The website CollegeChoice.net has published its rankings of the Best Colleges and Universities for Women. According to the methodology posted on the website, the ranking “accentuates universities that provide exceptional academic programs and thorough support services for women and individuals passionate about gender equality. We ranked the schools according to affordability, financial aid awarded, female student satisfaction, return on investment, and academic reputation.”
The rankings come out very similar to those for the best national research universities published by U.S. News & World Report. The top five colleges and universities for women according to CollegeChoice are Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and MIT.
Wellesley College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution for women in Massachusetts, was ranked ninth in the CollegeChoice rankings. It is the only educational institution on the CollegeChoice list of the 20 best colleges and universities for women that is not a large research university. This apparent bias in favor of large universities brings the methodology of the selections into question.
One surprise on the list is Elon University in North Carolina, which ranks 24th on the CollegeChoice list. Elon was commended for its Sexual and Relationship Violence Awareness and Response program. CollegeChoice states that the program is “a comprehensive intervention, response and support strategy to address acts of interpersonal violence.” Elon is ranked as the No. 1 regional university in the South by U.S. News & World Report.