<p>DD has narrowed down her acceptance choices to these two schools. She just returned from visiting MH and loved it; will visit Hamilton on acceped students day (and stay the night before).</p>
<p>We know a fair amount about MH but do not know anyone who has attended Hamilton. Can anyone comment on Hamilton? I seem to pick up some current about alcohol and drugs (I know they are everywhere but just wondering more about Hamilton). D is not a party person.</p>
<p>Complicating the decision is the fact she received merit money for MH and none for Hamilton; but Hamilton has men and is slightly higher ranked.</p>
<p>Best way to decide is to visit, spend the night, and sit in on classes. D visited LAC's in northeast, midwest, west--she found Hamilton to be the perfect "fit" for her.</p>
<p>"I seem to pick up some current about alcohol and drugs (I know they are everywhere but just wondering more about Hamilton)."</p>
<p>While you will find them at both schools, statitiscally you will find significantly more binge and heavy drinking at Hamilton, and more moderate drinkers at Mt. Holyoke. Both schools will have some total abstainers.</p>
<p>Thanks JBDad and Mini. Hopefully she will get a reasonable sense of what goes on at Hamilton on her overnight visit. We visited last summer and liked the school very much.</p>
<p>I managed to find a research report written by a Hamilton student in 2003 about use of alcohol and drugs on campus. He stated that more than 50% of students admitted using marihuana during the prior 30 days, which was what concerned me a lot. If anyone's interested in reading it, I will find it again and post it next.</p>
<p>I have a nephew at Hamilton right now who is having a dream experience there -- involved in a ton of things, great friends, funded research, travelling all over the world, and as far as I can tell actually learning a ton and maturing very nicely. He is majoring in environmental studies (or something like that).</p>
<p>In my generation and context, Hamilton was where pleasant but unambitious preppies went to get a little polish and a lotta shine on. My nephew is not like that at all: the nonaffluent child of a hippie carpenter and a schoolteacher (who divorced when he was an infant) in a rural community, very quiet and hardworking, an excellent student in high school, a computer geek who did a gap year running his own computer services business. (However, he is not anything like an abstainer in the drugs/alcohol department.) I was not that enthusiastic about Hamilton when he chose it. I sure am now.</p>
<p>Not that I know anything bad about Mt. Holyoke. My last data point was a recruited softball player who loved it, but that was over a decade ago.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at Hamilton. She lives in one of several sub-free dorms and she tells me that while many kids do drink/smoke at Hamilton,there are not any more than did at her middle-class NJ public high school.
She is not a drinker, and she doesn't percieve this to be a problem. She has many friends and finds lots of things to do.
The problem for her is that Hamilton is "in the middle of nowhere" and she misses being close to a city.
But Mt Holyoke is even more isolated than Hamilton so I'm assuming the rural environment won't bother your D</p>
<p>isnt Holyoke in the consortium?
A friend whose daughter attended Holyoke, says there were men in her classes- however- she also after two years transferred to Stanford, as she was tired of the eastcoast/small school.</p>
<p>I have two nieces who attended Colgate- but I don't believe they looked at Hamilton-( they also do not use any substances- very strict LDS, in fact one is now doing a mission- however- with rural schools, sometimes there are more pressures to party for something to do)
I would agree with visiting- and try and project how she might feel in two years.</p>
<p>As an Amherst student who took history classes (Prof. Joseph Ellis) at MHC, I recommend MHC. A lot of Holyoke students take classes at AC too (e.g., electives like Japanese, LJST).</p>
<p>momogem, My son was very interested in Hamilton. Obviously he didn't look at MHC so I can't compare, but there were a lot aspects of Hamilton that were very appealing: their innovative curriculum, their arts focus, the beautiful and spacious campus and surrounding countryside. The down side to me is that there is no walking access to any sort of town or village. My son loves his rural campus, but his campus still offers a few of the amenities of civilization like restaurants, drug store, photo shop etc. If I remember correctly, from Hamilton you really need a car.</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke does a great job of maximizing opportunites, encouragement and networking support for young women...outcomes for grad schools and careers reflect this. If your D loved it when she visited, I would encourage her to go there--but it's a good idea to check out Hamilton so that it is an informed choice. (I am an MHC alum, so not "objective".) Your D could explore a range of Junior Year Away or Abroad opportunities to compensate for lack of men at MHC, and as mentioned, the Five College cooperation. As a non-party person, she could be happy at a women's college with a strong sense of community.</p>
<p>I have no idea of the methodology used in the Hamilton student's paper. However, the national rates are presented in the annual Monitoring the Future study with a huge national sample.</p>
<p>Among college students the current rates of majiuana usage in 2005 were:</p>
<p>Used within the past 30 days: 17%
Used within the past year: 33%
Used ever: 49%</p>
<p>My D is a first year student at Mount Holyoke. She e academics are great and that she has had some amazing opportunities and experiences. She told me this weekend that she is so glad that she chose a women's college...and within that catagory, that she chose Mount Holyoke. Feel free to PM me if you would like additional information.</p>
<p>Pyewacket, momrath, icesk8mom, and everyone else -- thanks so much, you've given us lots to think about. I may write again after her visit to Hamilton next Monday. In the meantime, she's wearing a Mt. Holyoke sweatshirt every day.</p>
<p>Just my opinion of course, but, at this stage, any magazine-based "rankings" should never come into play.</p>
<p>These are both great schools and it is only her heart and happiness that should be setting ranks. (given that family circumstances make both possible from what your wrote.)</p>
<p>My Manhattanite cousin who graduated from Hamilton had a wonderful experience there. Majored in finance/econ, worked on Wall Street both before and after Wharton for MBA.</p>
<p>Was not a partier but was involved in Greek Life.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who responded. Your input was helpful. The bottom line is that D has decided to attend Mount Holyoke. She realized as the pressure was on to pack for a Hamilton visit this morning, that in her mind, the decision had really been made and she did not need to know anything more about Hamilton. She feels that Mount Holyoke is a perfect fit for her; taking 2 days to visit Hamilton would not be a good use of anyone's time.</p>
<p>It's bittersweet...at least for me. Hamilton is a great school, as are many of the others where she was accepted, and it's hard to turn them down. Had she decided on Hamilton, I would have felt sad about the lost opportunities of Mount Holyoke. What's important is that D is happy and confident about her decision. The merit money offered to her is certainly a plus.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone else trying to find the right place for their child!</p>
<p>I would like to welcome your daughter to the Mount Holyoke "family" and wish her much happiness and success as an 'uncommon woman'. That kind of "gut feeling" about what's right is a good guide to college fit.</p>