<p>i'm a freshman in mount holyoke and haven't seen that much of 5 college interaction or whatever as they clame in viewbooks... being honest when i came here first, i thought the're d guys from amherst and around here but nopes, i don't have any friends from any of the four colleges around..damn..how's it with you?</p>
<p><p.s. m="" posting="" it="" in="" all="" colleges'="" forums=""></p.s.></p>
<p>Not a student but:</p>
<p>MHC is the most remote of the Five Colleges.
Smith is the biggest net importer of students (including guys) from the other colleges.
I suspect that Amherst & UMass guys are more willing to party at Smith than MHC in view of the first point.
Words to describe South Hadley include "bucolic" and "pastoral." Not a lot to draw people there. NoHo is happenin' by comparison.</p>
<p>maybe.. dunno much of Amherst men who we call <em>snobby</em>, hampshire men <em>dirty" but umass/zoomass *animals</em>... are wierd they party a night with moho girls and the other night with noho gals... no offence meant but tht's it... i beleive teh colleges should stop talking about 5 college advantages and stuffs</p>
<p>Sorry it's not delivering what you want, but I know too many people who are getting great advantages from the Five College stuff.</p>
<p>Your first post complains that you thought there'd be guys from Amherst around and your next says they're snobby. You weren't guaranteed non-snobby guys from anywhere.</p>
<p>I have a friend at Umass (he's actually the boyfriend of one of my Smithie friends) and a few other casual aquaintances. At both Mt. Holyoke and Smith, you do have to make an effort to meet people off-campus. The five college interaction doesn't come to you. You have to make it happen, and the best way to meet people is to go to events off campus.</p>
<p>I've also taken a class at Umass, which is another good way to meet people.</p>
<p>My D did an abroad J-term that was open to students from all of the five colleges. It was co-taught by a prof from Smith and one from U Mass. Following the J-term experience, spring semester all the participants took a once-weekly evening seminar class at U Mass. I know there were participants form Amherst and Hampshire among those who did this program. </p>
<p>She did go to other campuses for specific events (shows, performances, etc.) and ice skating at the U Mass rink. </p>
<p>She did do some dating of guys from the other schools. Still, her best and most long-lasting relationships from her college years were with her fellow Smithies.</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore and has really enjoyed the 5 college area. She visited Smith four times before making her decision to attend, and had a summer experience at Bryn Mawr, so she knew what to expect in attending a women's college. For her, Smith has been a wonderful educational and social experience, although I suspect she might be dating more if she were attending a co-ed school. </p>
<p>She has taken a class at Hampshire and is dating someone from UMass. Her best friend from high school (female) is at Amherst and she has met some new friends through her. She also has used facebook to make contact with students at the other 5 colleges and with friends in Boston. Her sports team has visited many schools in New England, and she has met a number of students at these schools. She enjoys life at Smith (and the friendships formed there) but also has made a serious attempt to meet others from surrounding colleges. She is not shy, but certainly is not an extrovert. She is learning to network in the college world. </p>
<p>I would suggest taking classes at one of the 5 colleges, getting involved in a club, activity, or sport that meets regularly at another college. Use contacts from other colleges to get invited to parties or other events at the other colleges. Hope this next semester will be a better one for you.</p>
<p>I think you're thinking of the Five College thing too narrowly. It's more than just a social connection after all. </p>
<p>For example, this year Smith is offering serious,full credit, on-campus Arabic classes for the first time, which are being taught by a Phd candidate at UMASS, who came here from Egypt to study Linguistics at the Five College foreign language center at UMASS. If it wasn't for five college interaction, UMASS would never have sent someone to Smith to teach Arabic, and a lot of students like myself would miss out. </p>
<p>Next year, Smith and Moho are going to share a Middle Eastern history professor, because again, we have a tradition of cooperation from being in the interchange. </p>
<p>Maybe the party scene isn't always as inter-college as we would like, but I think that the five college exchange is more than that. It's also a great academic partnership that helps all the colleges benefit from a shared pool of knowledge.</p>
