In a recent article comparing the ratio of men to women in the academic and professional world, the often-controversial magazine, Cosmopolitan, ranked Skidmore as #10 on a list of “Worst Colleges To Meet Single Guys.” To which we say: thanks for the reminder.
At Skidmore, almost all of us are aware of the “60:40”—the ratio of women to men—before we arrive here, if not immediately afterwards. In your first 100-level class, you look around at the assembly hall full of students. “It won’t be so bad,” you tell yourself. “There are plenty of guys here.”
As you continue your career, class sizes start to shrink and shrink. As your major becomes more concentrated, you notice that your Advanced Mammalian Physiology courses are starting to consist of one token dude (who’s like your brother at this point). You turn to going out with friends on the weekends as your sole source of male-female interaction. Every weekend you hope you’ll meet “the one” and you’re usually disappointed because every other girl is doing the same exact thing. You can’t win, can you?
Look, rankings are stupid, and this ranking tells us nothing of the quality of the education you’re receiving at Skidmore or of the lifelong friends you’ll meet here. Cosmo isn’t wrong, though; Skidmore can seem like a wasteland for single dudes. What they failed to mention, however, are that the single dudes you do find usually fall into one the following categories:
- They secretly have a girlfriend.
- They secretly have seven girlfriends.
- They’re currently hooking up with one of your friends.
- They’re currently hooking up with seven of your friends.
- They’re not “looking for a relationship right now.”
- They use that line to justify ignoring even the most platonic of texts. (Seriously, dude, I just need the assignment for next class.)
- They’re only going to contact you at three in the morning… on a Friday night… outside of DA’s.
Maybe I’m just being bitter (actually, I know I’m being bitter), but after three years of the Skidmore single scene, it’s hard not to feel a little hopeless. It doesn’t help that a lot of Skidmore students—both male and female—are serial daters. You know what I mean; they break up with a long-time girlfriend and then are single for less than a month before they’re “Facebook official” with someone else. Sheesh.
Regardless of the dating scene, Skidmore is an AMAZING school, and freshmen—especially incoming freshmen—should never be deterred from Skidmore by the student body ratio. Seriously. The only thing worse than this ranking is that, on the same page, they ranked the worse careers for a woman to find a man. Sorry potential nurses, you want to save lives? Good luck following your dreams and being alone in the world. (At least, this is the message that Cosmo seems to be sending.) There may be tiny inklings of truth in these rankings, but it’s all quite silly when you look at the big picture. We’re all independent, free-thinking women who are capable of making life decisions that make US happy, not because we think it will increase our chances of finding suitable suitors. (Seriously, Cosmo, what is this? 1930?)
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And honestly, single guys ARE out there, whether you’re looking for a quick fling or the real deal. They’re usually where you least expect them. (I know how cliché that is, but it’s true!) If you’re really looking to find a guy on campus you need to make an effort and put yourself out there, and I don’t mean at Club Mine on a Saturday night. Join the Outing Club! Take a class in a different department. (Gov 101, anyone?) Speak up in class! Most importantly BE CONFIDENT. Not only will guys notice you, but you’ll also learn a lot and have a good time, too. Even if you don’t find “the one,” making the most of your college experience will help you to develop the most important relationship of all: the relationship you have with yourself.
Never let a silly ranking define you, especially not when it comes from a magazine that (and I’m not joking) once suggested putting your panties in the freezer before going out to get “an exciting chill in all the right places.” Excuse me, what?!
What did you think of Cosmo’s controversial article? Share your thoughts in the comments!