I do not like doing group assignments at all. And working in groups of all women makes it even worse (FYI I am female)!

In the fall of 2010, I will be returning to university as a mature student. I can pass for around 24 years old.

Why do I hate working in group assignments with other women? In fall of 2008, I was in a female dominated program and the girls/women were very catty, immature, mean, and loved to gossip (and bad mouth each other). It was like being trapped in junior high school! I couldn't believe how utterly mean and cruel the way some of these girls/women were behaving towards each other.

In one class, the instructor choose our group members. Well this didn't go over too well with some of the younger students. They would say out loud "I don't want to be in a group with her!". And often the person(s) that they didn't want in their group they hardly knew at all. I even receive some of it directed towards myself, I had the choice of joining one group or the other. As I turned my back away from the group I didn't choose to go with, I over heard a girl that was 19 years old say "I am glad she didn't choose our group!". I felt so low that day I just wanted to crawl into a hole.

Those girls/women should want to have me in their groups since I am hard working and get straight A's with a GPA of 3,8 out of 4.

How do I not let what these girls/women get the best of me with their maladaptive behaviors?

I have been told such things as you are there to learn and to ignore these mean people.

But I get so easily overwhelmed by their insensitive and rude remarks that I cannot focus on learning. I fall apart emotionally.

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Does anyone have advice, suggestions, comments, tips...etc on how to deal with girls/women that behave catty, immature, mean, and love to gossip when doing group assignments?