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Originally Posted by alum
I certainly can't speak for the success of any women's colleges but as usual I have a couple of opinions.
I think part of the success of Wellesley is that it has always been loosely connected with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wellesley College (a stunning campus in its own right) is in a gorgeous Boston suburb with easy access to other colleges in the greater Boston area.
In terms of Mt. Holyoke and Smith, they are both member of the 5-College Consortium. Amherst and Hampshire Colleges and UMass Amherst make up the rest of the 5. There is a cross-registration agreement amongst the consortium
When I ws in college in the early '80s, Vassar had recently turned co-ed. A boy a couple of years ahead of me in prep school was one of the first male students at Vassar. W&L was undergoing the "Better Dead than Co-ed" debate. Not that Washington and Lee was ever on par with Hampden-Sydney in terms of student caliber, but they would not be the school they are today without the addition of women.
To be perfectly blunt (and when am I not?). H-SC is somewhat regarded as a men's finishing school. Instead of bringing your horse to college, you can bring your hunting dog and weapon. Still, they fill a niche for certain students.
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I know girls from Mount Holyoke and Smith and it amuses me no end because most women who go to those colleges go to escape typical college life, of which greek life is a big part...yet they're basically in one big sorority. Their traditions, rituals, things like that.
I had friends from high school who went to Wells College, a small all-womens college in Aurora, NY. They had to go co-ed and no one was happy about it. I visited them over spring break when they were back home and was wearing a letter hoodie. My friend steph looked at it and said 'eeeeuwww' and I just replied with, "um...your college is one giant sorority, I wouldn't be talking."
Wells couldn't survive without going co-ed, as much as it pained them to do so.
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