Putturani

What is the problem with learning math and science in a coed environment? I mean, I've never had a problem in high school and although I was in a male-dominated class, I could do very well in the class and beat they boys without much effort. I never understood this problem.

Plainsman

Maybe women choose a single sex college so one day they can become Secretary of State, and possibly President of the United States.


Are you in Hong Kong or the United States? Two different cultures.

bugmom

I went to an all women college 35 years ago. I was tired of male-dominated classes. I felt a lot more free to try hard areas, like math, when i didn't have to deal with guys talking down to the women. I was able to develop my confidence in my ideas and in public speaking. I have no regrets. I ended up in an LL.M program after law school, where women were only 10 percent of the class, but I no longer worried whether I could hold my own.

MetdethGNR

Why does that matter? I mean, I am a double major on mathematics and mechanical engineering and yes, although for most of my life was classes were dominated by men (And I mean, size-dominated, I was always acknowledged as one of the best, if not the best in class), well, I never really cared. I mean what does it matter than I can poke the student next to me and ask her for a tampon? The gender of my fellow classmates makes zero difference to me. The same can be said about the gender of my professors. I don't care if they have a vagina or not, that they are elves or hobbits or pirates, I just care that they are good professors. I want to learn from the best professor. If that happens to be a guy, hey, no prob. Women, no prob. Elf? No prob. I just want the best. If that means 10 male Nobel Laureates, I'll take it.

I very much agree with this. I grew up in South Florida, down to the very South of the U.S. And although since I started taking physics in my junior year of high school, my classes were VERY MUCH male-dominated (again, in size), this made zero difference to me. No one "put me down" or anything of the sort and I wasn't afraid to try out the "hardest" classes (as a matter of fact, I was unofficially declared the student with the "hardest courseload" in my high school's 30-year history by my peers) I was even elected as President of my class 2 years in a row, as well as President/Captain of several other organizations- by both men and women. I don't understand this whole "afraid of been around men" mentality comes from. If you asked me where would I want to study, I wouldn't say "in a room full of the smartest girls in the country," I would say "in a room full of the smartest students in the country." Because if I picked the former I know, deep down, that as challenging as my class could be, I COULD be surrounded with just-as-bright or even brighter students (the males not attending a female school.) I feel that limiting your experience to "only girls" EVEN if it's some of the brightest girls in the country, it's equivalent to saying "only Christians" (even if its the brightest Christians) or "only Jews" or "only Blacks" etc etc. You are LIMITING your scope of interactions.

This of course, is simply MY opinion gained from MY personal experiences. I am aware that some of these all-girl schools (i.e. Wellesley) are prestigious. But they simply don't cut it for me. As aforementioned, I'd feel that I'm massively limiting myself and missing out.

This has to be one of the weakest arguments for Women colleges I've ever heard. I mean, you do whatever you want with your time, that is your business, but telling a parent "you should send your daughter to a women's college so she can explore her sexuality with other women" well... eh. Might not be the selling point.

SmithieandProud

^ I think that generally the problem with these threads is that people use their own personal experiences as proof that the large body of literature and empirical research on the subject of gender and classroom performance are false. Just because it wasn't true in your case, or because you don't think it's true in your case, hardly means that the entire concept is invalidated. I encourage you to get more educated on the topic if you so choose, there are a number of excellent books that are accessible for the layperson including "Queen Bees and Wanna Bes", "Reviving Ophelia", and "Odd Girl Out"

foolishpleasure

Excellent point S&P

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"Why does that matter? "

If being in a male dominated envior doesn't bother your, that's fine - - but for others (including mcpucks1357), working with women is/was important and if so, a women's college is a good choice.

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As for sexuality - - isn't exploring their heterosexuality (which is part of socialization) one of the primary reasons young women prefer coed schools? Don't most college-bound girls and boys want/expect to date and be sexually during those four years, regardless of their sexual preference(s)?

sanapplecap2

This recent interview of Bryn Mawr President McAuliffe presents several compelling reasons why a woman may select a single-sex college. They include a higher percentage of women science, technology, engineering and math majors than at coed school and higher probability of attending graduate school. Glad our DD choose one of the 7 sisters.

A Women's College That Wants to Change the World - NYTimes.com

EastCoastGirl715

Greetings:

There is so much more to women's colleges than the fact that they are single-sex. It is impossible to get a good feel for any college or university if you only focus on an institution's most marked characteristic. Asking why anyone would want to attend a women's college is akin to asking why anyone would want to attend a large state school, or a small liberal arts college, or a school in a location where it snows all the time. If that's all you see, you are missing, well, everything.

