Since it’s getting around time for EDs to come out and for RDs to send in their applications I figured I’d offer up my wealth of knowledge to you all. No question is off the table and I will answer thoroughly and honestly. Academics, social life, extracurriculars, food, ANYTHING!
If any of you are coming by South Hadley in the spring, send me a PM so we can meet up and I can show you around or just say hey!
Hey! I’m applying RD and I really really hope to get in, it’s been like my top school for the past 2 years… so any pros/cons you have to offer would be great… also just info on dorms/food/literally anything you wanna talk about haha. I want to know whatever you think is important. I’m hoping to visit/interview early Jan to up my chances of getting accepted.
Hi! I applied ED1 and this suspense is driving me crazy. I was really hoping decisions would come out today! Maybe tomorrow because it’s Friday… did you apply ED1? Do you know when ED1 decisions came out last year?
@MHC2021 wait until 6 pm, that’s when my ED decision came out last year!! it’s not too late trust me. Relax and let whatever happens happen!
@19171998biology okay thank you
@19171998biology oh that’s weird, it didn’t send my whole message! I said that I think you just posted on my MHC ED thread haha.
current student here. all dorms have their pros and cons (located on edge of campus but has lots of storage plus big rooms, for example.) the food is fine. like there’s plenty of variety but like all colleges they’re making food for 2000+ students eating during the same meal times so it’s not like home-cooking lol. the mac and cheese bar each monday at buckland hall tho is awesome tho. also milk and cookies is the best! every school night each dorm has a dessert and drinks and it’s really a wonderful time to make friends with the people in your building.
DORMS:
There are good dorms, there are bad dorms. I won’t comment on which dorms I think are crappy because honestly it’s just a handful and some people absolutely love them. To each their own, yknow?
I personally live in Pearsons, it’s kind of the oddball dorm because it’s not on the residential quad but not on the outskirts either. It’s honestly awesome and I love it and I hope I will probably end up living here later in my college career again just because it’s so conveniently located right across from the bus stop and the library. Granted, it’s a far walk from all the food, but I can deal with that.
That being said, we’re rated as having “dorms like palaces” in the Princeton review for a reason. Take one look at the dorm room of a UMass student or, hell, even someone from Hampshire or Amherst and you’ll be instantly grateful even if you live in a less desirable hall.
I get into the specifics of each dorm in this google doc here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kjdeEd6jei8voBp40wsXeoksKYp8iv-PwVDaaE9GoGM/edit?usp=sharing
My thoughts on the food don’t matter because guess what? We’re getting a complete revamp of our dining services. They’re building a huuuuuge addition onto the campus center, all fancy and stuff. I went to the senate meeting with the administration and it sounds like it’s going to be great, better hours, better tasting food. I don’t hate the food now but it’s nothing to brag about, except the personal pizzas at blanch because those are the bomb . com. By the time you get here though, you’ll only have one semester of now-type food before you get to experience Superblanch!
Also a current student -
@phoria I think that link is broken - it’s giving me an error message
Most of the dorms have pros and cons, and it’s hard to generalize. That said, in general the older dorms have smaller rooms and sometimes the heating gets wonky, but they also often have wood floors (feels more homey than tile) and are more conveniently located. The newer dorms are a further walk but often have larger rooms and more storage space. I know people who’ve loved pretty much every dorm - they’re so different from one another there’s bound to be one you prefer. The only one I’d throw under the bus is Prospect, which I genuinely think is terrible - small rooms, never been renovated, there are no windows in the hallways, and the walls are incredibly thin. Jorge the goose honking outside at 3 AM seems funny until he wakes you up the day before your first Chem exam. I lived there last year and the one upside was the food (Prospect is, in my opinion, the best dining hall). Once they open superblanch there will be no reason to live there. Every other dorm has good qualities.
Speaking of superblanch, here’s the section of the website devoted to it: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/communitycenter?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28442704&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9AS5rbB6j986egTQSHZ0h6eFQXwdr9mfWcvFbwWZJec55Ye8AYXMDr36RMRqjlIe3x_r5A0MhP60bFJ0d_Ri-SjujUbg&_hsmi=28442704
And here’s the somewhat creepy (?) live webcam: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/communitycenter/live-webcam. I mostly looks like a pile of dirt right now because they’ve been laying the plumbing and gas lines, etc., all the underground stuff.
@FireflyLights https:// docs. google. com/document/d/1kjdeEd6jei8voBp40wsXeoksKYp8iv-PwVDaaE9GoGM
This should work as long as the domain is docs dot google dot com
I’m trying to be positive about all the dorms in case some of these people end up living there, but yeah, imho Ham, 1837, and Prospect are the worst. Inconvenient, old, rundown dorms. I hope after SuperBlanch they eventually tear down Prospect and build a new dorm there because it’s such a crappy dorm with a horrible layout and the only thing going for it is the best dining hall. 1837 is next on the list of dorms I’d like to trash–it’s such a friggin eyesore next to the lake. Looks like a prison.
