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Dorm Decorating Ideas for Her

Check out these "Dorm Decorating Ideas" from Stephens College. The site has some very cool ideas!

Plus you might want to know about their pet friendly campus:

"For 10 years, Stephens College has been welcoming cats, dogs, birds, lizards, rodents and other pet friends to campus. Today Stephens is considered one of the most pet-friendly campuses in the country – and we have the news coverage to prove it.

Don’t want to bring a pet from home? Consider becoming a foster parent! We’ve teamed up with a local no-kill shelter to let you prepare a dog or cat for a “forever home.” The program includes training, health improvement and nurturing them back to an adoptable condition and may include scholarship opportunities. 

Want to learn more? Contact admissions at inquiry@stephens.edu. If you're a current student needing more information, please contact Student Services at studentservices@stephens.edu."

Considering Women's Colleges

Thanks Jessica Tomer, Editor-in-Chief, Carnegie Communications, for sharing your thoughts about women’s colleges in your July blog post, “Considering Women's Colleges.” It’s so nice to see others also encouraging college-bound high school girls to consider attending a women’s college (even though they graduated from a coed college). Colleges for women have lots to offer and you’ll never know what they have to offer YOU, until you check them out.

“Though I don’t regret attending my alma mater (Emerson College!), I do wish I had given women’s colleges a chance during my college search.”

Continue reading Jessica’s blog post here.

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The Perfect Fit: Stern College for Women

From the blog post, “New Students Look Forward to Unique Opportunities—and Success—at Yeshiva University” see why Michal Segall decided upon this women's college.

“For Michal Segall, of New York City, Stern College for Women’s outstanding research contributions to cutting-edge scientific fields was a major draw. “I was hugely interested in medicine and knew that Stern had both a strong premed major and a great connection to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where Stern students are eligible to receive up to full-tuition scholarships,” she said.

Segall chose wisely. While the national average of medical school acceptance rates is just 45 percent, 91 percent of applicants from Stern College and 78 percent of applicants from Yeshiva College were accepted to at least one medical school last year, including highly competitive and prestigious programs such as Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College, and YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

“Nationally there are a very large number of college freshmen who declare themselves pre-med majors but, generally, only a few make it,” said Dr. Karen Bacon, the Dr. Monique C. Katz Dean of Stern College. “At Stern College, the story is quite different. Here motivated and talented women find not only a supportive faculty but also a culture of high achievement and grand expectations that ensures success.”

Stern’s strong liberal arts program was equally important to Segall. “In high school, I did dance, art, theater and anything in the humanities I could—English was one of my favorite classes,” she said. “I’m excited to continue pursuing those passions in the extracurricular clubs here and I’ve heard great things about Stern’s English department. Living in Midtown Manhattan, I’m also excited to have all the resources of the New York arts scene right at my fingertips.”

Her first step when the semester kicks off? “I’m going to get involved in Stern’s Environmental Club to promote awareness of issues like climate change and other topics the modern world needs to be dealing with.””

Continue reading here.

To learn more about Stern College for Women, visit their Web site.

Summer Internship in Morocco for This French and Francophone Literature Major

Meet Irène Delaney '16 a French and Francophone Literature major at Bryn Mawr College.

"Irène Delaney '16 writes in from her internship in Morocco! She's spent the summer working as a French-English translator for Casamémoire, a local association with the goal of raising popular awareness of the city’s rich architectural history."

"I hope that this virtual postcard lets people know that (A) I had a really cool summer internship experience and (B) they should never give up on having really cool summer internship experiences, even when it seems financially impossible."

Continue reading here.

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From Straight-Laced to Unlaced: Women’s colleges in the twentieth century

I very much enjoyed this blog post, From Straight-Laced to Unlaced: Women’s colleges in the twentieth century, written by Jessica Gross and I know you will as well.

"By now, though, the acceptance theme has become less a means of survival and more a part of women’s colleges’ niche identities. It’s what going to a modern women’s college is all about: discovering yourself, accepting who you are, and using your newfound voice to effect change."
 
Continue reading here.

Women’s Colleges Invest in Their Students

Amber Brehon '14, graduated from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Here’s what she says about her Alma mater.

"The NDMU community invested in me. The community demonstrated for me the many positive possibilities of sticking with my moral compass. I have a humanitarian obligation to continue learning, to be open-minded, and to be critical and analytical. NMDU helped me see that I would only be capable of changing the world for the better if I was brave and daring enough to always work towards that end."

