Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term
coed
"They welcomed the opportunity to “act out” roles as university coeds and hostesses for our parties."
J'ai une idée de quoi il s'agit mais je ne trouve pas la bonne formulation en français. Merci pour vos suggestions.
| 4 | étudiante (cf. ci-dessous) |
Jordane Boury
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| 3 +1 | étudiante d'une université mixte |
Syllab (X)
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| 4 | étudiantes universitaires |
Diantha Guessous
|
| 3 | copines de fac |
Platary (X)
|
| 3 | co-étudiants |
a05
|
| 3 | étudiants et étudiantes de classes mixtes |
Raynald Adam (X)
|
Non-PRO (1): Diantha Guessous
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Proposed translations
France
Engineer, marketer and translator
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, Italian to French, French
étudiante (cf. ci-dessous)
Elles étaient enthousiastes à l'idée de jouer à la fois les étudiantes et les hôtesses de (nos) soirées.
étudiante d'une université mixte
co-ed (Br)
co-ed (Am)
co-ed [keu/ed]
adjective
abbreviation of coeducational
noun
1. (abbreviation of coeducational student)étudiante d'une université mixte américaine
2. (abbreviation of coeducational school)école mixte britannique
(c) Larousse.
| agree |
Jonathan MacKerron
: nowadays simply means "female college student"
1 hr
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Thank you Jonathan.
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copines de fac
co-étudiants
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Note added at 22 mins (2006-10-30 17:52:56 GMT)
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ou co-étudiantes, le cas echéant
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Note added at 42 mins (2006-10-30 18:12:18 GMT)
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My understanding is fairly simple -- they played the role of someone's fellow students from the same university though that was not the case--- depends on the context.
| "co-étudiantes" serait le plus adapté mais ça me semble étrange... |
United States
FR-EN Translator, 30 years of experience
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English
étudiantes universitaires
"Student" is gender-neutral, unlie the case in French. I imagine that when women began entering formerly all-male institutions, a need was felt for a word that would differentiate them from the men students.
Colleagues correct me if need be, but its usage is on the informal side. Also, in the past, has sometimes been used with a rather negative connotation(silly, frivolous, more interested in fun and parties than studies, etc.)
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Note added at 45 mins (2006-10-30 18:15:17 GMT)
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Sorry, I didn't include "des institutions mixtes". I probably should have for clarity, though it does indeed sound heavy. I guess I assumed that for a Francophone readership, coeducation in higher ed would be more of a given than in the US.
étudiants et étudiantes de classes mixtes
Par ailleurs, je vois mal comment on peut «jouer le rôle» d'étudiant(e)s de classes mixtes.
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Note added at 43 mins (2006-10-30 18:13:40 GMT)
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Dans ce cas, préconisons la simplicité :
«Elles ont été heureuses d'agir comme hôtesses lors de nos réceptions.»
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Note added at 51 mins (2006-10-30 18:21:47 GMT)
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Si elles n'appartiennent pas au campus, il ne sert à rien de leur chercher un qualificatif estudiantin.
| Raynald, il s'agit de personnes de sexe féminin qui n'appartiennent pas au campus mais sont engagées comme hôtesses dans des soirées d'étudiants. |
Discussion
La traduction qui me vient à l'esprit pour l'instant est "étudiantes"...