<p>Hello. My daughter was accepted at Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, and Wellesley, all of them offering approximately the same Fi-Aid packages. Any advice on how to decide? She and we can see her at any of these great schools (we've visited extensively at all of them.)
Need Help, Please!</p>
<p>Has she visited? Each of these schools is in very different areas, so if the aid is the same she might be able to make some distinction based on location and campus. Smith is in a very cool, artsy town; Mt. Holyoke is in a small, very rural town but has that old red-brick building/gothic look (their library looks like Hogwarts, and not just because there are people in capes :-)); Bryn Mawr is on a train line from Philadelphia in a small town but close to Haverford too. Wellesley, you have the proximity to Boston, but also in a small suburban town. </p>
<p>So, she might think which she prefers that way. If she can visit, she’d probably be able to decide pretty quickly. Besides being in physically different places, each school has it’s own feel, she can probably tell from a visit which vibe she prefers.</p>
<p>Wellesley seams to be a bit ahead of the other 3 on an academic basis. You are always hearing about Wellesley being in the top 4-5 LAC’s in the country, together with Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore and Middlebury…</p>
<p>Ah, I always wanted to apply to women’s colleges, so I’ll live vicariously through this thread…</p>
<p>I agree with SmithieandProud that some campus visits are in order ASAP and that location-wise, at least, there are some obvious differences.</p>
<p>That said, I think there are some different academic strengths at each of the schools, too. For example, Smith is known as being the most “science-y”. </p>
<p>Not to say you couldn’t get a fabulous education anywhere, but: </p>
<p>If you want to get real nitpicky, you could look at the course catalogs and browse the websites, seeing what kind of courses some majors of choice would entail at each school. And also see what kind of other “outside of class” opportunities are available on each campus in terms of academics. </p>
<p>I am biased because I like cities - I would not go for Mt. Holyoke based on location factors…for me it would probably come down to Smith, Wellesley, or Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>Are there any significant differences in size of undergrad population, too? Smith: 2610, Mt. Holyoke 2200, Bryn Mawr: 1,300, Wellesley: 2,300. Eh, my research yields, not really, though Bryn Mawr is decidely on the small side and Smith is a bit larger (Bryn Mawr’s campus, however, does not feel small at all! And perhaps proximity to Philly helps).</p>
<p>My D attended Barnard so I don’t have a horse in this race. Some of her friends said overnights were very helpful in discovering which group of women fit the best. D knew Barnard was her place, though she applied and was accepted at two of the others. Didn’t apply to two.</p>
<p>Most people know which vibe is most comfortable for them. Each of the four is a wonderful school in its own right. I don’t think she can make a bad decision. She might compare course catalogs (all on line) in her dominant area of interest.</p>
<p>What is her prospective major? My son encountered a fair number of Wellesley students on his investment banking interview circuit, so I’m thinking they have decent placement for business. Wellesley and Smith are the most prestigious of the group. Whether deserved or not, I think Smith has more of a feminist reputation, which could be an issue depending on career goals.</p>
<p>My d and I have visited Smith, Mt Holyoke and Wellesley.</p>
<p>My impressions:
[ul]
[<em>]Smith is the most in-your-face alternative (may have something to do with being located in Northampton)
[</em>]Wellesley students are the most intent on being successful in their professional careers (I think Wellesley is also the most competitive in terms of admissions)
[li]Mount Holyoke is more laidback, doesn’t seem to project a certain image the way the others do[/li][/ul]
I will be very curious to hear where your daughter decides to go and why. My daughter prefers Mt Holyoke so far.</p>
<p>My D is currently trying to decide between Mt. Holyoke and Bryn Mawr (she did not apply to Wellesley and decided against Smith early-too “in your face”). She is leaning towards Bryn Mawr simply because it is closest to home. I guess it is as valid a reason as anything else.</p>
<p>WARNING: I am heading to Smith this fall, so I might be a teensy bit biased</p>
<p>I really think she cannot go wrong in whichever she picks, but here are my thoughts</p>