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Student Video: My First Year at Spelman College

Horsing Around this Summer

"Izzy Bisese ’15, a history major, is the first-ever intern at the MHC Equestrian Center. She spends her days grooming, giving lessons, rehabilitating injured horses, and learning the ins and outs of running an equestrian center of this scale. Upon graduating she hopes to become a history teacher and riding coach."

"Built in 1987, the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center is considered to be one of the finest facilities for educational and competitive riding available to students anywhere. Its stable provides over 69 spacious, airy, rubber-matted stalls, a large outdoor all-weather footing show arena, a permanent dressage arena, two indoor arenas, all-weather turnout paddocks, hunt field and a cross-country course through 120 acres of woods, fields, and streams."

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What this Art History Major is Doing This Summer

"Art history major Olivia Lichens '15 is interning this summer in London at Sims Reed Gallery. The print she is measuring below is Yellow Vase by Roy Lichtenstein."

Olivia is attending this women's college.

Her Summer Internship in Washington, DC

"It's handled. Emily Kefalas ’17 is an intern in D.C. this summer in Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis' office. She's giving tours to constituents and attended the Congressional Baseball Game, where Davis was a catcher for the Republicans. “When I'm not working, I eat up the sights and specialties of D.C. faster than their lobster rolls. In one summer, I feel I've learned more about politics and government than in any other brief period of time in my life.""

Emily is attending Saint Mary's College located in Notre Dame, IN.

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Photo Credit: Rebecca Zenefski '10

Meet Environmental Studies Major, Carey Lang

“Environmental studies major, Carey Lang, who will graduate this winter, is spending her summer on campus as part of the Restoration Ecology Program. Each day, she spends hours surveying plant species near the stream that feeds into Upper Lake, which the program hopes to one day turn into a wetland to naturally remove fertilizer and pesticide traces.”

Learn more here.

The Wellesley Farmerettes

"The Wellesley Farmerettes, including botany professor Margaret Ferguson and members of the class of 1918, supported the war effort through food production in the vegetable gardens during World War I."

Learn more about this women's college here.

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Summer Internship for this Geology Major

"Geology major, Meg Sumner-Moore '15 sends in a postcard from her internship at the geology department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is working with a professor there to analyze local sources of naturally-occurring asbestos minerals."

Learn more here.

Learn more about Bryn Mawr College here.

Women’s College Quiz: Greta Gerwig Graduated from a Women’s College, Do You Know Which One?

Greta Gerwig studied English and philosophy graduating in 2006 from this women’s college in NYC.

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Where Can I Major in Accounting?

Meet this accounting major, Grace Harvey ’15, from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN

"Grace knew she only had a couple summers to invest in internships and wanted to choose wisely. Last summer she “sampled” accounting firms for 3-5 day internship previews, which led to a tax internship this summer at Grant Thornton in Chicago. Not only does she hope to work at GT Chicago one day, she’d like to play on the company softball team!"

Outcomes

"Saint Mary's accounting majors are well prepared to make an immediate impact in their positions upon graduation. The strong fundamentals learned in the classroom allow them to find valuable positions at large and small organizations.

Our accounting graduates are auditors, staff accountants, tax accountants, and controllers at companies like Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, Groupon, Inc., Vera Bradley, and Eli Lilly Company.

Accounting majors have pursued advanced degrees at Loyola University (Chicago), Villanova University, and the University of Notre Dame."

Learn more about majoring in accounting at this women's college.

A Love Letter to a Women's College

A Love Letter for Mount Holyoke.

Written by Elizabeth McManus and posted to her blog on May 15, 2014.

"It began with a trip visiting my aunties in some place called Amherst, Massachusetts, and my father speaking sternly to me over the formica kitchen counter.

“While we’re up North visiting them,” he said, “I want you to look at Mount Holyoke College.”

“Mount Holyoke? What is that?”

“It’s a women’s college,” my father replied. I think he even braced himself for my reply.

“A women’s college?” I spat. “Over my dead body!”

Famous last words.

A week later I stood ankle-deep in Massachusetts rain looking out at a campus that I had arrived at, determined to dislike. And yet, something about that iron-wrought gate, something about the clock tower lit even in the downpour, something about it began to change my mind. I’m not sure what sealed the deal for me: if it was the cultural, racial, and religious diversity I saw in the student body, or the kindness with which people helped my father and I navigate what then felt like the impossibility of ordering food in Blanchard, or the lecture I attended entitled “Harry Potter and the Power of Critical Social Thought.”

All I knew was that when I called my mother that night, I had to convince her that no, I really wasn’t kidding when I said Mount Holyoke was now my first choice school.