@phoria Link is fixed! Yeah, I’m not a fan of 1837 either, although I do know people who like it for the windows. I live in Ham right now and it’s leagues better than Prospect. The 16 square foot difference in size makes a difference, and the big window is really lovely. It has a few touches - slit windows in the hallway, kitchenettes - that make it feel much homier. The walk isn’t as bad as McG because you don’t need to go up the hill, and it’s not too far from the science complex. You don’t have to leave the dorm for breakfast, which is a plus. I won’t deny I plan where I’m going to eat based on walk times right now, since it’s so cold. I really think all the dorms except Prospect have something going for them - Ham and Torrey have great locations for athletes, for example. I know people who swear by every dorm on campus - even 18!- except Prospect.
@FireflyLights I’m glad there are people who want to live in those dorms! The dorms I’m looking at for my next few years are Creighton, Delles, Mead, Pearsons, Porter, Rockies, Safford, and Wilder. So I definitely have a “type” and it’s the old ones (except Creighton). Do you know if we pick the exact room number we want when that time comes around or what?
@phoria Yes, you pick exact room number. You get in to a “roommate group” with the person you want to room with, and then you are assigned a time during the session for the type of room you want (suites first, then singles, and finally doubles and triples). Then you pick any room that’s still available by your time, as long as it’s not being reserved for first years. The times are entirely random within class year (seniors go first, then juniors, then sophomores). Absent a medical reason, singles are reserved for juniors and seniors. About half to 2/3 of juniors get singles (depending on their class size and the size of the senior class), seniors are guaranteed one if they want it. Most of the really nice suites go to seniors, as you can imagine.
Hey, thanks so much for making this thread!
Do you have any experience with the kosher/halal food on campus?
@greenteen17 I don’t follow kosher/halal myself, but I did a lot at the local JCC when I was a kid so I’m pretty familiar with kosher food (since we were required to pack kosher lunches and a lot of my friends kept kosher). Wilder is the main kosher/halal space on campus. There are meat days and dairy days (two or three days a week are meat days, the rest dairy). You aren’t allowed to bring bags inside in order to avoid accidentally bringing in non-kosher/halal food. Outside of that, availability is going to depend on how strictly you keep kosher. The Blanchard grill space is definitely not kosher, but there are other options that might work depending on how important no cross-contamination is to you. For example, at the salad station the staff member uses a scoop for cheese and tongs for meat, but they are located closely to one another. Some of the Prospect showcases are OK, again, depending on how strict you are.
However, as we discussed upthread, kosher/halal will change along with all the other dining spring 2018 when Super Blanch opens. They decided to integrate kosher/halal into its own station within super Blanch in order to make sure everyone is integrated into the new dining system, which makes sense. Presumably it will function similarly to Wilder in miniature, except the eating space itself will not be kosher/halal. Unfortunately there’s not much more we know about how this change is going to affect things.
The Eliot House has a kosher/halal section of its kitchen, and it goes full kosher for passover every year. Students who need to can use the kitchen to cook during passover.
Thanks so much for your answer!
I keep kosher pretty strictly, so I’d only be able to eat in the kosher dining hall. I was wondering how the quality/taste of the food is because I’ll have to subsist solely on it.
Wilder is pretty good - I’d say it’s my second favorite dining hall after Prospect. Institutional food is never going to be as good as home-cooked meals, but I think there’s always something to eat as long as you’re not a super picky eater. The only problem is the food is sometimes a bit repetitive. If you want, you can check out the meals for the next week or so on the online menu. Wilder is also often crowded, because the food is good, it’s conveniently located, and it was not laid out for the volume it attracts - you just need to avoid the peak times (12:15-12:45 and 6-6:30, generally) if at all possible. Again, though, you’d only have one semester of it before everything changes dramatically.
Can any current student speak to Admitted Student weekend at MHC. Did you attend? What did it include? Did you find it beneficial? Does any know the dates for this year?
I am curious about the dates as well.
The dates are April 9-10, 2017. here: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/congratulations/save_date
I did not attend the program, so I can’t speak to its value. I did visit after my acceptance and I found it quite useful - I had lunch with a student and had the opportunity to ask a lot of questions which I hadn’t felt comfortable asking in a large group. It was very informative.
While I didn’t attend the program, I was an overnight host last year. From what I remember, it included a program in Chapin, small-group sessions at the cultural houses, and community M&Cs in Blanchard, I don’t know what the morning programing was like since I was in class. The people I hosted seemed to find it engaging.