<p>Smith is “in your face”. It’s full of VERY strong and opinionated women. It might be the most feminist of the Seven Sisters, but the campus is GORGEOUS! Plus, the Open Curriculum is awesome, especially if she wants to do a double major. I also think Northampton is a great location, especially considering the nearby consortium</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke is also very cool. It’s also in the consortium, so that offers up a bunch of resources. Plus, Mount Holyoke is considerably more “chill” than the other three. I think Mount Holyoke’s campus might be even prettier than Smith’s (IIRC, it was designed by the guy who designed Central Park). </p>
<p>Wellesley is the only other Seven Sister I considered applying to. While it is a great school, I do NOT think it is above any of the others. I think they are all comparable. Wellesley struck me as a bit “pre-professional”. The girls were academic, no doubt, but they seemed to be going into something a bit more mainstream. I also love that you can cross register at MIT :D</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr was too small and too close to home for me. BUT, it looks like Hogwarts. Seriously. That makes me smile. The only other experience I have with Bryn Mawr is a friend’s older sister who transferred after a year. She said it felt too much like high school, but this was a girl who couldn’t handle the all girls, small school atmosphere.</p>
<p>If I had to choose, it’d be Wellesley or Smith 
Good Luck!</p>
<p>In the interest of full disclosure I never applied to/looked at Wellesley so this is not a comparison post, but just from a Smith perspective I would say it [Smith] has a very pre-professional bent. There’s a strong emphasis on internships and interning, and a lot of recruiting from the top companies in investment banking, the tech field, business consulting, law schools, med schools etc. Not that we’re not alternative or political, but just that being alternative and wanting a career are not mutually exclusive. </p>
<p>Smith also has the Praxis program, which garuantees every student will receive $2000 during the summer of their choosing to help offset the cost of doing an unpaid internship. Every student gets this, it’s not tied to financial need or any other qualification, you just have to prove that you have an internship, it’s unpaid, and then Smith writes you a check to spend or save over the summer as you choose. The idea is to make sure that every student, regardless of their financial situation, has the opportunity to do at least one summer internship. </p>
<p>All of the 7 sisters have good career advising, what attracted me to Smith’s especially is that it’s a career resources, so if you’re 50 or 60 or 20, they will still help you hook into the Smith network and provide you with a full range of career assistance, just because you’re a Smithie. </p>
<p>And I’ve found the alums to be fantastic as a resource. The Smith network is very tight, it’s very close, and the people are so welcoming and eager to help you get started on the ladder, largely because some Smithie helped them get started and I think our sense of shared responsibility for each other is very high, both as alums and as students. If it wasn’t for a Smith alum taking a chance on me, I never would have gotten my first internship which led directly into my first job. She opened the door, and I put in the work to get myself over the threshold, but both steps were equally important to me. </p>
<p>The trouble is, I’m sure you can find similar stories at the other 7 sisters! She has such a hard decision to make!</p>
<p>My D thinks Barnard is quite feminist but in a different way than Smith. Watching Barnard’s president battle Columbia’s president shows feminism in action.</p>
<p>That said, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem both attended Smith (but so did Barbara Bush, haha.) </p>
<p>I know Barnard isn’t on the table here – just a little info.</p>
<p>They’re all wonderful schools but all have a slightly different vibe. To be accepted to all four is lucky, indeed, and a wonderful decision to make.</p>
<p>No one can read! She has visited extensively!</p>
<p>There are several ways to approach this. I’d probably make a spreadsheet with the different characteristics of each school, rate them, and then perhaps apply some sort of weighting to what is the most important. Things that might be important - majors, distribution requirements, location, architecture, dorm arrangements, food, rating, alum network reputation, nerdy vibe, size of school etc. The categories can whatever you like. </p>
<p>The second is to toss a coin and then pay attention to how you feel about the results.</p>
<p>If she’s a bloom where you are planted sort of person, she’ll be fine at any of the schools.</p>
<p>There’s no wrong answer here. They are all fine, and all pretty comparable. Their somewhat different characters are fairly well known, but hardly monolithic – I think only a tiny number of women would thrive at some and shrivel at the others; most would be happy at any of them. Just pick one. It will be great.</p>
