Women's Colleges and Economic Diversity "Colleges Show Uneven Effort to Enroll Poor" (front page, May 31) doesn't mention a sector of higher education that has a proud story to tell about educational access. Women's colleges like Smith succeed at enrolling an economically diverse student body to a greater extent than many of their peers. At Smith, 25 percent of students come from families eligible for federal Pell grants. Smith and other women's colleges excel in recruiting and retaining an economically diverse student body, motivating a significant proportion of those students to pursue study in critical fields like science and engineering, and preparing them for advanced and professional study. Thomas Jefferson said the goal of American education is to nurture the "natural aristocracy of talent and virtue." Smith and its peers embody this ideal. CAROL T. CHRIST President, Smith College Northampton, Mass., June 6, 2013