Each year, seniors carefully evaluate the qualities of the colleges they aspire to attend. They consider location, class size, campus culture and more in hopes of finding the perfect college for them. Between liberal arts colleges and large research universities, all-women’s colleges offer a unique atmosphere along with strong academics.

There are 31 all-women’s colleges in the United States, five of which are located in Massachusetts. According to data from Naviance, the high school sends nearly 20 students to all-women’s colleges each year, and many staff members have attended such institutions as well. Students and staff who chose to attend often said that they were drawn to the uplifting environments.

Chemistry teacher Julia Speyer attended Wellesley College before teaching at the high school. While she had initial doubts about attending an all-women’s college, she said that when she got there, the culture was tremendously welcoming.

“At Wellesley, you’re going down the paths, down the sidewalks and you pass by somebody, you look at each other, and you smile,” Speyer said. “You don’t know them; you’re just like, ‘We’re here together in this place. We are two human beings.’”

Chloe Jean, who will attend Simmons University in the fall to play soccer, said she also anticipates the environment to be encouraging and empowering.

“I think without the presence of men, it leaves more space for women to uplift each other and support each other,” Jean said. “[I look forward to] getting to know people with similar interests and having a lot of space for feminism, which is really cool.”

Speyer said it was common for freshmen at all-women’s colleges after attending co-ed high schools to feel uncertain about entering an all-female environment. However, she said Wellesley opened her views to how subtle gender norms can influence women.

“When I was in [high] school it was very rare for women to be in physics or chemistry, or to be the class president or in any of those leadership roles,” Speyer said. “It wasn’t unheard of, but, subconsciously, if what you see around you is men doing it, maybe you don’t see yourself that way. So I think that was a really big benefit, being at a women’s college, because all of those roles had to be a woman.”

Many who attend all-women’s colleges do not consider the gendered aspect, such as senior Elin Lindgren-Palm, who said she is going to Mount Holyoke College to play soccer and lacrosse.

“I chose to go for soccer because that’s where I could play soccer. I didn’t really think about the women’s college aspect of it,” Lindgren-Palm said.

According to Speyer, when she was entering college, there was unspoken pressure to trailblaze against traditional gender norms. Being a teacher, at the time, felt like a traditionally female-dominated role, but she entered teaching because she believes expectations should not discourage those from doing what they love.

“Everybody should be able to do the profession that calls to them,” Speyer said. “There’s pressure to break down barriers or pressure to make money or pressure from your family; there’s those kinds of messaging in lots of different ways.”

Lindgren-Palm said she is excited for her upcoming fall at Mount Holyoke and the opportunity to connect across the community.

“I’m looking forward to being able to continue academics with sports,” Lindgren-Palm said. “As for the social scene, I’m looking forward to being right next to UMass [Amherst]. So even though it’s an all-women’s college, I’m going to get a lot of different people in the vicinity.”

Ultimately, Speyer said students should not shy away from all-women’s colleges because, amidst change, they provide unique opportunities.

“I would encourage people to look at women’s colleges because I think, as much progress has been made, now we’re sort of backsliding. So I think there’s still that role of all the opportunities [at all women’s colleges],” Speyer said. “Things that you don’t even see yourself doing, you might find you do.”