Every one of us who chose this school has our own story of why we chose this quirky, Hogwartsian oasis nestled in the Pioneer Valley. We came, some of us from just down the road and others, like myself, from thousands of miles away. We all came with suitcases full of wonder and trepidation. We brought with us the multitude of stories that were our childhoods."

Continue reading here!

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The STEM Career Path of Nancy Toure '14: Geology Major

As a STEM woman, I love calling attention to the connection between women's colleges and STEM careers. For starters, STEM women are taken seriously at a women’s college. In addition, colleges for women offer their students an environment that is supportive and research-based. And exciting internships, on and off campus are always available. I think women’s colleges have so much more to offer and this is why I encourage all STEM girls to consider attending a women’s college.

In this blog post, I'm sharing with you the story of Nancy Toure. Like many STEM girls today, she also was not thinking about attending a women's colleges. Now that she's graduated, she's so glad she did.

Here's how her story begins:

"As the first person in her family to apply to college, Nancy wasn’t sure about Bryn Mawr. In fact, women’s colleges weren’t even on her radar. But on visiting, she loved Bryn Mawr’s sense of community and the relationships with Haverford and Swarthmore (aka, the Tri-College Consortium). And Bryn Mawr hasn’t disappointed: “You meet lifelong friends at Bryn Mawr, and the deans and professors are there for you,” she says."

Continue reading here.

Bryn Mawr College offers many fields of study. While Nancy majored in geology, many other STEM programs are available as well as taking part in research as an undergraduate (like Nancy did).

Learn more about Bryn Mawr by first visiting their Web site, then schedule a campus visit.

Plants for Incoming First-Years at this Women’s College

Wellesley College has beautiful greenhouses. Every year the greenhouse staff tends to plants that are made available to first-years students. It’s their way of welcoming new students to campus!

New students can chose from jade plants, lucky bamboo, Moses-in-the-cradle, devil's ivy, and spider plants . . . how nice! Which plant would you chose?

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How to Get a Job in the '60s: Have Your Husband Incorporate You

Here’s a “look back” at how things were for women in the 1960s. The blog post, How to Get a Job in the '60s: Have Your Husband Incorporate You -- A tale of pregnancy, bureaucracy, and an extremely literal instance of corporate personhood was written by Rebecca J. Rosen and published on July 25, 2014.

"Susan Elliott grew up in St. Louis in the middle of the 20th century. In the '50s she headed off to Smith College, and she graduated in 1958.

"I went to the college counselor and said, 'There's got to be a job in this country—somewhere—that I do not now have to go to typing school for,' " she recounted to me.

In fact there was: At the time, IBM was actively recruiting women and they had recently opened up a regional training center back home in St. Louis. This was fortuitous. "In those days," she says, "you didn't dream of going to New York and getting an apartment with other women. You went home, if you weren't getting married.""

Continue reading here.

You also can view a YouTube video: Smith College Alumnae Profiles: Susan Elliott '58.

Is a Women's College Right for You?

The best way to answer this question is to schedule a campus tour!
 
After taking a campus tour, Saint Mary’s “gave me that ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling. That feeling you get when you know you’re home where you belong,” says Alex Kane '14.

 

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Women’s Colleges More Supportive of STEM

On May 13, 2014 by Lorraine Savage posted, "Women in STEM fields: Academics and Mentoring."

Highlights Include:

"Women’s colleges are more receptive to women in STEM majors and provide an atmosphere with less discrimination and peer pressure. They offer a supportive, nurturing, focused, research-based environment. They also prepare women to start a STEM career, obtain an advanced degree and arrange study opportunities and internships for women STEM students, reported Diane Propsner in “Why First-Year STEM Girls Attend Women’s Colleges” posted August 29, 2013, in Huffington Post.

In that article, Sue Turjman, a freshman studying medicine at all-women Mount St. Mary’s College, appreciates the mentoring she receives at the school. “I know that my professors will push me to my greatest ability, and it won’t matter that I’m a woman wanting a male-dominated profession… The Mount will give me an edge. I hope that going to a women’s college will even boost my grades without the little distractions,” said Turjman."

Continue reading here.

You also might be interested in this blog post of mine: "What These STEM College Women Are Doing This Summer."

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.

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Women’s Colleges Cultivate Leadership

Three UM-related women’s colleges cultivate leadership, by Nicole Burdakin

"Though greatly outnumbered by coeducational institutions in the U.S., women’s colleges produce a higher percentage of female graduates who go on to become political and business leaders.

