<p>As the title suggest, I'm interested in a comparison of academics at Smith, MHC, and Wellesley. I realize that, for the most part, anyone who answers this will only have indepth knowledge of one of these schools, so I'm cross-posing this at all three schools. However, I'd love to hear an assessment not only of your own school but also what you think of the other two, however biased that may be. </p>
<p>To get more specific: I'm interested primarily in the humanities, although I'm pretty undecided beyond that. Although I plan on trying a lot of different types of classes, if I had to guess, I'd say that at this point, I'll probably end up in the English and Poli Sci/Gov departments. I'm also interested in pursuing a language, although I'm not sure if I'll continue with my high school French or try something new. </p>
<p>I'd love to hear about specific departments, the rigor of your classes, accessibility of professors, and so on. What classes/professors have you particularly enjoyed or disliked? Have the majority of your classes/professors been good? Are there any cons to an education at any of theses institutions, any particular problems you've run into? I'm really interested in researching/working on projects with faculty members; I know Smith has some programs, like the Kahn Institute, that are set up to facilitate such interactions in your junior and senior year. Do MHC and Wellesley have anything similar?</p>
<p>I think you would do really well at Wellesley. Wellesley’s more popular majors include English and Political Science (we do not have a Government department) and all of our languages are very strong, especially French which has many opportunities for students to go abroad, including Wellesley-in-Aix, which has been mentioned in another thread. </p>
<p>Professors are all very accessible and often give out their cell phone and/or home phone numbers in case students need help, besides office hours and contacting through email and class time. I don’t think you can really say anything bad about professors at Wellesley; they are at the school to teach and to give their students more knowledge about the subjects they teach. Many professors hold extra study sessions before exams and some professors even hold office hours on the weekends to accommodate for everyone’s schedules! I really like the personal attention in all of my classes – my professors don’t only know me as a student in their class, they know what activities I’m involved with on and off campus, what other classes I am taking, etc. Some professors really become almost like friends of yours, especially if you end up taking more than one class with them. I think practically every semester I have been at Wellesley I have had at least one professor invite the class to their home for dinner or something like that. It’s really special and I don’t think I would have gotten that kind of attention if I had chosen to attend another school.</p>
<p>And yes, Wellesley has a multitude of research programs available. I do not know anything about the Kahn Institute at Smith so I cannot say anything about that. You can choose to do research with a faculty member if you wish; some people stay on for their entire times at Wellesley while others do a semester here and there - it’s up to you what you choose to do in college. </p>
<p>I think overall, and this is probably a very biased opinion, but I would say that the general feeling for academics between these three schools would be Wellesley then Smith then MHC with Wellesley being the best of the three. Granted, I never considered MHC when I was looking at colleges nor have I ever been there. Personally, my roommate from last year chose Wellesley over MHC when she was looking at schools, and I was accepted as a Smith STRIDE when I applied there. And by looking on these forums enough, I can say that you will get a good education no matter which of these schools you eventually attend so at least you have options for next year.</p>
<p>Have you visited each campus as well? Academics are, of course, very important and having said that, my D visited all the schools she initially wanted to apply to and discovered (much to our relief because who wants to end up on a campus that isn’t a good fit?) that two of them weren’t even a consideration for her after experiencing the atmosphere. It really matters. My suggestion is to absolutely consider the academics, but don’t discount your own experience of the campus culture.</p>
<p>I feel like with Wellesley it’s easier to meet and become friends with people outside of your college. From talking with some Smith girls at a sports event, I got the sense that they don’t see many guys on campus. At Wellesley you may not find guys everywhere, but it’s easier to get off campus and see them should you wish to do so.</p>
<p>It’s obvious that I’m biased, but out of all three schools, Wellesley is the best in academics. The language departments are particularly strong, and there are a diverse amount of English classes available. Political science in particular is popular. (After all, Clinton and Albright emerged from this institution, right?)</p>
<p>I’m not sure if this applies to the same for Smith and MHC, but at Wellesley you can also take classes at other schools, such as Babson/Harvard/MIT. While you may not choose to take classes here, the fact that there are options beyond Wellesley is awesome.</p>
<p>Smith and MHC are both in the five college consortium, which also includes Amherst, UMASS Amherst, and Hampshire. So they have something similar to what we have at Wellesley.</p>
<p>I have this exact same decision! Wellesley vs. Smith STRIDE vs. MHC 21st Century Scholarship. Hard choice. Are you going to any of the Open Campuses? I’m hoping that’ll help me decide, and I also plan on reading the course catalogs religiously to see if I can sense any differences in the kinds of classes offered. Just a thought :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info, guys. It’s definitely nice to hear different perspectives. </p>
