<p>Hobart and William Smith Colleges are a great match for me....</p>
<p>OR!</p>
<p>Hobart and William Smith College is a great match for me....</p>
<p>OR!</p>
<p>Hobart College is a good match for me....</p>
<p>Does anybody know how the name works for this school? It used to be two seperate boys and girls schools that are now united under a common administration... does one apply to both? is it phrased as a singular school or as two?</p>
<p>The first one. Usually, the two are named together. Check on wikipedia if you'd like.</p>
<p>He's right, it's the first one, you can just look on this site, it's listed as H and WS collegeS.</p>
<p>If it is one entity, then your second phrase is correct. If it were a university with multiple colleges, then the first phrase would be correct. Don't be fooled by the "s" at the end of "colleges", as it is just one school. You have, however, created an interesting essay topic that allows the writer to discuss the colleges' (colleges's?) history.</p>
<p>The only time (that I know of) when a plural is followed by "is" instead of "are" is in the case of the United States....</p>
<p>... and in the case of "Hobart and William Smith Colleges". Unless, of course, they are administered as two separate entities. Probably because the "United States" is a shortened version of "The United States of America" or because it is referring to the entity, the country (just like one college), and not to the units making up the union, as in " the states of the United States are".</p>
<p>Alright, because I am so......I looked it up and H and WS colleges refer to themselves on their website as H& WS C ARE, not is. However, apparently one is for girls and the other for boys, so you can just include H or WS depending on your gender. Also, the US is NOW followed by "is" instead of "are" because it reflects our sense of national unity. This was not always the case, and it was a big deal from a sociological point of view when this linguistic transition came about in the late 1800's. OK, WAY too much information, but I'm procrastinating.....have finals.....</p>
<p>I called Hobart & Wm. Smith Colleges and was told that they are still two separate schools sharing one campus. As a compromise, as this raises other issues to determine whether "is" or "are" is correct, let's use Ebonics...and that ends that.</p>