We’ll be on the east coast visiting colleges with our D in August. We have quite a lot of ground to cover, Connecticut, Wesleyan, Brandeis, Emerson, Clark and Bates. When it comes to the 5 colleges, my D probably fits Hampshire and Mount Holyoke best but that’s just a preconceived idea. She doesn’t like the idea of an all girls school but everyone says a visit may changer her mind. Amherst if a bit of a stretch but worth a look. Is it good to visit several since they’re all so close to each other? She’s interested in theatre/communications & rhetoric/psychology. More liberal views. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, Amherst, and UMass are all in line on Route 116 (south to north). MHC particularly is gorgeous–worth walking around even if you don’t have time for a formal tour. Probably 20 minutes from end to end, without stops.
When we made our first swing through that area, we got out and walked around at Mount Hoyoke and just drove through Hampshire, UMass, Smith and Amherst. (We did later go back for tours at Smith and Hampshire as well as MHC, though…) How about planning something similar, with the planned walks (or tours) at MHC and Hampshire? Then if you feel like it, get out at the others as well. But at last drive through them all… MHC and Hampshire are quite close to each other, like 15 minutes drive. They are also the more isolated campuses, so I definitely encourage you to drive through the towns of Amherst and Northampton so you’ll get a feel for what it’s like to go to college in the area.
You can do the 5-colleges and Wesleyan in one day if you’re not taking long guided tours. If you DO want to do tours, I recommend looking at the websites to see what hours they’re offered, and planning the order of visits that way.
I don’t know about the other colleges, by MHC has some hotel-like rooms you can rent on campus if you want to stay overnight. There’s also a decent hotel called D Suites between Hadley and Northampton on the other side if the river.
From your D’s interests and liberal-ness, I think you’re correct about MHC and Hampshire being more of a fit than Amherst. Of those schools, I’d rank then like this in terms of liberal-ness and artsiness:
From most to least-
Hampshire
Mount Holyoke
Wesleyan
Bates
Brandeis
Connecticut College
Amherst
I don’t know about Clark. And Emerson is really a very different sort of place… urban and spread out and not a typical college experience from what we saw. It was on my D’s early list (for theatre) but she decided she really wanted a traditional liberal arts college…
Are you going in late August when there’ll be students about, or earlier?
Have a great trip!
thank you both! staceyneil, we’re going in late August into the first week of September. I’ve already started reaching out to the admissions offices to see about possible tours and visits during those weeks. I know it’s when classes are just getting back but so far, everyone has been open to us coming at that time. Thanks for your thoughts on the school rankings also, much appreciated!
Deb
@igitur, if at all possible I’d urge you to visit when school is in session. For New England Colleges that pretty much means September. Summer can be a strange time to visit, as your impression can be skewed by whatever group is using the campus, or you can end up visitiing when the college is studentless, and therefore lifeless feeling. I was at the same college campus twice in one summer (one of the schools on your list.) The first time it was in the middle of the school’s dance festival. The other when the school was hosting some sort of science consortium. I’ll leave you to fill in the blanks as to the difference in the populations, but suffice it to say both made a strong impression and neither would have given an accurate and balanced impression as to the normal year round school population.
Deb,
Early September is a fine time to visit. There will be students on campus and classes in session, and that’s what you want. As Sue22 said, summer is really the worst time to visit. You could certainly check each school’s calendar to see when students arrive: I know at MHC class begins Sept 3, and students trickle in for several days before that. Sounds like a great trip: have fun and good luck!
^ Ooops. I gave you last year’s dates. Sorry. MHC’s classes don’t start until Sept 9th this year. Bummer. First year students will be arriving Sept 2, though. So there may be at least a few students around!
As a five college student, I would think that Smith would be much more similar to Hampshire than Mount Holyoke. Smith has a very artsy/liberal reputation, whereas Mount Holyoke, in comparison, is considered preppier and more conventionally “girly.” I would definitely think Smith is worth a look, and Northampton would be a lovely place to stop for lunch or dinner.
My daughter attends MHC and it’s definitely not preppy and girly. It is very liberal and artsy, with a strong social justice and alternative vibe. There are certainly subsets of more conservative students, e.g. the equestrian set, but overall I would not say it is more conservative, or less liberal/artsy than Smith.