<p>“lesbian niche”? Wow, are you offensive.</p>
<p>^^Call me out of touch, but I always thought that was a significant part of the Smith population.</p>
<p>I particularly love the article by the Princeton freshman in which she can only find people with negative things to say about women’s colleges. :rolleyes: Yeah, like SHE didn’t have an agenda…</p>
<p>I could say that she is a girl who is afraid to define herself apart from male approval. Oh, but that wouldn’t be NICE.</p>
<p>My niece in law (NIL? 
) when to Mt. Holyoke, and D1 was accepted there… she would have gone if they had offered her a scrap of merit aid. D2 (who will very likely be an NMF) also plans to apply there. Daughter of a friend who was 4th in her large HS class just reluctantly turned them down for in-state tution at William & Mary. I don’t think the better ones are a dying breed at all.</p>
<p>“Call me out of touch, but I always thought that was a significant part of the Smith population.”</p>
<p>Yup. 11% according to a Smith survey. Five times the national average. Roughly one-third the percentage of gay males at that gay college in New Haven (which is not surprising, since it has the very best, and best funded lesbian/gay studies program in the nation). But who’s counting? ;)</p>
<p>(I think it’s wonderful that there are such great colleges who are accepting of everyone!)</p>
<p>I didn’t think the article said they were in danger of closing. After 2008, many schools started buying out long term profs or staff, shifting academic programs, halting pay increases, altering dept budgets and lowering the number of adjunct or p/t faculty. I work for one and DH for another. Let’s add lowering thermostats in winter, delaying some maintenance, changing cafeteria quality, even cutting some sports or student activities/services. It seems Smith, MHC, Barnard and Bryn Mawr benefit from cross-registration. Sweet Briar supposedly has a faculty ratio of 1:6, while, say, Williams is 1:7 and Wellesley 1:8. Sounds like some cuts make sense. Also, aren’t they always on the lists of “bargain” colleges? And don’t they give finaid to a high % of students? All targets for reconsideration.</p>
<p>But, yes, rural and a silly name, albeit historical.</p>
<p>Although my daughter does not go to Smith, she has taken classes there as part of the 5-college consortium (Smith, Mt. Holyoke, UMass, Hampshire, Amherst). It seems to be a thriving college with a lot of new initiatives and programs (such as Engineering and summer grad school programs). Mt. Holyoke seems to be doing just fine, as well. </p>
<p>I think that in the current financial climate, ‘Tier 2’ LACs are going to have a tougher time attracting students and balancing budgets. It can only be worse for such schools that only admit women.</p>
<p>On the other hand, ‘Tier 1’ women-only LACs are still thriving and probably will continue to do so for some time as enough young women still want to go such schools.</p>
<p>Isn’t this a story about the financial difficulties of a college … that happens to be all-female. It is the not the first, and will not be the last school that faces tremendous challenges to navigate the “next” phase in higher education. For many schools, the gravy train won’t make that many stops. The future? Except for a small number of highly selective schools, there will be fewer parents willing to continue to pay for the faculty sinecures and inflation in expenses – and many simply unable to. The days of relying on massive influx of government funds are also numbered. Look for the latest waves of the stimulus as the swan song of the ever increasing pools of new money. </p>
<p>No matter how one looks at it, a small number of schools will be able to raise money and beef up their endowments. The less prestigious schools and the public universities are facing days of belt-tightening. Too bad it is decades too late!</p>
<p>PS A few years ago, we discussed the strategic financial plan of Mt Holyoke and the impact of the needed tuition discounting for domestic student and continuing reliance of foreign students. The plan was posted on the school website for everyone to see. Doing “just fine” might be a tad hyperbolic!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Beautiful campus, but an oasis surrounded by no-man’s land. East Oakland has some of the highest crime rates in the State, and over the past 20 years it has enveloped the Mills campus. Too bad, since Mills is a wonderful college.</p>
<p>I went to Mills, and it truly is an oasis. The campus does take security seriously though. When leaving the campus it is more about taking the shuttle to Berkeley than exploring the neighborhood.</p>
<p>I was surprised to see Hollins on that list that comes out of schools still accepting applications – clearly they didn’t fill their class this year. Hollins is another women’s college in VA, and I had been interested in their engineering program for my daughter (who is currently in middle school). Wondering if it will still be around in a few years . . . </p>
