Pt. 1. The historical background of women's education in four liberal arts colleges. "Consecrated" to the "ideal of true womanhood": Wells College's beginnings ; "Ladies on the scene": women enter Middlebury College ; "Free from the drawbacks ... observed in co-education": the coordinate college, William Smith ; Progress and setbacks: women students' experiences at three colleges, 1915-1965 ; Women's struggle for equality continues: the story of Kirkland College
Pt. 2. The single-sex versus coeducation debate: experiences of women students at Wells, Middlebury, William Smith, and Hamilton Colleges. Separate or together? Myths, facts, and research on how girls and women should be educated ; The class of '88 enters college ; College experiences and changes in attitudes and aspirations of the class of '88 ; Alumnae's experiences and the four colleges in the 1990s ; Conclusion: The future of separatism.