The Value of Women's Colleges

As you begin your college search, you probably have a wish list, from an institution's strengths in your academic field of study to its geographic location. You will also consider the environment, community, culture and student life.

You may be surprised to find that your expectations for college are different from those of your friends. With diverse interests, goals and personalities, students excel in different learning environments. While one institution may be the right fit for a close friend, you may thrive in a very different educational setting.

Fortunately, one of the strengths of the American higher education system is its diversity.

Women's colleges are an important part of that mix, offering women distinct benefits. Students are enriched by a challenging intellectual life, a collaborative and encouraging environment with leadership opportunities. These significant advantages—which those of us at women's colleges have seen firsthand—are confirmed by current national research, such as the National Survey on Student Engagement.

When Katherine Joyner was trying to decide which college to attend, she found that the women's college environment matched her goals for a career in the sciences.

"At many other schools, the science fields are primarily male, as far as the classroom, the professors and the department," said Katherine, a senior at College of Notre Dame of Maryland. "When I was looking at schools and considering the sciences, having a female presence in the classroom really helped."

Many students discover that the women's college environment supports their study of the sciences; compared with young women graduating from coed institutions—a much larger percentage of women's college graduates become scientists and mathematicians.

Now, as a biology major with a chemistry minor, Katherine has landed two internships, doing physics-based nanotechnology work in Aberdeen Proving Ground's molecular electronics lab and conducting pharmaceutical drug delivery research at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the University of Maryland's School of Pharmacy.

As a College of Notre Dame student, Katherine has realized her passion for research, immersed herself in student activities and taken on leadership roles, including serving as president of the College's Inter-Organization Council. Again, the NSSE research shows that the academic environment of engagement at women's colleges helps alumnae rise to leadership positions more often than graduates of coed institutions.

Both students and graduates of women's colleges report that the environment also fuels their understanding of themselves and others, giving them skills that lead to professional success.

Katherine believes that she has gained a different, and valuable, understanding of herself through her experience. "You change as a person pretty significantly during these years, and being in an all-female surrounding gives you a different type of character,"she says. "I see things in a different perspective, with a different view from mainstream society."

Some prospective students are startled to realize that the women's college experience perfectly matches their needs."The all-women institution didn't exactly appeal to me at first, but that type of environment has actually been the most rewarding and influential in my experience at Notre Dame," said Lauren Ackerman, a senior at College of Notre Dame. "I wish that every female student had the opportunity to partake of such a nurturing environment."

That environment is shaped partly by faculty who are fully engaged in their students' lives, invested in their future and focused on their goals. From their earliest college days, first-year students at women's colleges report that they find greater support for their success, collaborate more with classmates and participate actively in class—even as they take on more challenging academic experiences.

Lauren has truly made the most of her college experience, meeting every challenge with enthusiasm. After a month-long research project in Guatemala over the summer, Lauren is studying abroad in Chile. She will graduate in May 2008 with a double major in Spanish and international studies and a minor in Latin American studies.

Our professors see positive changes in young women like Lauren and Katherine every day. They grow and become confident, capable, strong leaders, prepared to make a profound and dramatic impact on the world.

They will join generations of women's college alumnae who have set new standards for women, such as Elizabeth Hoisington, a College of Notre Dame graduate and the first woman U.S. Army general; Madeleine Albright, a Wellesley College graduate and the first woman named Secretary of State; and Elaine Chao, a Mount Holyoke College graduate and the first Asian American woman appointed to the president's cabinet.

The college search process can be challenging, but it is also a wonderful time for self-discovery. Think about how you want to benefit from your educational experience and which colleges provide an ideal fit for you.

Choosing a women's college may involve taking a less-traveled road. But that may be the right path for you—and give you the best opportunity for success.

Editorial provided by Mary Pat Seurkamp, Ph.D., President, College of Notre Dame of Maryland.