"Of the 10 most diverse liberal arts colleges on this list, five of them are all women’s colleges (Agnes Scott, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Smith, and Mount Holyoke). This trend may seem surprising, but it is supported by these school’s founding ideologies. Women’s colleges were created to educate people excluded from the ivory tower, and although this initially meant women, administrators applied the same inclusive attitude to admitting minorities."

At Mount Holyoke, programs such as The Lynk allow students to connect their academic work with practical applications. In addition to a liberal education, experiential learning through internships, research, community-based projects, and more offer high-impact experiences for students, giving them a leading edge in a competitive world. In a recent interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Carol Geary Schneider '67 explains how there's a new design for learning now, and there's evidence it works:

We look forward to having the next class of ambitious, fearless changemakers join us this fall!

Mount Holyoke's Glee Club and Chamber Singers were recently honored with an invitation to perform at the prestigious American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conference which will be taking place in Boston In February 2016. Led by Director of Choral Ensembles and Lecturer in Music Lindsay Pope '07, the two groups were among a total of only 15 ensembles selected for this honor. Pope shared with us why she chose MHC and how she is now trying to change the way women's choirs are perceived in our society:

I did not intend to go to a women's college. In fact, I was quite resistant to the idea. However, when I was participating in campus overnights at prospective colleges, I found that I loved the students I met at Mount Holyoke the most, because they both challenged and affirmed my individuality. During that overnight, I felt like I actually made friends, and I also felt that those friends I made were very different from anyone I had grown up around in homogeneous suburbia. I didn't realize it then, but it was actually the women's college component that I loved most. I loved being around a diverse set of students who celebrated each other for their differences, their passions, and their intellect.

"My Mount Holyoke education helped me recognize and challenge sexism and gender discrimination, to work to change the culture in finance."

On March 3, 2015, Sweet Briar College—a women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Virginia—announced that it would be closing at the end of the summer, due to financial difficulties. Among the outraged alumnae who set out to "Save Sweet Briar" was popular blogger, Fashion Fois Gras, who wrote this post about her experience in attending Sweet Briar as an undergraduate.

Which was not unlike mine.

You see, like Emily, I'd never intended to select an all-women's college based in rural, Western Massachusetts (a campus, might I add, which has been ranked as one of Princeton Review's "Most Beautiful College Campuses" for more years than I can remember).

Later, when I worked in the Admissions office as a tour guide and Admissions Fellow at Mount Holyoke, I was asked by students and parents alike: "How did you choose Mount Holyoke?"And I'd smile, because I hadn't chosen Mount Holyoke—it had chosen me...

Mount Holyoke College’s Model United Nations team earned top honors in national competition this year, landing among the top 25 schools overall for the first time in the group’s history. The MHC team was ranked third among liberal arts colleges and the number-one women’s college in the United States. Many of the other contestants were from much larger institutions, including several Ivy League schools.

Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University, wrote about the importance of women's colleges in the Huffington Post:

In response to the recent decision by Sweet Briar College to close its doors, an op-ed posted by the New York Times states that, "The popular idea that single-sex education benefits women comes from anecdotes about female leaders who were educated in an era when elite colleges did not admit them."

While the debate on the relevancy of a single-sex institution continues, we at Mount Holyoke disagree. Mount Holyoke women are better prepared to face the future with confidence--boldly and fearlessly. Comments to the article show that many feel the same.

In response to the news of Sweet Briar College's closing, Carol Geary Schneider '67, President of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, writes: