this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2024
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I have a few daughters looking for science and engineering programs in the next few years. They're all scared to attend schools in states hostile towards women. I get that. I'm looking for recommendations for schools in states positive towards women that have good STEM programs.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I assume you are refering to the US without explicite writing it. But most European countries should be fine - especially Nordic countries.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

Default for bad stuff.. Europe/scandinavia is default for the good stuff

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 months ago (1 children)

University of Michigan. Ann Arbor is a hardcore dem city and in a state with abortion rights protected af

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I second Michigan! I live here, and the middle-state cities here are typically full of left-leaning young folks.

The farther north you go, though, the political leanings get worse. Definitely recommend mid & lower Michigan, though.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago

Buy the "Fiske Guide to Colleges". It lists hundreds of colleges in the US. You can look up by major, location, price, etc.

It also discusses things like social life, acceptance rate, and amenities.

I have 3 kids that are in or went to college. This was indispensable.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I apologize if this isn't the kind of comment that you're looking for...but what's wrong with the colleges local to you? Do you live in an unsafe area? It makes a hell of a lot more sense to go to a school with in state tuition rather than going across the country to a school with needlessly exorbitantly expensive out of state tuition.

Maybe I was just lucky in the state I grew up in.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

Any of the dozens of unis in California should be fine

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Universities with higher female student ratio are probably a safe bet, although fair warning your daughters will statistically have worse matches for a partner.

Source; went to a school of higher women pop, scored a gem.

Jokes aside though, simply aiming for the best school is a safe bet too.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Make sure to set out the financial implications of different states. E.g., the California unis might be good - but you're also dealing with out of state tuition.

And also look at the pipeline - I was interested in biology, but all of the people in the program were hyper competitive pre-medical students. And who wants to deal with that?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Is this American ? You don't say where. I'm not aware of any difference in the states here in Australia. But if so, maybe RMIT?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Not sure if it's implied by I'm assuming you are looking for American schools?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

What do you mean by "states hostile towards women"? What's going on there?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Texas, Florida, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma....

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

We are in Florida and the universities are fine, except for the loss of the New College (may RDS rot in hell for what he did to that school). But if they are interested in engineering they wouldn't have needed the free school.

If it's cool here, it's probably fine everywhere. Colleges are filled with kids from different places.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

No sarcasm. Is this a question you want an answer to?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Otherwise I wouldn't be asking.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

New Jersey has Rutgers, NJIT, and Stevens Institute of Technology. New Jersey in general is positive to women and all schools have programs in place to be inclusive to women in engineering.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

My daughter went to RIT and got a great education with zero harassment issues.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I'm sorry you live in a country like that.

Have you considered sending them abroad? I work at a university in Australia and it is actively encouraging female participants in STEM, to break any stereotypes traditional family may have taught them. I think all universities are.like that here.

We are partnered with a university in England and my understanding is they are the same.

You are also able to look at university rankings which cover diversity topics. We have just submitted our data for 2023, so expect new rankings to appear in a few months. Since the data is public, many websites use it for higher education rankings.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

BU is a good bet, sticker price is expensive but the financial aid is pretty decent if you can take advantage. I'd definitely recommend them picking a school somewhere they'd probably want to live after college, as getting employment in the same area you're going to school is much easier.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Check out Melbourne University if you live in Victoria.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I'd be looking more at interests and leaders in those interests if possible. Red States don't do much leading in anything relevant. It sucks to be looking at what one's life interests might be like at such a young age.

Personally, I'd be looking at who is closest to TSMC, Intel, Samsung, etc., and focus on getting into schools and programs that lead to semiconductor fabs. There is a lot of money and investment in that space.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Historically women's colleges are generally very empowering environments. I live in the southeast, and the ones nearby that come to mind are Salem College, Meredith College, and Hollins University. I think all of these are liberal arts, but Salem has a health leadership focus and is developing a strong STEM program to complement that. From personal experience, Salem provided an excellent experience for me and the other people I know who went there.

I know the SE probably isn't the location you're thinking of, but North Carolina has had democratic governors for years and years who are supportive of women's and lgbtq rights. Larger cities are generally more pleasant than the rural areas. Also the tech, science, and health fields in NC are vibrant and still growing.

Private colleges do come with a higher tuition, but scholarships are available if the students excel in academics and extra-curriculars. If they end up going out of state, the private school tuition wouldn't be that different than a state school charging out of state tuition. And to note, the private schools I mentioned are nonprofits, so they're not taking that money and pocketing it. They are held to a specific standard set by the IRS for nonprofits in general, as well as by the accreditation bodies for higher education.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately North Carolina's current abortion law is 12 weeks. That's unacceptable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

And thus, not amenable to women.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

73% upvotes.

The downvotes that are part of the 27%, what's your problem?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Downvoted it because OP didn't specify where in the world they were, therefore nobody can properly give a good answer. Recommending an overseas university is very different to recommending one from their country.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Fair, but they wrote "states" which immediately maked me think it's the US.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Women go to the same universities as men.

This isn't like shampoo, where the women's version is a seperate product.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Take a little time to read the whole question. They're asking about cities/states where their daughters can feel safe & empowered, as well as the fact that there is a good university, that likely shouldn't have a "frat bro" culture.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Aren’t women safe in all states?
It’s a bit hard to fathom as a European, so I’d love some knowledge if you’d share

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not only have many states removed the right to an abortion, some of them are starting to restrict access to abortion care even when failure to provide that care could lead to grave injury such as the loss of organs or fertiity.

While there is a federal law on the books that seems to require this care, a case challenging one such state law was ruled on by SCOTUS over procedural issues and it is not clear yet how the high court will decide on the substance of the issue.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

States that swing Republican have higher odds of abortions being unsafe

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Some states have pretty strict laws regarding abortions.

I assume that this is what the person is referring to.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

the Islamic State

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Think of the US like 50 countries in a trenchcoat, cosplaying as a single country. It's a crap shoot in a lot of ways.