<p>I was accepted at Hamilton College and Mount Holyoke College (still waiting on four more), and I'm having a tough time deciding between the two.
I've been browsing U n i g o 's reviews, but it seems like most opinions are contradictory: one person says you won't fit in at Hamilton if you don't drink, and the next says that lack of drinking will have no impact on your integration or experience. Then there's the whole "light side" versus "dark side" issue, which students alternately deny and laud, and then the intellectual populace versus slackers whose wealthy parents got them in.
Can anyone shed some light on the naked truth of Hamilton for me? Why did you go to Hamilton, or why are you going?</p>
<p>Furthermore, if anyone has an opinion on the superiority or inferiority of Hamilton over Mount Holyoke, I would love to hear it. </p>
<p>I suppose I should mention a few things about myself. I'm a white, middle-class girl, living in France (though I am American). I don't drink, I am quite studious, and like horse riding, piano, and writing. I plan on majoring in English or Creative Writing. I received a Leadership Award at Mount Holyoke for $10 000 a year - which I suppose should be taken into account, but certainly is not a deciding factor.</p>
<p>THey are both fine schools. Among the things I would consider, if I were you:
-Hamilton is very, very remote (as in the middle of nowhere remote), while MH is right near Springfield and very accessible to Boston.
-MH is part of the 5-school consortium (with Smith and Amherst, as well as UMass and Hampshire), and the potential to take classes at Amherst and Smith could be appealing.
-Perhaps most importantly, how do you feel about an all women’s school? I know people who did it and would never allow their kids to do it. (I also know people who loved it.)
-The $10K being offered by MH is pretty appealing.</p>
<p>I really fell in love with the campus at Mount Holyoke and all the super friendly people there when I visited. I’m just worried about it being all-women, and the high acceptance rate. I know, that sounds awful, but at the end of the day, Mount Holyoke seems (correct me if I’m wrong) less prestigious, and that certainly will have an impact on the rest of my life (in terms of career opportunities and/or graduate studies.)
I have not visited Hamilton, and I don’t know what the people are like, really, or whether I would be a good fit.</p>
<p>My 4 other schools are Middlebury, Bard, Brown, and Yale. I expect rejections from all but Bard, now.</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke is NOT less prestigious than Hamilton. MHC has an excellent alumni network and an excellent record for placing its top students in top grad and professional programs. Going to MHC will NOT have an adverse impact on the rest of your life. Your interests in scholarly pursuits, horseback riding, piano and writing make you sound like the perfect Mount Holyoke woman. The main question is, I think, whether or not you can picture yourself at a single sex school.</p>
<p>We visited Hamilton and were very impressed with the friendliness of the tour guide, admissions officer presenter and the students working in the admission office. They have a very responsive, empathetic administrative office in financial aid and admissions. I have to say — we were very impressed with this school. It matches very well with what the Princeton Review points out — a top academic school, with an open curriculum that is very “student-focused”. In talking with the recent alums, I was amazed that they found so much support from the whole, supportive alumni network. One even said when they got married, all his groomsmen were from Hamilton. That’s how close the friendships are, at Hamilton. I really liked that.</p>
<p>I’m with JohnAdams12. it is very important that you spend some time @ Hamilton and not just with the Admission folks. Its a great school but for reasons listed by WCASparent above, not for everyone.</p>
<p>Why not wait until you have all of your decisions and then ask the question. Certainly you have some ranking already in mind and if you get into one of your other four choices then this question doesn’t matter. In the event you do come down to just MHC and Hamilton, you are the only one that can make the decision…then it is by visiting and seeing where YOU see YOURSELF. Both are great schools with different personalities. Without knowing your personality it is hard for others to make the call for you. At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong at either school for sure.</p>