This spring, the Women’s College Coalition asked Hardwick Day — a national survey company — to find out how graduates of women’s colleges felt about their experiences as undergraduates and how these experiences affected their lives. Then, they compared answers with women graduates of coed private colleges and large flagship universities. Alumnae, including Scripps women, were randomly selected to be surveyed. The results help make the case for the effectiveness of a women’s college education. Here are a few of the most significant findings:
A women’s college education…
- …creates leaders, communicators, and persuaders. Speaking out and speaking up — key components of leadership and civic engagement — are capacities actively developed at women’s colleges. Women’s college alumnae report more in-class experience with making presentations than their peers at other institutions and are more likely to gain leadership experience in student government and campus media.
- …develops critical skills for life and career. As studies repeatedly underscore the need for critical thinking, global knowledge, intercultural competence, and real-world abilities, women’s colleges surpass all public and private colleges in helping students learn to think analytically, bring social and historical perspective to issues, work as part of a team, write and speak effectively, make sound decisions, gain entry to a career, prepare for career change or advancement, and be politically and socially aware.
- …enables students to engage with top faculty and resources. Women’s college graduates attribute their success to interaction with “a high quality teaching-oriented faculty.” They report strong benefits from mentoring, small classes and personal interaction with professors. At women’s colleges, all of the resources, from sophisticated research equipment to preeminent athletics facilities to internship and fellowship funding, are focused on and available to women students.
- …proves its value over a lifetime. Graduating from a women’s college, versus a co-ed public or private college or university, significantly increases a woman’s chances of earning a graduate degree. Women’s college graduates succeed in entering a range of career fields and graduate programs, regardless of their undergraduate major. More than 95 percent of women’s college alumnae believe the financial investment in their education was worthwhile and that the intellectual and personal capacities they gained are still extremely important to them.
Please share this information with a young woman and let her know why she would benefit from a Scripps College education. You can also find more about the Hardwick Day survey by going to http://www.womenscolleges.org/news/what-matters.htm.