The all-girl Advantage
We believe that a school FOR GIRLS is better than a school WITH girls.
We believe that academic excellence, leadership skills and confidence flourish best in an environment with a sole focus on empowering young women.
At Mother McAuley, you have the opportunity to create your own story, be yourself and discover new interests along the way.
At Mother McAuley, girls don't just sit in the audience. They take center stage in the classroom, science lab, playing field and theatre. Surrounded by positive role models and abundant avenues for personal growth and development, girls cultivate the leadership and confidence skills needed to pursue a world of endless opportunities.
“I love the idea of being at an all-girls school as I knew I would learn how to be more confident in myself.”
Brenna, Class of 2024
80%
of students report that most of their classes challenge them to their full academic potential
93%
of graduates say they were offered greater leadership opportunities than peers at co-ed schools
80%
of alumnae have held leadership positions since graduation
IT'S IN THE DATA
Recent research* reveals the strength in what McAuley has been providing for more than 60 years! Students in an all-girls learning environment are more likely to demonstrate:
- Greater academic engagement
- Higher confidence in mathematical ability and computer skills
- Higher SAT scores
- Greater interest in graduate school
- Greater interest in engineering careers
- Stronger predisposition towards co-curricular involvement
- Greater political engagement
*Source: Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University
Author(s): Tiffani Riggers-Piehl, Gloria Lim, Karen King
Institution: Higher Education Research Institute
Year of Study: 2018
A Mighty Foundation
A Mighty Foundation
Girls inherently learn differently than boys. The Mother McAuley academic program tailors instruction to girls’ learning styles, including experiential learning opportunities, peer collaboration, personalized instructor feedback, and authentic assessments.
An Eye to the Future
An Eye to the Future
Students interact with alumnae during the annual Career Day, year-long alumnae panels, classroom and extracurricular speakers, and more. The opportunity to see and hear from so many successful and driven women throughout their four years at McAuley only strengthens students' belief that they can accomplish any goal they set.
Fostering Community & Connection
Fostering Community & Connection
Once a young woman becomes a Mighty Mac, she joins a family of more than 29,000 alumnae. The friendships and kinship that our students and alumnae experience are like no other. These connections will be carried with you for a lifetime.
WOMEN IN ATHLETICS
Mother McAuley installed a new turf field in the summer of 2022. With the new field, our student athletes and student body have access to a safe, well-maintained, professional space, which had previously only been seen in all boys or co-ed schools. While we are celebrating 50 years of Title IX, equity in attention and facilities for women still have a long way to go. But as usual, McAuley is at the forefront of providing these essential opportunities to the young women of Chicagoland.
21
state championships
17 volleyball
3 water polo
1 basketball
50+
conference championships
2
national championships
50+
team and individual state appearances
WOMEN IN STEM
Graduates of girls’ schools are SIX TIMES more likely to consider majoring in MATH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY and THREE TIMES more likely to consider ENGINEERING compared to girls who attended co-ed schools.*
Girls' schools are leading the way in closing the gender gap in STEM. Students attending girls' schools experience higher levels of support from their classmates and teachers than do their peers at co-ed schools.
The reference of this data is Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College. UCLA. 2009
According to the most recent U.S. Census, only a quarter of women make up the STEM field. Yet, at Mother McAuley, 100% of the young women take four years of science. In fact, College Board’s Advanced Placement program awarded Mother McAuley with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award in 2020, 2021 and 2022 for our work toward equal gender representation, one of only 818 schools nationally recognized this past year.