College - Women's Colleges

In this article we're going to discuss the benefits of going to

a women's college if in fact you are a woman. Men need not

apply.



Sadly, only 2.5% of all women attend women's colleges. What may

surprise you however is that they account for 24% of the United

States Congress membership and one-third of the board membership

of fortune 500 companies. Not too shabby.



The reason we even have women's colleges is because in the mid

1800s all male colleges refused to allow women to attend and

therefore they had no place to go and no chance for a higher

education.



So women opened up their own colleges. It wasn't

easy. They met with a lot of resistance. Those against these

colleges argued that they couldn't properly prepare women for

the difficult jobs that needed to be done. Also, it was believed

that because of a woman's biology, she wouldn't be able to

withstand the strain of a college education. Boy, were we a

backward people.



But supporters of the women's movement, and there were plenty of

them, made it so that a women's college became a reality and

since that time the graduates of these institutions have not

only succeeded but have excelled beyond anyone's expectations.



According to independent studies the following benefits to be

gained by attending a women's college have been reported.



1. Women are given the opportunity to participate more because

the class sizes are smaller. This creates a more positive

learning experience because of the individualized attention that

the women get.



2. Women who attend these colleges have a higher level of self

esteem. It is reported that 9 out of 10 women give their

colleges high marks for developing their self confidence and

preparing them for the outside world.



3. According to surveys, women who attend a women's college get

more out of the college experience than women who go to mixed

schools and develop academically at a faster pace.



4. It is a fact that women who attend a women's college are more

likely to graduate than women who go to a mixed school. They are

also more likely to earn advanced Master and Doctorate degrees.



5. Women also earn more after graduation because they usually

choose traditionally male careers. They graduate at a higher

rate than the women who go to mixed schools and are thus more

likely to get these higher paying jobs.



Ironically, the original purpose of a women's college was simply

to train women to be better wives and mothers. But as women

became more educated the roles of these colleges changed to

preparing them for exciting and rewarding careers alongside

their male counterparts.



Currently, there are 78 women's colleges in the United States

alone and colleges for women are popping up all over the world.

It may have one time been a man's world but with the existence

of women's colleges and the opportunities that women are now

afforded because of them, women have now taken their rightful

place right alongside their male counterparts.