Why Women's Colleges Make the Grade

It’s so nice seeing more and more women blogging about their experience at a women’s college. Today, I’ll introduce you to an online article written by Susana Morris. Susana is an About.com blogger and writes about women’s issues. Not only did she graduated from a women's colelge, she also taugt at one.

I know you’ll enjoy reading her insights via  "The Advantages of Women’s Colleges - Why Women’s Colleges Make the Grade."

"I am an ardent believer in women’s colleges. I currently teach at a large co-ed institution, but I always have a big place in my heart for liberal arts women’s colleges.

I’ll admit it—I’m a bit biased. I graduated from Mount Holyoke College and have taught at Spelman College—two phenomenal women’s colleges. And it is my experience as both an alumna of a women’s college and as former professor at women’s college that shapes my passion for women’s education.

During my years at Mount Holyoke I flourished within an academic and social environment that emphasized my intellectual ability, fostered my feminism, and encouraged my potential as leader. Many of my close friends—women who excel in activism, teaching, philanthropy, publishing, and medicine—are Mount Holyoke women.

While in graduate school at Emory University, I was an adjunct instructor at Spelman College. My experience on the other side of the women’s college classroom was extremely gratifying. My students were ambitious, engaged, and passionate about not only learning but also about changing the world.

I’m not suggesting that woman can’t or don’t flourish at co-ed institutions. They can and do all the time. However, both anecdotal and statistical evidence has shown the myriad of benefits for women attending women’s only institutions of higher learning.

But don’t just take my word on it. Many former alums of women’s colleges cite their undergraduate experience with women’s only education as foundational to the success in their lives and careers.

Forbes interviewed several graduates of women’s colleges and reports: “‘Women’s colleges tend to attract a very competitive and driven student base, and that’s the group you are surrounding yourself with during these critical years,’ says Valerie Saunders, a 40-year-old Smith College grad who owns a successful photo agency in Jersey City, N.J. ‘That’s where you are developing your work ethic and your first goals as an adult.’”

Women’s colleges are places where women lead in all aspects of student government and where women’s voices are not in the background in classes. These environmental advantages are not only good for the four years on campus, but translate to the decades of work and civic engagement women do outside of college."

Continue reading here.