The shocked, yet intrigued look is well known to those who attend an all women’s college these days. Questions are thrown everywhere when you say that “Yes, I do actually like it. And no it is not an inconvenience.” While attending Agnes Scott, or any of the other plethora of all women’s colleges across the country, and although it may seem like a confusing concept to some, the students are the ones that see just how incredible it can be.
The single-sex colleges in the United States are rapidly disappearing or becoming co-ed to combat some of the backlash they have received in the past. Yet it has been proven by multiple studies that girls and women do better in single sex environments. This is something that many Agnes students whole-heartedly agree with.
“Female-centered environments are very empowering.” – Jameelah Julien, 2020
People are often confused about why someone would purposefully put themselves in an all-female institution, and the answer is multi-fold in many cases. It may be because women are more comfortable without men in the classroom because they feel that they are often treated unfairly in terms of being chosen as leaders or getting their questions answered. Or it could be that they have noticed that the alumni network is much more tight-knit at that women’s college, leading to a higher chance of getting a job out of college. These are just the beginning of the list of reasons.
Women’s colleges also tend to foster a much more personal connection between the students and faculty. At such a small school like Agnes, it is easy to get to know your professors extremely well. They will probably know where you are from, where you went to school, and your pet turtle’s name by the end of sophomore year, leading to the opportunity for your professors to know exactly what you want to do after graduation and do everything they can to help you get there.
Female friendships are always something that students at Agnes Scott always make sure to mention to prospective students, and alumnae are always giving anecdotes about their college friends and roommates from their times on campus.
“There is an equal sense of empowerment and YAS QUEEN. I love it.” – Olivia Ancrum, 2020
Women’s colleges are getting rarer across the country, yet it is easy to see that we are in need of the women that graduate from these prestigious single-sex institutions; women like Zora Neale Hurston from Barnard College or Hillary Rodham Clinton from Wellesley College have been key players in the ever-changing intellectual and political world around us. These women would be proud of all the Scottie pride they see on campus today!