<p>Things that might be important: accessibility of boys. ;)</p>
<p>Seriously, does anyone know which school has more access to males for dating purposes? D loves the idea of being in a mostly female environment, but she also would like a dating life.</p>
<p>Also, I find the Smith house system is very appealing.</p>
<p>You should take that into consideration…</p>
<p>That said, two big-factor, obvious, rational choice pairs make the decision easy: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Suburb (Wellesley, Bryn Mawr) vs. college-town exurb (Smith, Holyoke)? The first two each has easy access to a vibrant city, the second two are part of one of the best college-town areas in the country. It’s going to make a difference in how and where you spend your free time, though. And it affects the size and feel of the campuses.</p></li>
<li><p>Relatively high academic pressure (Wellesley, Smith) vs. lower academic pressure (Bryn Mawr, Holyoke). I don’t want to overstate the differences here, because they are all academically strong, and none is cut-throat or frenzied. But my sense is that the atmosphere at the first two is a couple ticks more driven than at the second two. And many students will clearly prefer one or the other style.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Mathmom gave some great advice. I like the coin toss comment the best.</p>
<p>Agree with all of those who have noted there’s no bad choice. Also agree with those who have said that, in the outside world, Smith and Wellesley are generally more well known than the other two and are generally more professionally oriented. But…there will still be a large cohort at Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke who are pre-law, pre-med, and econ majors who will go into investment banking. All schools have strong Career Services depts and strong alumnae networks.</p>
<p>If she has a specific major in mind, then it will be helpful to look at the course catalogs. However, at all of those schools it’s possible to take courses somewhere else — and certainly very easy from Smith, Mount Holyoke or Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>If it’s possible to do additional visits, be sure to go to the student union equivalent (I know at least two of these schools don’t have anything called a “student union”, but they do have a place where large numbers of students hang out.) Just sit there, or in a cafeteria at meal time, and listen to the conversations around you. Listen to at least a couple of groups of people. They will hopefully all be interesting conversations, but maybe some will resonate more with your daughter than others.</p>
<p>If additional visits aren’t possible…perhaps there are some other ways to get a better feel for each school. </p>
<p>1) See if the student newspapers are online, or if you can get a copy of them. Look at the past couple of issues. They will give you some idea of the “hot topics” on campus.</p>
<p>2) Go on line and read the alumnae magazines. What is of interest to alums? Are any of those things of interest to your daughter?</p>
<p>3) Go to the Press Release area of each college’s website. What has been the news that’s important to each institution? Is the institution “bragging” about stuff your daughter would like to see her future alma mater brag about?</p>
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<p>That’s interesting. I’ve always thought that Wellesley had more of a feminist reputation. Smith had male presidents until the mid/late 1970s, while Wellesley has always had female presidents. The girl who lives more or less across the street from us went to Smith because she perceived Wellesley as “too feminist.” </p>
<p>Of course, people’s impressions of these things are often based on what the school was like decades ago, or on the name of a grad, or on some other fleeting thing. The reality is that all of the women’s colleges will have a substantial feminist core value. </p>
<p>I think that JHS has it right in post #16.</p>
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<p>It is also very easy at Wellesley. There is an hourly free bus in each direction between MIT and Wellesley, and presumably something similar with Olin. If I may be partisan for a moment, one of the virtues of the Wellesley/MIT cross registration arrangement is that MIT is not a fellow LAC with similar types of courses: it is a completely different kind of institution.</p>
<p>^this.</p>
<p>If you are concerned about looking “too feminist” on your resume, you probably shouldn’t go to ANY women’s college.</p>
<p>Maybe Wellesley is the worst because it is the one that is most “well known”, and therefore would be most quickly recgonized as a women’s college by the unwashed masses 
Lol.</p>