<p>I do know that of the VA women’s colleges, Mary Baldwin is doing REALLY well - they instituted an early college program for girls as young as 15 and are drawing a lot of math whizzes from India and China (who are as young as 15). Wonder if they’re siphoning off the talent that’s interested in a southern women’s college – away from places like Sweet Briar and Hollins?</p>
<p>D(who is now attending Bryn Mawr and applied to several other women’s colleges) was not at all interested in Sweet Briar, even as a safety. She never researched it properly and was put off by the “pink and green” marketing. </p>
<p>She is having a wonderful time at Bryn Mawr and claims that some of the women there are beyond brilliant. From her perspective, the college seems to be thriving.</p>
<p>Under the top tier of Women’s colleges which are all fabulous in their own way, I was very impressed with Agnes Scott. The academics were not quite what D was looking for, but she loved the location and the social possibilities.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>People have been saying this for 40 years and it hasn’t come to pass. Reports of the demise of women’s colleges are greatly exaggerated. </p>
<p>And how does a newspaper story on the financial problems of one college constitute “facts” about the state of all women’s colleges? </p>
<p>The more interesting fact is that boys are deserting higher education in droves. That is going to be the main story in higher ed over the next few years, I think. I lose no sleep whatsoever over the fate of the Seven Sisters but I worry about men’s decline in higher ed.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Consolation, there were a number of positive statements/quotes in the article. For example, how is this negative?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Or this? </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And, why would she have an agenda? Just because she goes to a co-ed school? </p>
<p>I think that all-female schools, in this challenging economic environment, might have to market themselves better, develop niches etc. And obviously Smith, Wellesley, Barnard, Bryn Mawr are not suffering. But as xiggi and ALF have pointed out, all smaller and not as well-known schools, many of which lack significant endowments, face this issue–maybe the article should have addressed that, but it was focusing on one particular type of small school.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Mini, you’ve admitted on another forum that your knowledge of Yale is close to zero. Why do you continue to spew unfounded and erroneous statistics? Yale, nor any organization, has conducted a scientific sexual preference survey.
If you know of such a survey that I’m unaware of, please enlighten us and supply a link.</p>
<p>Also, Maria Trumpler, senior lecturer & director of the office of LGBTQ resources, has stated that she doesn’t know what the percentages are of gay men and women at Yale.</p>
<p>This thread started with a discussion of Sweet Briar’s problems, but evolved into a discussion of the viability of women’s college in general. Based on my knowledge of one institution (Bryn Mawr) from which D2 graduated in 2011, it seems that there has not been a downturn in applications. In fact, this year Bryn Mawr had a record number of admissions for the Class of 2016.</p>
<p>To be perfectly honest I had not heard of Sweet Briar until this thread. It would behoove this LAC to make an effort to expand their recruitment beyond the Southern and Eastern states. With a little effort they could probably get a dozen or more admits from the Montana, Idaho, eastern/central Washington and central Oregon areas.</p>
<h1>36 yes, the OP decided to opine that women’s colleges were “dying” on the basis of one article. The admissions rate for Wellesley this spring was 29% and Barnard’s was 21%. Obviously they must be just about ready to close their doors. LOL.</h1>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, that’s precisely what they were doing at the time that my D had an interview with them in Chicago. D asked a few questions about the Jewish population - not that she’s really big into that, but didn’t want to be a “novelty” on campus - and the lady was as sweet as could be, but it was evident that even a reform, secular Jew such as my D would have been a novelty. But - these people could not have been nicer or sweeter, which is why it kinds of hurts my heart - since I can easily imagine going around the country stumping for your college and no one seems to be biting. I can’t blame them for wanting to go around the country - but it’s kind of a circle going on - who wants to be the only one from your area going to a school that no one’s ever heard of. (Well, I had heard of it, mostly through the Preppy Handbook.)</p>
<p>Actually, NJSue, the number of single sex schools, particularly womens colleges, has been declining. [Single-Sex</a> Colleges](<a href=“http://lawhighereducation.com/113-single-sex-colleges.html]Single-Sex”>http://lawhighereducation.com/113-single-sex-colleges.html)
</p>