"It's like the way men like to get together and go out and play golf," she says. "It's certainly been as strong as any of the other networks I have had."

But Corcoran adds that the networking at Radcliffe functions is not self-serving.

"It's more than helping someone get a job or references," she says. "It's about...finding kindred spirits who care about work and family issues or care about school funding or funding for the arts or educating young girls."

Bundles says that whether she identifies herself as a Harvard or a Radcliffe graduate is often a strategic calculation: Harvard when she wants to impress and establish credentials, Radcliffe for opening avenues of discussion.

"If you tell people you went to Harvard you can stop a conversation; if you tell people you went to Radcliffe you can start a conversation," she says. "People are intimidated if you went to Harvard, so if you're interested in communicating with people, you tell them you went to Radcliffe."

One field where the Radcliffe name is especially valuable is publishing, thanks to the Radcliffe Publishing Course. The six-week summer course, which is now in its 52nd year, trains 100 young college graduates for careers in the industry.

The New York Times recently called the course "the most celebrated summer program of its kind."

The publishing course boasts a 96 percent job placement rate and widespread recognition among publishers, says Director Lindy A. Hess.