Seven Sisters (colleges)

Lore & Background

The name 'Seven Sisters' is a reference to the Greek myth of the Pleiades, goddesses immortalized as stars in the sky: Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope. These colleges were created in the 19th century to provide women with a high-quality liberal arts education comparable to that offered by the historically all-male Ivy League colleges. In 1915, Vassar President Henry Noble MacCracken called together Vassar, Wellesley, Smith, and Mount Holyoke to work together 'to deliver women opportunities for higher education that would improve the quality of life for the human family and that would put them on an equal footing with men in a democracy that was about to offer them the vote.' The success of this informal association led to the decision to establish a larger and more formal group in 1926. That year Bryn Mawr, Barnard, and Radcliffe were added and the group gained the name 'Seven Sisters' after the Pleiades.

Together, their aim was to address financial inequality with elite men's colleges, in particular, the need to raise endowments so faculty salaries could approach those at top male institutions. The group launched coordinated fundraising and public-awareness efforts to secure better support for women's higher education. Through 1935, the colleges continued collaborating on fundraising while also using their meetings to exchange ideas on broader academic and student-life issues.

Founding Mission & the Push for Parity

The Seven Sisters trace their origins to a 19th-century conviction that women deserved the same rigorous liberal arts education traditionally reserved for men at elite institutions. Pioneering educators such as Sarah Pierce, Catharine Beecher, and Mary Lyon laid the groundwork through female academies and seminaries in the early-to-mid 1800s. Beyond simply admitting women, these institutions deliberately hired female faculty and administrators, creating academic environments where women could lead as much as learn. Their founding charter was explicitly one of equivalence: to match the quality of education available at the historically all-male Ivy League schools.

From Informal Alliance to the Seven Sisters

The unifying challenge was financial. Endowments at women's colleges lagged far behind those at elite men's institutions, making it difficult to offer competitive faculty salaries.

The sisters launched joint fundraising campaigns and public-awareness drives to close that gap. Through 1935, their meetings doubled as forums for exchanging perspectives on undergraduate culture, governance structures, the role of religion in campus life, and even how students spent their leisure time. This blend of practical resource-sharing and intellectual cross-pollination set a collaborative tone that persists to this day.

A Geographic Tapestry of Consortiums

The seven institutions cluster across three Northeastern states—four in Massachusetts, two in New York, and one in Pennsylvania—and each has woven itself into a distinct web of academic partnerships. In western Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke and Smith belong to the Five College Consortium alongside Amherst, Hampshire, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Wellesley participates in the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, a 1995 creation now spanning 23 New England institutions, and permits students to cross-register at MIT, Babson, Brandeis, and Olin College of Engineering. In New York, Barnard maintains its identity as a women's undergraduate college while remaining affiliated with, yet legally and financially separate from, Columbia University; graduates attend both a Barnard commencement and a Columbia-wide ceremony, and their diplomas bear both names. In Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr anchors the Tri-College Consortium with Haverford and Swarthmore, all part of the broader Quaker Consortium that includes the University of Pennsylvania, and a merger between Bryn Mawr and Haverford was even explored at one point.

Living Legacy & the Seven College Conference

Despite these divergences, the group's shared DNA remains a powerful force for collaboration. The Seven College Conference, hosted on a rotating basis by one of the original member institutions, gathers senior administrators and faculty each year around a unifying theme.

Recent discussions have tackled the value of the Seven Sisters brand itself, as well as pressing questions of diversity, equity, and achievement. Radcliffe no longer takes part, and Vassar's identity has shifted considerably from its earlier women's-college roots, yet the members share enough common history and institutional character to keep the ongoing collaboration meaningful and productive. The Pleiades metaphor endures: seven distinct stars, each with its own light, yet forever recognized as part of the same constellation.

Reader's Guide

The Seven Sisters colleges continue to collaborate through the Seven College Conference, which is hosted annually on a rotating basis by one of the seven original member institutions and brings together senior administrators and faculty around a theme. Recent topics have included the value of the Seven Sisters brand and issues of diversity, equity, and achievement. Although Radcliffe no longer participates and some schools, such as Vassar, have evolved from being primarily women's institutions, they share enough common history and institutional character to make ongoing collaboration meaningful and productive. Four of the original Seven Sisters are in Massachusetts, two are in New York, and one is in Pennsylvania.

In Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College are part of the Five College Consortium with Amherst College, Hampshire College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Wellesley College is part of the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, established in 1995 and now comprising 23 institutions across New England. Wellesley College also allows students to cross-register with MIT, Babson College, Brandeis University, and the Olin College of Engineering. Radcliffe College shared a common and overlapping history with Harvard College from the time it was founded as 'the Harvard Annex' in 1879.

Harvard and Radcliffe integrated genders in 1977, but Radcliffe continued to be the sponsoring college for women at Harvard until the entities officially merged in 1999. In New York, Vassar College ultimately became co-educational in 1969 and remains independent. Barnard College was Columbia University's women's liberal arts undergraduate college until its all-male coordinate school Columbia College went co-ed in 1983.

Barnard continues to be a women's undergraduate college affiliated with (but financially, administratively, and legally separate from) Columbia. At graduation, students attend both a Barnard College commencement ceremony and a commencement ceremony that grants degrees to all students graduating from a Columbia-University-affiliated school. The diploma lists both Barnard College and Columbia University. In Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, along with Haverford College and Swarthmore College, make up the Tri-College Consortium, which belongs to the Quaker Consortium along with nearby University of Pennsylvania.

Did You Know?

• Radcliffe College was informally called 'The Harvard Annex' because Harvard professors repeated their lectures there until 1943.