"For me, I have more confidence in my opinion,and I'm not afraid of speaking it," Courtney E.Ellis'00, a graduate of the Memphis school, says.

Thousands of miles away, in Dedham,Massachusetts, Lauren E. Brandt '01, reportssimilar experiences at Ursuline Academy, where shegraduated valedictorian of her class.

I grew a lot in that environment," Brandt saysof her time at Ursuline Academy. "It definitelyhelped my self-esteem."

Brandt adds that being in an all-femaleclassroom lent a sense of community to the day today classroom experience.

"Everyone knew what we were going through," shesays.

"We all had similar experiences."

Lewis says that in her own time at Winsor, sheforged friendships that are typical of those atthe most successful women's schools--and nearlyirreplaceable in co-ed classrooms. She says that anelement of closeness eludes women outside of thesame-sex educational system.

"I actually believe that the quality offriendships among girls at girls' schools isuniquely valuable," McGrath says. "It's realcloseness versus competition."

While the social competitiveness McGrathdescribes may not be present in women's schools, acompetitive academic attitude remains. Studentswho attended all-women's schools before arrivingat Harvard say they appreciated the opportunity toexcel in academic fields, especially those oftendominated by male students.

"I was encouraged to take classes in math andscience that I might not have been at a differentschool," says M. Clariss Martinez '99-'98, whoattended the Holten-Arms School in Bethesda,Maryland for six years.

Yet St. Mary's graduate Olivia E. Ralston '99,a Crimson editor, takes issue with the perceptionthat single-sex education changes the way womenperform in an academic setting. Ralston says thatalthough attending a women's school provided herwith a quality education, academic achievementswere not laid out before her.

"I'd like to think that what I did in middleschool and high school was due to my ownmerits--not because there weren't any guys, saysRalston.

But there are some differences in the same-sexclassroom that can breed academic skill andconfidence, according to students. As Martineznotes, single-sex education provides inspiringrole models for young women that are missing fromother secondary schools.

"We had a lot of speakers who were female,"says Martinez of the guests who would address herand her classmates as "future female leaders." Martinez says that positive reinforcement waspalpable. "There was definitely that emphasis,'she says. "I'm tempted to say that because myschool was all-girls it wasn't cutthroat andcompetitive."

Going Co-ed