Got in to the "Seven Sisters", which to choose?

Parents Forum
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<p>Your D cannot go wrong. I only know MHC, Smith, Wellesley and Barnard (B is not an issue, it seems, so I will omit it, although living in NYC cannot compare to living anywhere else [that may be a plus or a minus, depending upon what she wants], and Columbia’s facilities are great – C is building a new building as I write).</p>

<p>First, I suggest considering your D’s proposed major. See which school(s) is/are good in that subject.</p>

<p>MHC, Smith and Wellesley have gorgeous campuses, but they are different from one another. Smith and MHC are flat and rather compact – dorms are fairly close to classes. Wellesley is hilly and more spread out. (My D would not go to a hilly campus). Smith’s buildings range in styles as they were built with the style of the time when they were built. MHC’s buildings are pretty much all gothic brick. Wellesley’s buildings range all over the map. Wellesley has a beautiful good sized lake – good for skating and taking a cold dip in the spring and fall, also sailing and rowing.</p>

<p>Boys are available at all 3, but at times it may take some effort. Wellesley has access to Harvard and MIT classes and boys. Smith and MHC have access to Amherst, Hampshire and UMass classes and boys. You can judge which is more appealing, if either. [As an MIT grad, I can say that many MITers were, and likey still are, rather nerdy, though there are a few normal ones (hopefully including me). My D will be going to MHC, but I would have been elated had she decided to apply to S or W. Oh well.] I should warn you, at MIT class average on a test in a science course is often 40% or so. Somewhat demoralizing.</p>

<p>Consider how your daughter will get to there from home and reverse (if she has a car, that 's not an issue). From MHC and Smith, there are busses to most places, even a car service to NYC, and Amtrak, and airport at Springfield/Hartford. Wellesley, I think you first have to go to Boston to get anywhere, which is an international hub, but a bit of a hike.</p>

<p>Smith, MHC and Wellesley are all strong in the sciences.</p>

<p>Although all have internationals, I think MHC has a higher percentage of internationals, if that’s of interest.</p>

<p>Once she makes her choice, don’t let her look back. She will be happy where ever she ends up. She will meet like-minded people where-ever. There may be crazies everywhere, but one person’s crazy is another person’s best buddie. Every pot has its cover.</p>

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<p>It looks like I’m going to have to arrange another college trip to Mt. Holyoke (we are already doing Bryn Mawr this Sunday/Monday) because D just can’t come to a decision without another visit.</p>

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<p>I wish I could go because nothing is as much of a treat to me as looking at college campuses. Enjoy. They leave, and the time flies. My D has been out of college for a year now.</p>

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<p>especially at this time of year. They are just so lovely.</p>

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<p>Achat, I was already here, a few posts before yours. But thanks for the plug.</p>

<p>Conc’dDad: the saying about MIT men is: “The odds are good but the goods are odd.”</p>

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<p>I also want to suggest your D join the SMith College Class of 2014 group on Facebook…see if the girls and her click! We all have been getting along super well, but we might not be what she’s looking for in classmates</p>

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<p>Hey, as long as we are counting, Smith has both Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush among its alumnae. But I do have a soft spot for Wellesley, since they were the first school to accept D1 after the rejection from her EA school. D2 did not apply to any women’s colleges.</p>

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<p>but Mt. Holyoke has Baby Houseman! ;)</p>

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<p>FYI, there’s also a Facebook page for MHC Class of 2014. Some current MoHos have a discussion board there where you can ask questions and get answers promptly.</p>

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<p>Barbara Bush attended but did not graduate. When Smith was courting my D they sent a postcard with Barbara Bush’s picture on it. It said: Surely there must be a better way for a Smithie to get to the White House.</p>

<p>Nancy and Barbara are wives. Hillary is a senator and Sec’y of State. And my D wouldn’t even look at Wellesley, so I was just addressing the poster who said Wellesley has the better rep.</p>

<p>Hey, Smith produced Sylvia Plath, a great poet. Very important in my book. And one of my college profs was taught by Plath when they were both at Smith. </p>

<p>No arguments that Smith has illustrious alums, as do all the seven sisters, long may the remaining five remain! I have a soft spot for them all.</p>

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<p>I’m also going to throw out there that Smith also has Molly Ivins(one of my personal favorites), Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinam…</p>

<p>if you’re remotely a feminist, there’s no way to pass up Smith</p>

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<p>Yeah, and Hillary got her start as a wife also. Plus Nancy and Barbara are from an earlier generation. Hillary came from the first generation of women that in the political arena could routinely aspire to be something more than a wife.</p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr is pretty high-pressure academically, too–lots of future PHDs, and a taboo on discussing grades. Accessibility of boys, for QM: I’d say it descends Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, Smith/Mt. Holyoke. Barnard and Scripps are really the most coed-accessible, but neither is in consideration here.</p>

<p>Mt. Holyoke’s “brand” is internationalism, I think. An astonishing 1/5 of the student body is international.</p>

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<p>No, Hillary got her start as one of the lawyers on the Nixon impeachment legal team.</p>

<p>And no, there were plenty of women of Barbara and Nancy’s generation who had successful careers, just not in the political arena perhaps. But there were Shirley Chisolm and Bella Abzug who certainly were not known for their wiveliness.</p>

<p>All the Seven Sisters had feminists; actually Barnard was the most initially because it didn’t have the tradition of a finishing school; it existed merely to train women for professions.</p>

<p>I agree that Smith’s feminist credentials have been very impressive.</p>

<p>I am not going to throw out famous folk from the other schools.</p>

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<p>Speaking of political women…Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member (FDR’s Admin) was a MHC grad. Ella Grasso, the first women elected governor in her own right was a MHC grad.</p>

<p>But I digress…all of the women’s colleges have illustrious alumnae.</p>

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<p>Hi. This is the OP’s daughter. I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the insights. Almost everything posted has been helpful in giving me ideas on how to choose the right college for me. Of course more posts are always welcome! (:</p>

<p>I also just wanted to mention that it’s a bit confusing and even frustrating when the discussion delves into colleges that aren’t being considered, and I would (politely) suggest maybe taking it to a different forum? Maybe not, though. This is the internet; it’s open to everyone.</p>

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<p>That may have been an early job but that’s not what made her a household name. (Quick, without looking it up, name all the other lawyers on that impeachment team.) It was being Bill Clinton’s wife that thrust her into national prominence. </p>

<p>Barbara and Nancy had early jobs too before they settled down and married. But like Hillary, it was being the wife of a prominent politician that made all three of them nationally famous. In the years prior to Bill becoming a viable presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was a corporate lawyer for the Rose Law Firm in Arkansas specializing and patent and intellectual property law and was completely obscure outside of Arkansas.</p>

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<p>Well, I had no preferences before this since my D never considered any of these schools. But telling me where such a depressed individual as Sylvia Plath attended would make me cross that school off our list immediately. Bleh!</p>

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<p>Our D was accepted to Smith and BMC, did not look seriously at the others. We expect that BMC will be her choice. The biggest differences for her were the more assertive student/alum from Smith (somewhat important), the Honor Code at BMC (very important) and access to a tremendous biochem program through BMC/Haverford (very important). </p>

<p>Congratulations on your excellent choices - you can’t really go wrong.</p>

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<p>Stuntedgiraffe –
Thanks for posting and please let us know what you finally decide…</p>