South Hadley is pretty much the village commons, honestly. I’ve found there to be a fair amount to do on campus in terms of activities - there are performances by various music and dance groups, and a lot of clubs for petty much all your interests. I don’t really know anything about the party ‘scene’ - I don’t drink, and I find loud parties to be really boring, honestly, but I think people who want it tend to find it at the other 5 colleges. I think it’s refreshing to have fewer drunk people around on the weekends.
I’m very close with my parents, and so I found the transition to be a bit rough. MHC does a lot of things really well, but Orientation isn’t really one of them, and I’m a bit nervous around strangers/in a strange environment, so the first few weeks were rough. I was very homesick. I haven’t personally taken advantage of the counseling center, but it’s available and res life goes out of their way to make sure you know it’s there and how to use it. Seeking counseling isn’t at all stigmatized - I know a lot of people who take advantage of it. I think that the social transition was rough for me especially because I came from a very small school with a very tight-knit class, and because I’m somewhat reserved. However, I think going far away has been really rewarding. I brought a stuffed animal, I called my parents frequently, and I took a lot of long walks, which helped me get my mind around it. My mantra for the first couple of months was “the only way out is through”, which might sound terrible, but what it really meant to me was that I needed to get through, get comfortable in a new environment, and deal with the bad bits before the good parts would shine through. Eventually, you get busy, you have friends to do things with and papers to write and books to read. You build a life, and that becomes your new normal. You have to go about crafting a routine and making friends first, though, and that’s the hard part. But once it’s done, it gets better.
For Thanksgiving specifically, if you’ve made friends who live close, they might invite you home. It happens frequently (less in the first year). If you do stay on campus, though, you can sign up and a professor or staff member will host you for Thanksgiving, which is nice.
As far as academics go, the professors have all been truly amazing. I know a few bad apples exist, but far and away the majority are considerate, helpful, and really invested in helping you make the most of your education. The resources are somewhat different depending on discipline, but the SAW center (speaking, arguing, writing) has been a godsend. I felt the academic transition went amazingly smoothly. You need to be prepared to do a lot of work, but if you’re willing to put int he effort, all the resources are there to help.
In general, the people I’ve met have just been really nice! In my math class last semester, groups of students would get together before class and go over problems together. I don’t think anyone sees the success of others as somehow lessening their own. No-one would ever do the underhanded cutthroat things you describe as occurring at your high school. The learning environment is very collaborative. Actually very few of my tests have been curved at all.
When I applied to colleges my criteria were thus: 1) Small, LAC 2) Academically oriented with good placement for medical school 3) collaborative learning environment. I whittled down my list based off specific elements of each school and ended up with about ten schools. The final decision was pretty much made when my #1 rejected me and MHC gave me a generous scholarship. I hadn’t applied to any schools I didn’t think I’d be happy at, so it just made sense to go to the school that gave me the most in merit. I can tell you that big chunk of change coming off my bill each semester feels absolutely great. I’m very happy I made the choice I did.
Sorry for the super long post! I think you have some great schools and that you’ll have good choices come April!