I chose to apply to two women's colleges (and one former women's college - Sarah Lawrence) because I wanted the opportunity to develop strong friendships with women. In high school, most of my friends were boys, and I felt like I needed to challenge this. Also, I loved that these colleges had gorgeous campuses, attractive housing, lots of tradition and strong national reputations.

My goal was to attend a liberal arts school with as much prestige as possible, even though my strengths are lopsided (great in the humanities, terrible in math and science). I felt that the small co-ed schools on par with the Seven Sisters (Amherst, Williams, etc) were so selective that they would not give me a chance to show them why I would be a good addition to their campus - I knew they had many, many people applying who looked so much better on paper than I did. The small women's schools to which I applied seemed to value me as a whole person, not just the sum of my great verbal scores and horrific math scores - during the interviews, I felt like they wanted to see all of me and what I could bring to their community.

I was accepted at all three schools (you can tell how long ago this was, because nowadays it seems almost unheard-of to apply to such a small number!), and chose Mount Holyoke. Suddenly I found myself in a community a brilliant, well-read, socially aware women with thoughts and opinions about a wide range of topics. Friendships blossomed easily, and a core group of ten of us have traveled together every two years since graduating 20 years ago.

Given that the college was, obviously, so women-focused, I developed a strong interest in the history of women's rights and the ever-changing roles of women and society that informs my world-view to this day. I know that many of my classmates at Mount Holyoke felt emotionally safer seeking leadership positions within the college community and studying math and science than they might have at a co-ed school, but this was not my personal experience. I had never experienced some of the overt sexism that some of my classmates (particularly international students) had endured, so the idea of being empowered by the lack of men wasn't an issue for me. It was, however, very important to others who had not had the same positive and empowered upbringing that I had. This is probably one of the greatest arguments for the value of women's colleges - the culture and the world do not change and grow at the same rate for everyone. Just because one person doesn't need the extra boost of confidence that a single-sex environment provides, it doesn't mean such an environment is archaic and useless.

My college friends and I have turned out to be thoughtful and curious about the world. We are interested in politics and social issues and the environment, and we are also interested in our husbands and boyfriends and children and shoes. We would probably be this way anyway, given the kinds of people we are, but we all cite our four years at Mount Holyoke as a defining period in our lives. We probably would have enjoyed our time at many other colleges, too. In the end, however, the history, tradition, culture, values and environment of Mount Holyoke made it a very special place to live and work and grow up, and none of us would change our decision to attend.

nattilee

I think most women already know whether attending a single sex school is right for them or not. And everyone is different.

Power to the ladies who do believe in single sex schools, but I'm just not one of them. What really gets me is that college is a time of intellectual discussion. You have round table discussions and get to listen to very unique opinions. Of course, you'll hear unique opinions at a women's college, but you won't get to hear a male's side of the discussion. I'm not saying all men think alike or that women don't think as well as men, but I am saying that you will be missing out on a perspective.

And I just feel like you don't get the same experiences. I am intelligent, and I will take college very seriously, but I want to party a little too. Have a bit of fun. And I'm sorry but all girls parties are fun every now and then, but every week? :/ No thanks.

Yakyu Spirits

Women in math, science, and engineering will be completely outnumbered in the workplace when they graduate anyway. Might as well get accustomed to it at a co-ed university.

Classof2015

I hope I can add something as a Smith alum. Single-sex education offers you the chance to be yourself. And to grow. And to learn. In an environment where you're not also trying to catch the eye of the cute guy in your Chem lab. Or where you don't want to appear "too smart" because you think it will be a turn off to the guys on the lacrosse team. At places like Smith, you're amongst people who are nice, and friendly, and supportive. And you have professors who really want you to learn. It was such a shock for me to attend NYU for graduate school, where I had a professor who didn't even try to learn our names, and where no one really cared if you failed. At Smith, that would never happen. Bottom line -- would you be fine at a co-ed school? Probably. Would you benefit from a single-sex school like Smith? Absolutely!

UKdude84

I can imagine schools such as the 7 sisters being dream environments. Hell, a school full of women, every man's dream.

Classof2015

Um, dude? They're women. They're not desperate.

pstauff

I see real benefits of students learning in a nurturing an supportive environment. One drawback that I recently noticed about Smith and Bryn Mawr is that they really don't offer much merit aid. I see they are very generous with need-based aid though. I was very interested in both schools for my daughter, but then I saw on Naviance how neither really offer much for merit aid.

Classof2015

Glad your D enjoyed the rigor and stimulation of a Smith education. I loved it there, and recommended it to my niece (Class of 2000). Her brother (Harvard, Class of 2001) was surprised that she was enjoying her college experience so much.