<p>I think both schools are awesome. I’m going to try and break down my thoughts here, but this is my perspective as a student who hasn’t gone yet. I would be really interested in seeing posts by current students/alums.</p>
<p>Academics: Both are rigorous schools with very good programs. Mount Holyoke produces more female chemists than any other school (not any other women’s school – any other school), but I felt like Smith put a lot more emphasis on their need for STEM majors. Mount Holyoke’s emphasis seemed to be more on multiculturalism/multicultural education. Both schools have access to the resources of the 5CC. I’ve spoken with some people who opined that Smith was a little more sink-or-swim overall, but I assume that would vary by professor. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with either academically.</p>
<p>Dorming: Smith has a really cool system where you live in converted mansions instead of dorms. That’s pretty cool. I don’t know too too much about Smith houses; I know that a tour guide told me each common room has a baby grand piano and a grandfather clock. They seemed nice when I stopped in and, from the Smithies I follow on Tumblr, it looks like there’s a lot of community built around the houses. MHC has a good number of dorms with fully-stocked kitchens if you like to cook, as well as common areas with sitting spaces, TVs, etc. that you can use together. I know one of the dorms has a pool table? Mount Holyoke’s dorms range in style and location all across the board. Some are more dorm-y than others. Some are pretty old. One building has sitting windows in every dorm room. There are several that overlook a lake. </p>
<p>Location: Smith is in Northampton, which is a really cool little city. It’s absolutely somewhere I adore being. Mount Holyoke is in South Hadley, which is more rural, but absolutely beautiful. I really like seeing the trees and the greenness of everything. Both colleges can use the PVTA, which is a free bus system around the Pioneer Valley, so if you want to go to one of the other places, or Amherst, etc., it’s not a bad ride. </p>
<p>Facilities: I don’t remember much about Smith’s facilities! I will say that Mount Holyoke has one of the coolest science buildings I’ve ever seen. The floor patterns correspond with things like amoebas, or firing neurons in a brain, or space stuff, and the staircases are modeled after double helices. Apparently, they also loan out baby bunnies for half hour blocks during finals there, because I ran into students carrying delightful little balls of fluffiness. I could spend a lot of time in there!</p>
<p>Student body: I’ll say that there’s a Facebook group for five college students, and the posts by Smithies and Mohos always crack me up. They’re awesome. Demographically, both are decidedly liberal, many LGBT students and many heterosexual and cisgender LGBT allies. Wicked smart, a lot of great nerdy conversations go on. </p>
<p>Social life: There are parties if you want them on both campuses, and there’s free transport to UMass and its parties (and Hampshire and Amherst, if you need some testosterone time). Both campuses also have many student orgs and opportunities to do things outside the realm of partying, if that isn’t as much your thing. </p>
<p>aaaaand this is all I can think of. Hopefully someone else will post! good luck!</p>
