The questions have confounded admission officials at women’s colleges in recent years.

Should transgender women be allowed to apply? If so, how far along into the gender transition process must an applicant be to be recognized as a woman?

After a year of soul searching, Smith College this weekend became the latest of the prestigious women’s colleges to come around to a sensible conclusion. Starting this fall, transgender women may apply. All they have to do is note on the application form that they are women. Students who enroll as women and later come out as transgender men will be welcome to stay at Smith.

Image Calliope Wong Credit... Jessica Hill/Associated Press

“We had lots of really wonderful and interesting discussions,” Kathleen McCartney, the president of Smith College, said in an interview. “We came to the collective decision that trans women are women and belong at Smith.” Smith, a liberal arts college in Massachusetts, became the seventh well-known women’s college in recent months to have revised its admission policies in order to welcome transgender women. Others, including Barnard College in Manhattan, are considering similar changes.