<p>i know there was one on the simpsons, however that’s a bit outdated. any body have some stereotypes to be taken not too seriously with a grain of truth? wellesley v bryn mawr v smith perhaps?</p>
<p>I would also like to have a few non-stereotype characterizations to help me in my application planning (in addition to the visits I will mnake during mly spring break in March this year).</p>
<p>I'm almost reluctant to do this, but in my subjective experience, stereotypes might be Wellesley=more pre-professional, Bryn Mawr=more academically intense, Smith=more crunchy. But if you really like one of them, chances are good that you will really like others.</p>
<p>Wellesley is rumored to promote an atmosphere of academic competitiveness between it's students. Bryn Mawr is said to promote the ideal of self-competition (besting one's own last best effort), by virtue of the fact that comparing grades and speaking of grades in general is considered bad form and a violation of the Honor Code.</p>
<p>One defining difference between Wellesley and Smith is that Wellesley has always had female presidents, while Smith didn't have its first female president until the 1970s. That says it all about Smith, IMHO. Back in the day, I'd say Wellesley emphasized high-powered women and pre-professionalism, Bryn Mawr more pure academics, Smith more girls with social/literary aspirations, and Mount Holyoke was the easiest to get into (but with more of an emphasis on the sciences). I know several very bright women from Vassar, but it was considered to have dropped significantly when it started admitting men. Pembroke and Radcliffe have vanished. I don't know much about Barnard. Take all such scuttlebutt with a large grain of salt, of course.</p>
<p>I do know that back around 1970 a study was done that showed that the graduates of the Seven Sisters colleges NOT affiliated with male institutions had "achieved" much more professionally than grads of Pembroke, Radcliffe, and Barnard.</p>
<p>"That says it all about Smith, IMHO."</p>
<p>Until 1970 or so, Wellesley had a board of trustees that was virtually all men; Smith has had a majority of female trustees for decades earlier.</p>
<p>(I think we have found a distinction without a difference....;))</p>
<p>If that were true then why would Barnard lead all colleges except for Hunter and Berkley in PhDs by women graduates ?</p>
<p>I’d put Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke as best Seven Sisters so far.</p>
<p>Wellesley is too competitive. Too high SATs and GPA kids. Sometimes even ivy kids go there.</p>
<p>Smith is good but Holyoke is better. It’s very feminist/lesbian/liberal school which also over emphasizes on academics.</p>
<p>Vassar admits more men than women. Enough said.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Barnard.</p>
<p>But I know that at Holyoke and BMC you challenge yourself and are proud of the knowledge you get. At Smith and Wellesley you challenge others and are proud of grades you get.</p>
<p>P.S </p>
<p>MHC and BMC have beautiful campuses! Hogwarts like.</p>
<p>hey bluecholeric, this post has a lot of helpful information from current students about each college’s specifics</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/womens-colleges/1491393-how-do-seven-sister-colleges-compare.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/womens-colleges/1491393-how-do-seven-sister-colleges-compare.html</a></p>
<p>Um, enough said? Vassar has 57% women and 43% men. But I do agree that many students today are math challenged.</p>
<p>Okay there is a LOT of misinformation here. Quoting–
"Wellesley is too competitive. Too high SATs and GPA kids. Sometimes even ivy kids go there.</p>
<p>Smith is good but Holyoke is better. It’s very feminist/lesbian/liberal school which also over emphasizes on academics.</p>
<p>Vassar admits more men than women. Enough said.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Barnard."</p>
<p>In all of the Sisters, some kids opt for the sister (as a little Ivy) rather than a Big Ivy–because the Sisters offer better LAC-style instruction. the Big Ivies and the Sisters are fundamentally different types of institutions. Research Universities vs. small LAC. the small LAC tend to offer more individualized instruction from professors (rather than TAs) and they offer more research opportunities. The SAT and GPA at many of the Sisters is <em>extremely</em> high, not just Wellesley. I’m not sure than any of the schools can be called “lesbian” schools. I mean . . .what? And who cares? Lesbians attend many schools not just some of the Seven Sisters. Vassar admits 978 women compared with 816 men last year. Vassar went coed to remain independent (rather than say merge with Yale). Barnard is a women’s school that is part of Columbia. It is independent in some regards, but shares classes and other facilities with CU. CU students take classes at Barnard. Barnard profs must go through TWO tenure reviews, first at Barnard and then at CU. Other parts are still independent, such as many funding sources. </p>
