<p>which is better?
oh n which gives more aid to intl…</p>
<p>They're two completely different schools, according to my understanding. A coed college in Maine vs. a women's college in MA (and part of the Five College Consortium)...</p>
<p>I'm applying to both, but it's impossible to say which is "better" because most people won't have experiences of both campuses and defining what to base the "better" on is pretty subjective.</p>
<p>As for aid, they both seem remarkably generous with international aid. It's not something to be greedy about.</p>
<p>k.... thnx!</p>
<p>Bates and MHC are very similar in that they're both New England LACs, but from what I understand, their social climates differ somewhat. MHC is an all-girls school and has a large lesbian contingent, which is something you need to make sure you're comfortable with before you go. I get the impression that while both the schools lean left, MHC is a bit more atypical and unconventional, whereas Bates seems to be more traditional. Other than that, I think their academics are probably comparable and equally excellent. Bates is ranked 1 or 2 spots higher on US News, but MHC does offer the Five College Consortium, which is a plus since you can take courses at Smith, Amherst, Hampshire, and UMASS. I don't think one is necessarily "better" than the other, although admissions at Bates is more competitive. I'm not really sure about international aid.</p>
<p>First of all, just being New England LACs doesn't give them that much similarity. Secondly, MHC, doesn't have that large of a "lesbian contingent," but believe what you will. It's really tough to compare the two, but the Five Colllege Consotium at MHC is a plus in my opinion. MHC has a large international student population and is closer to both New York and Boston so it has more of an urban feel for a somewhat rural campus than Bates has. And, of course, the biggest difference is that MHC is all girls and Bates is coed.</p>
<p>My current roommate, although she is not international, got similar financial aid packages from Bates and Mount Holyoke, and both were quite good. From what I have heard about both schools, I don't think the amount of financial aid given to internationals varies enough to make it a distinguishable point between the schools.<br>
Academically, both Mount Holyoke and Bates are comparable schools but each tends to attract a different type of applicant. I would try to learn as much as possible about both schools to try to determine which school fits you best. My roommate ultimately decided to choose Bates over Mount Holyoke because she thought it was more representative of the real world, ie. there were men. But its merely a matter of personal opinion.</p>
<p>In the vast world of colleges and universities, a LAC is a definitive category, and the ones in New England generally share many similar characteristics in the types of students who go, the kind of families they come from, the type of education they offer, and even the look and feel of the campus. Especially from an international student's point of view, they're going to be similar. What I am saying is that Bates and MHC both fall into a particular category and are academically equivalent within that category but then diverge in the type of student body.
There are going to be more lesbians at MHC than at Bates and therefore an overall more leftish feel to the campus- that is nearly a given fact. I was not trying to sound offensive by any means, I was just stating facts. My point, moreover, was that the school often attracts a different type of person than Bates does, regardless of sexual orientation. I have friends that have visited MHC, friends that will be going to MHC and they have commented on this. The climates at the two schools are going to be very different because of the co-ed versus all-girls factor, and some people may not feel comfortable in the latter environment. A friend of mine did an overnight at Smith and felt this way. It's not about homophobia or politics or anything of that variant, it is simply about what kind of environment a person is looking for.
Visit the websites, read the threads, and you should be able to get a feel for which one suits you more. Chances are, they could both suit you. They're both great schools and either way, you can't go wrong.</p>
<p>I think when you are referring to LACs, you're referring to a subset of LACs, namely selective, private, high quality LACs. There are many colleges in New England and many of these are Liberal Arts Colleges. Not all are of the Mount Holyoke-Bates (Amherst, Colby, Smith, Bowdoin, Williams, Connecticut College, etc.) variety.</p>
<p>Many others are less selective, less academically rigorous, very church-affiliated, very conservative (because of the church affiliation or otherwise), and many are public not private, and just very different from what people think of when they think of the usual New England LAC. Yet they are still New England liberal arts college. For example, Mitchell College in New London CT, Anna-Maria College in Mass., Mass. College of Liberal Arts (a public school - used to be North Adams State College), Gordon College outside Boston to name just a very few.</p>
<p>Yes, MHC does have more lesbians than Bates. But it also has a significant proporition of fairly conservative international students whose parents sent them to an all-women's college because they felt a co-ed United States university environment would be too permisive. It makes for an interesting dichotomy at Holyoke, at least in my observation.</p>
<p>"Many others are less selective, less academically rigorous, very church-affiliated, very conservative (because of the church affiliation or otherwise), and many are public not private, and just very different from what people think of when they think of the usual New England LAC. Yet they are still New England liberal arts college. For example, Mitchell College in New London CT, Anna-Maria College in Mass., Mass. College of Liberal Arts (a public school - used to be North Adams State College), Gordon College outside Boston to name just a very few."</p>
<p>so what are New England ones supposed to be like.. n u saying Bates isnt the typical New England typo?</p>
<p>the Bates app is due tom. n I dont know whether to apply or not!! so confused... thought it would be a safety..</p>
<p>Bates...that's a tough one to qualify. It could be a safety if someone had "super stats" like most HYPS applicants but its acceptance percentage is 27% or so. On paper, Bowdoin and Bates are very much alike (but Bowdoin has a slightly lower acceptance %). The "Why" essay is a bit tough to crack.</p>
<p>I think he was sayin' that Bates is the NE stereotype and the examples he gave - Mitchell College to Gordon College - aren't.</p>
<p>Statistically it makes more sense for MHC to have a higher lesbian population/concentration. It has more females than Bates, so with equal percentage of females being lesbian/bi, it makes more sense. It's like sayin' they'll be more trees in the country (though my version of what countryside might differ from yours) than in a city with parks. Common sense.</p>
<p>Hmmm, really? I would have figured Wellesley or Smith as likely women schools for intels with conservative families to look at. Possibly Agnes Scott.</p>
<p>you put Bowdoin and Bates at the same level.. k.,.
how come the US News ranks Bowdoin at 6 and Bates at 21..?</p>
<p>US News also counts things like endowment, which I understand Bates has a lesser amount of. And other stuff besides acceptance percentage. I THINK graduation rates, retention?, and other thingamajiggies.</p>
<p>I put Bowdoin and Bates together in my example based also on their location/state. Most applicants I know are Bates-Bowdoin unless they've gone on campus visits and they know the different "feel" of each campus; sometimes Colby's thrown in there as well.</p>
<p>k. . . thnx!</p>
<p>I'm not saying Bates is or isn't the "typical" New England liberal arts college. I'm saying that there really isn't a typical New England liberal arts college, because there are hundreds of colleges in New England and not all liberal arts colleges are the nationally-known, private, highly selective ones that people think of like Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Amherst, etc.</p>
<p>MOST of the liberal arts college in New England attract local student, are not that selective, and not all are private.</p>
<p>And some of the New England liberal arts colleges you mention have more in common with non-New England schools like Swarthmore, Carleton, Oberlin, Reed, Pomona, etc. than with other schools in the six-state New England area.</p>
<p>The New England distinction is something that exists more in the mind of Hollywood film makers.</p>
<p>Parachi- are you applying to both Bates and MHC?</p>
<p>nope.. decided against MHC..</p>