Don't dismiss a single-sex college

Originally Published in The Hindustan Times Education Supplement

As more and more students become interested in liberal arts colleges abroad, many discover that some of best options in the US are single-sex colleges for women only. Often the mere suggestion of such a learning environment evokes a strong “no” response from parents and students alike. “The real world is co-ed,” some parents assert. Or “it doesn’t seem normal to study without boys around,” female applicants will argue. Oftentimes, however these reactions are rooted in an outdated understanding of single-sex education, which implies that women will not be challenged enough for the “real-world” at a women’s college. Within this reasoning the fallacies are obvious – 1. Women cannot challenge each other 2. Women need to be ‘protected’ from learning environments that are infused with male aggression. 3. Women-only education is not as good as co-ed education.

If these are the fallacies, below are some facts I learned at a recent event hosted by Mount Holyoke College, the first of the Seven Sister institutions which were set up as counterparts to then all-male Ivy League colleges. Besides Mount Holyoke, these Seven Sisters include: Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Radcliffe College, Smith College,  Vassar College and Wellesley College. Of these, all but two are still women’s colleges – Vassar is now co-educational and Radcliffe is a part of Harvard.

Fact no. 1 -- Women’s colleges offer environments where women can become stronger, not weaker. The Mount Holyoke College “Shakti” workshop was held in Mumbai for girls studying in 10^th-12^th grades. As College President, Sonya Stephens explained, the workshop offers young women a space to build confidence in their aspiration. Over two days the girls were able to explore the concept of women’s leadership, interact with women leaders as role models and engage in exercises and activities that help them conceive and articulate their own understanding and goals of leadership. In one unique exercise girls broke up into pairs and worked with mentors to develop personal pitches that they could use to represent themselves in any situation. Each pitch ended with a request for either further contact, an introduction, an interview or something else of value to help the student develop a relationship or network.

This is clearly an example of women pushing the boundaries of other women in ways that help them develop and grow.

Fact no. 2 --Women’s colleges prepare students for all types of challenges in life. Like co-ed colleges, all women’s colleges are not created equal. Each has a unique mission and history, which guide administrative and academic initiatives. Some take a very academic approach to the liberal arts, whereas Mount Holyoke believes in putting liberal arts learning into action through its a curriculum to careers program.

Focus areas and priorities at each college ensures that different women’s colleges as well as co-ed liberal arts colleges vary in the intensity and direction of their learning environment. You cannot assume that women’s colleges are less competitive.

Fact no. 3 - Women’s colleges offer environments where students can develop the skills to contribute and lead change in any area, not just those that impact other women. All of the Mount Holyoke college administration with whom I spoke emphasized strengths of the college and its programs in terms of how they develop women into leaders for any cause and in any geography. As an institution committed to a global outlook (the first international student came to their campus in 1839)n Mount Holyoke boasts of its alumni’s achievements across a wide range of industries, initiatives and areas. The line up of alumni speakers included activists, journalists, artists and politicians who have transcended a ‘female’ or an ‘Indian’ tag.

Ultimately any young woman who chooses to attend a single-sex institution or a co-ed institution is making an unconventional choice from the outset. Maybe this choice is not made because the college is single-sex, maybe the college is the right fit for the student in spite of it being for women only. But once you have 2000 students together who have the right attitude and spirit to make the choice, for their own reasons, the institution becomes a very special place where meaningful things happen.

So if you’re looking for a top-notch liberal arts college experience, the next time a single-sex college comes across your radar, don’t dismiss it out of hand. Evaluate at it as you would any other liberal arts college and you may be surprised what rises to the top of your list.