<p>As far as stereotypes/characterizations go, Hogwarts houses seem to fit fairly well for those three. Bryn Mawr is Ravenclaw, Wellesley is Slytherin, and Smith is Hufflepuff (I could be wrong about Smith, though, as I’ve very little experience with the college itself). Bryn Mawr is known as the “brainy”, quirky one, Wellesley is known as the competitive one, and Smith is seen as the quiet, studious one, but of course those stereotypes are constantly proven wrong.</p>
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<p>I’m pretty sure Smithies won’t agree with you on that. A close source has told me that Smith is a cross between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, but that everyone wanted to be Hermione when they were little.</p>
<p>I bet everyone wants to be in Gryffindor!! So there is no Gryffindor type school in seven sisters? </p>
<p>Gryffindor = Mount Holyoke College :)</p>
<p>ehh I’ve heard Smithies has a loud activist crunch, I’d personally sort it into Gryffindor, and MHC in Hufflepuff. Not sure about Barnard, though. </p>
So let me get this straight…
Wellesley is Clawinslypuffingryffin, Bryn Mawr is Ravenslythelhuff, Mount Holyoke is Gryffinhuffledor, Smith is Slytherpuffleclaw, and no one is sure what Barnard is.
Barnard produces a lot of journalists so maybe it’s Huffindenpufft?
First, I’d like to make a correction. Someone said, “[At Bryn Mawr] comparing grades and speaking of grades in general is considered bad form and a violation of the Honor Code.”
Not true. While Bryn Mawr does not have a culture of talking and obsessing and comparing grades, it’s not by any means against the academic or social honor code - it’s just the culture.
I’d say in the Bryn Mawr. vs. Wellesley vs. Barnard debate…(and this is a huge generalization)
Bryn Mawr is not socially or academically cut-throat-competitive. People at Bryn Mawr care (a ton) about grades and academic performance, but there isn’t a culture of cut-throatness or competition with others. Socially, it’s a very accepting and nonjudgemental environment overall.
Wellesley is like Bryn Mawr in that it is socially nonjudgemental and accepting overall, but there is that academic competition/sometimes cut-throatness.
Barnard seems cut-throat socially and academically.
Again, these are generalizations.
When we’re talking about Harry Potter houses, I’d say that Barnard is Slytherin, Mount Holyoke is Hufflepuff, Bryn Mawr is Ravenclaw, and I’m not sure who is Gryffindor. But I’d say you can’t really assign a house to an entire college. My friend was in a Sociology of Harry Potter course (Bryn Mawr) and said that the Hogwarts house make-up of the class was fairly evenly distributed.
I’d go by Harry Potter characters - though again, you get huge generalizations.
I think that Hermione would like Bryn Mawr or Wellesley. Luna would like Bryn Mawr, and maybe Mount Holyoke.
My daughter certainly didn’t experience a “cut-throat” environment or culture at Barnard, so that characterization seems way, way off the mark.
I think it would be more accurate to characterize Barnard students as driven and independent, often very outwardly focused and typically pre-professional in outlook, and the academic environment as intense and demanding. But there is a lot of grade inflation, so it’s not particularly difficult for a student to get decent grades. I wouldn’t call it “cut throat” because there doesn’t seem to be an atmosphere of competitiveness with other students – it is more that the students are each focusing on their own goals. Social life tends to take place off campus – so students are pretty much off doing their own things with their own circles of friends.
Living in NYC is also intense and fast-paced. Morningside Heights isn’t midtown, but is certainly isn’t bucolic either.
Like I said, huge generalization, and based off of what I’ve seen/heard from visits and many friends who attend. However, definitely not a complete characterization - I’m glad to hear that your daughter didn’t experience a “cut-throat” environment.
I can report that at Bryn Mawr, there is definitely (unfortunately!) not grade inflation.