<p>LaMariposaAzul–yeah, it’s a pretty tough choice. I’m a MHC 21st Century Scholar as well (though not a Smith STRIDE, unfortunately) and that’s just muddying the waters. At this point I’m planning on going to all the open campuses; I’ll be missing a lot of school, but I figure it’s worth it. </p>
<p>ajlangs, Wellesley has been one of my top choices throughout this whole process (in fact, it’s the only one of my top three that I got into (waitlisted at Midd and Bowdoin ), but since I’m a twin and we’re both going off to college next year, I’m definitely giving MHC and Smith a closer look since they were so generous/enthusiastic about me as an applicant. I haven’t visited classes at either Wellesley or Smith, and I haven’t stayed overnight at any of them, so I definitely am going to all the Open Campuses (luckily Wellesley’s falls during my April break…). I did shadow someone at MHC in December and took 3 classes, but they were all kind of unremarkable and I’d like to see some more to really see what’s representative of MHC classes. The other confusing thing is that I have a pretty awful AP physics teacher this year who’s an MHC alum, so I’m having to try really hard to not associate her too closely with MHC! </p>
<p>So I guess so far, just based on gut feelings, I’m leaning to Wellesley, with MHC and Smith being a little below it. How about you? Any comments? </p>
<p>Back to the original thread topic, though: I’m like ajlangs, I’ve got some strong humanities leanings of my own, and I’d love to hear some specifics about classes and professors (English?). Are there any classes/professors that you loved? Any that you regret taking?</p>
<p>I don’t regret taking any classes that I did. Even if a class was more difficult than I expected to be, I learned a lot from it. There are some classes that I didn’t like very much while I was in the class, but now looking back on that class, I actually really like it and wish that I would have enjoyed it more when I was taking it. </p>
<p>The English department is huge at Wellesley - I know people who can go on and on for days about Prof Rosenwald, Sides, Cain, Wall-Randell, etc. If you are really interested in the English major when you come in as a first-year, you can elect to take the combination Writ 125/ Eng 120 class, which fulfills both your writing requirement and the introduction English class required for the major. Beyond that for English, I think you have to take some classes based in three different time periods and of course, Shakespeare. I can’t tell you much more beyond that since I’m not an English major, but that is what I’ve gathered from my English major friends.</p>
<p>I’m going to declare my major as English next year at MHC, and I can tell you that we have a FABULOUS English department here. Many of the teachers are frequently published in the New York Times/are well-respected authors (not that this is nearly as important as their teaching ability, which is stellar). This is true of all of the professors I’ve had here, but they really do care about your life and success in college. I can end up chatting with any one of them long after class ends. This is probably true at Wellesley and Smith as well, but there is a sense of warmth here that I found very unique (which is why I ended up choosing MH over Smith). Feel free to ask any more questions if you have them!</p>
<p>Congratulations on your acceptances! I was accepted at all
three schools and visited them as an admitted student. </p>
<pre><code> Although I knew that Wellesley has a better academic reputation
</code></pre>
<p>than Smith and MHC, I went in with an open mind. I must admit I had
maternal pressure; actually it was pressure from my grandmother
who graduated from Smith and hoped I would choose her alma mater.
I have incredible respect for my grandmother and wanted to give Smith
an extra look. </p>
<pre><code> I found MHC students to be very nice. I found Smith’s campus had
</code></pre>
<p>a nice New England feel, yet students spoke in a derogatory manner
about Wellesley that seemed to emanate from a sense of insecurity, and
rivalry. Their comments about Wellesley turned out to be false.
Wellesley was my last stop for open campus. My hostess was bright, worldly,
articulate and never put down my other choices. Most importantly, I felt the
spirit of the school resonated with my desire to be at a college with a rigorous
academic program, engaging and dedicated professors, motivated and intellectually
sharp students, and a beautiful campus setting close to a city. The alumnae I met
were and continue to be inspiring and loyal sisters.</p>
<pre><code> In the end, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to set foot
</code></pre>
<p>on the campus and get a “feel” for the student body, the professors,…the overall
tone of the college you are visiting. I felt comfortable and at home when I visited
Wellesley during Spring Open Campus and felt it was an ideal match. Follow
your instincts because at the end of the day, you, rather than your family or
neighbor, are the one going to attend one of these three colleges. Good luck!</p>
), but since I’m a twin and we’re both going off to college next year, I’m definitely giving MHC and Smith a closer look since they were so generous/enthusiastic about me as an applicant. I haven’t visited classes at either Wellesley or Smith, and I haven’t stayed overnight at any of them, so I definitely am going to all the Open Campuses (luckily Wellesley’s falls during my April break…). I did shadow someone at MHC in December and took 3 classes, but they were all kind of unremarkable and I’d like to see some more to really see what’s representative of MHC classes. The other confusing thing is that I have a pretty awful AP physics teacher this year who’s an MHC alum, so I’m having to try really hard to not associate her too closely with MHC! 
</p>