“I chose to attend a women's college because of the leadership opportunities that it would provide. I knew it would be empowering to be surrounded by so many successful female students and leaders,” said Sarah Williams, a senior studying Elementary Education at Columbia College.

Williams found many opportunities to lead and to plan events at Columbia, including service projects both on campus and in the community alongside peer student groups and community groups. “My experience at a women's college showed me that I truly am a leader.” "

Continue reading . . .

Fine Arts Major Shares Her Story

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The Top Five Myths About Attending an All-Women's College

The other day I read a blog post on The Huffington Post written by Nora Turriago, a Student at Smith College:  The Top Five Myths About Attending an All-Women's College and wanted to share it here today.

Calling All STEM Girls . . . Super STEM Internships are Found at Women’s Colleges

If you're a STEM girl looking at colleges, here's yet another powerful reason for considering a women's college. 

In addition to top-notch academics and empowering learning environments, colleges for women provide their students with lots of opportunity, including getting hands-on research experience. 

In my recent Huffington Post blog post, I blogged about the summer internships STEM students from various women’s colleges are enjoying. Below is one of the student stories.

Mariem Ayadi '16 is an engineering and computer science major at Smith College, Northampton, MA.

Photo Credit: The Database Systems and Information Management (DIMA) Technische Universität Berlin

Photo Caption: After two consecutive internships at KAYAK software, Mariem's interest in computer science has grown tremendously. This summer, she decided to try out the research field. Thanks to the Smith College PRAXIS grant, Mariem is currently in Berlin, Germany. Smith College's Praxis program provides an opportunity for every Smith student to undertake an internship funded by the college. She joined the Database Systems and Information Management (DIMA) group at the Technical University of Berlin. Mariem is working among the Stratophere (soon to be renamed Flink) team. The project is an open source big data analytics platform that recently joined the Apache Software Foundation. In the beginning of June, thanks to the Google for Education, Women in Tech Conference and Travel Grants, Mariem was offered the opportunity to attend DevoxxUK, a major Java programming conference in London.

Other student summer STEM internships referenced in my blog post include:

• Lia Poulos '16 -- a physics and computer science major at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
• Kate Bussey '15 -- a chemistry major at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN
• Casandra Conigliaro '15 -- a mathematics major at Alverno College, Milwaukee, WI
• Shacora Rorie '16 -- a biology major at Bennett College, Greensboro, NC
• Caitlin Kent '15 -- a biology and chemistry major at the University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT
• Paige Atkins '15 -- a biology major at Brenau University Women's College, Gainesville, GA
• Najja Ellis '15 -- a mathematics and electrical engineering major at Spelman College, Atlanta, GA
• Rebecca Rubinstein '15 -- a biology and Spanish major at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
• Mary Kate Hussey '15 -- a chemistry major at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN
• Lorita Agu '15 -- a biochemistry major at Converse College, Spartanburg, SC
• Ning Xie '15 -- a computer science major at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
• Mackenzie Beyer '15 -- a chemistry and forensic science major at Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA
• Tinodaishe Antoinette Mandebvu '16 -- a biochemistry major and business administration minor at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN
• Brittany Dunkerly '15 -- a biology major at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Baltimore, MD

To learn about these summer STEM internships, continue reading here.

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Project Runway: Dom Gratuated from a Women's College

Learn more about Dom's alma mater, Moore College of Art & Design located in Philadelphia, PA. Or read a Huffington Post blog post I wrote, Project Runway Season 12 Winner Dom Offers College Advice to Women Interested in Fashion Design.

You also can purchase a book about Moore College.

Book Description:

"For more than 160 years, Moore College of Art & Design, the nation’s first and only visual arts college for women, has led the way in educating women for careers in art and design. Moore began in 1848 as the Philadelphia School of Design for Women when philanthropist Sarah Peter founded the school to educate women in the design arts and provide opportunities for employment. The first students worked in the textile, wallpaper, and other factories of Philadelphia’s industrial boom. The school’s influence on early-American art and design was realized by members of the Red Rose Girls and the Philadelphia Ten. Other Moore graduates include the first women to design a United States postage stamp, to master the art of mezzotype, to serve as art director of an American advertising agency, and to design fabric for an automobile interior. This innovation and influence continues today through Moore’s bachelor of fine arts degree for women, graduate and continuing education programs, and the Galleries at Moore."

Photo of Physics Students Testing the Ignition of a Car in the 1920s . . . Guess Which Women’s College They Attend

I'll give you a hint. The college is located in Massachusetts. Click here for the answer.