<p>Let's get something straight...the five college consortium was not formed so college men and women can have relationships. It is academic in nature; anything else that comes out of it is coincidental. You're able to take classes at Amherst, MoHo, UMass, and Hampshire; and vice-versa. Smith also has a twelve college exchange if the other four aren't acceptable to you to find men. However, if you choose to take advantage of it, I hope you do so for the right reasons.</p>
<p>"I think you're thinking of the Five College thing too narrowly. It's more than just a social connection after all. "</p>
<p>Agreed, but . . . </p>
<p>Monkeygal has a point, in that the five college exchange is often billed by students and the admissions offices as a means of tempering the all-women aspects of Smith and MHC. It <em>should</em> be looked at as purely academic, but it is not always.</p>
<p>My advice for prospective students: Do not attend Smith or Mount Holyoke unless you would be happy in an all-female student body. Yes, you can visit the other schools, take classes at them, attend events, etc., but you should not count on these options to make your college seem co-ed. They are single gender, with all the benefits and drawbacks.</p>
<p>Academically, the five college exchange is an incredible opportunity for all involved. SmithieandProud points out just a few examples of the way it works to the advantage of students.</p>
<p>I agree with all you've said, MWFN, about prospects needing to be comfortable in an all-female student body. But I want to clarify it's not as if a student is signing up to be in a cloister. The all-femaleness varies with facet and individual student effort. The housing is definitely all female. The classes a little less so: my D had guys in her Smith-based math classes and in activities such as orchestra and wind ensemble...probably not going to get too many coming in for "History of Feminism" courses or courses readily available at their home institution. The student, however, has the option of putting up with the time penalties and taking classes elsewhere; I've heard raves from Smithies, for instance, about a particular Econ prof at Amherst. Socially, students have the most latitude. If you take the path of least resistance, there won't be a lot of guys around. If you invest time & effort on top of what may already be a demanding schedule, there'll be opportunities.</p>
<p>"But I want to clarify it's not as if a student is signing up to be in a cloister. "</p>
<p>Exactly. </p>
<p>Besdies, life is pretty much what you make of it, both in and out of college.</p>
<p>Actually, MWFN, you touch upon a point that probably deserves more illumination that it will get in this tucked away corner of CC: so many students seem to approach so many questions as if the answers were black and white, cut and dried, deterministic not probabilistic.</p>
<p>My daughter also has had opportunity to keep in touch with guy friends from her high school during the summer and winter breaks. Additionally, she has had opportunity to meet men in her summer jobs in our city or through get togethers sponsored by other Smith students during the summer. Perhaps having three male siblings prepared her, or even made her welcome, the opportunity to go to a women's college. </p>
<p>I agree with the other parents' posts. Students who decide to attend Smith or MHC are making a decision to attend a women's college with its attendant advantages and disadvantages. Given Smith's academic strengths, nurturing environment, and the close female friends she has made, my daughter has been very happy with her decision. I agree that it definitely is harder to make friends of the opposite sex but neither is one entering a cloister.</p>
<p>The Abroad program my D is in is running about 2-1 male/female...a peripheral benefit of being a math major. (Of course, D is the one with the t-shirt that says "MIT Men: The odds are good but the goods are odd." That said, she likes geeky math guys.)</p>
<p>LOL That's as good as "Smith Football: Still Undefeated."</p>
<p>Or the MHC T-shirt (sorry for the paraphrase -- I'm sure someone will submit the correct wording): Mount Holyoke -- It's not a girls' college without men. It's a women's college without boys.</p>
<p>Momwaiting, Smith has the same phrase available as a bumper sticker: "It's not a girl's school without men. It's a women's college without boys."</p>
<p>I don't do bumper stickers. I want the T-shirt!!! :-)</p>
<p>I still remember being in the Smith store watching a prospect was looking at the t-shirt that said, "Smith: More than a century of women on top" or something like that, and elbowing her mother, saying "Get it, Mom? Get it?"</p>
<p>Sometimes I think that they think we're all clueless slow learners. And that sex was invented in 1993.</p>