
Barnard 3.53
Smith 2.37
MH .53
BM .20