Looking for any input into a decision between the two. Cost will be about the same with scholarships and work study. D leaning towards MHC but IWU been very supportive. We live in Europe so unable to visit. D looking to major in the sciences and very interested in summer internships. I feel like I have exhausted my advice and turning to other parents who may be able to offer assistance of these two colleges. Many thanks. Three years until I have to go through it all with S so hopefully will have recovered by then…
Any advice gratefully received please on the merits of these two? Many thanks
If the costs are about the same, then I don’t know why you are even asking this question. MHC is one of the very best liberal arts colleges in the country. MHC vs. Amherst/Dartmouth/Smith/Wellesley/Bryn Mawr or “MHC is barely affordable and IWU is free” I could understand as reasons for you to come here asking for advice.
What are your objections to MHC?
Is the cost truly “about the same”?
Yes - it is roughly. MHC will be $3000 more per year. We are European so whilst we have read as much as we can anf course we just wanted some input that our feeling was right. It will be a big decision for our D to be so far away from home and any input is gratefully received. I am sorry if you feel that it was a stupid question.
No, it was just a very unusual question. For many families in the US $3,000 would not be too big a difference in cost to pay for a very top college or university. However for some families, even a much smaller difference might be too much. Particularly if they really have to stretch to cover the cost of the cheaper option. Only you know whether or not that $3,000 difference really is do-able for your family.
When I read your first post, I took it to mean that you were a US family living abroad, but now I realize that your daughter is an international student. In that case the cost difference might matter a lot. When she goes for her visa interview, she will need to be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the visa officer that she does have enough money (scholarship, work study, family money, etc.) to cover the full cost of attendance.
The visa officer also needs to believe that she fully intends to return home after completing her education. So if either MHC or IWU is better recognized in your country, and is more likely to help her get a job after she returns, then that would be another reason to choose one over the other.
These are very different types of institutions, in very different parts of the country. If her scholarship money depends on earning a certain grade in her classes at one place, but is just based on financial need at the other, then that needs to be taken into consideration. Her first semester will be difficult no matter where she goes because she will be adjusting to a whole new way of life and a new academic system. Travel costs to and from your home once or twice each year might also be very different, so check that out as well.
Thank you - it is trying to get a feel of an institution. She is very happy to go to MHC and we can see that it is a great place but when she just started to have a doubt I just wanted to be able to tell her that it was the right decision and sometimes they need to hear it from another source if that makes sense. Thanks for your comments.
Mount Holyoke has its own sub-forum here. She might like to take a look at some of the threads there.http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/mount-holyoke-college/
I graduated from another one of the women’s colleges, and my roommates’ daughter went to MHC. She loved it there.
Tell your daughter that many international students never get to visit campus before they arrive there to study. A lot of US students don’t either. If she likes what she knows so far of MHC, it is almost certain that she will be very happy there once she settles in.
Wishing you both all the best!
Have you visited either?
We have visited MHC and I can tell you a little bit about it. I do recommend you check out the MHC thread linked above.
MHC has a gorgeous campus, truly. Classically beautiful college architecture set next to woods and two small lakes. It is definitely rural. There is one small retail development by the campus with several restaurants, a coffee shop, small stores and a movie theater. The bus runs regularly to take students to other, bigger towns nearby. But if your kid is a city kid it may be a shock.
The science facilities are very nice and the women we spoke to were enthusiastic about their professors and experiences.
We were struck by how friendly and outgoing the young women we met were. Several times random women asked if we were visiting and talked to us about their experiences. 25% of MHC’s students are international so your D wouldn’t be alone in her experience.
Good luck to your daughter!
@LeftofPisa Thank you for your input. We have been to Boston in the past so know the area. The admissions at IWU have been very supportive and given a very positive attitude to D attending.
Peggy…MHC is not near Boston…at all. It is totally on the other side of the state from Boston, and in a much more rural, small town area than the eastern part of Massachusetts. Knowing the Boston area would NOT give you a picture of the area around MHC in the least. The Boston area is very very different from the western part of the state where MHC is located. (We live about an hour from MHC, and our kid went to college in Boston…so we are quite familiar with both areas).
And actually in terms of flying…MHC is much closer to Bradley Airport (Hartford Springfield) than Boston.
Does your student want to attend an all women’s college or not. That would be the big difference between these schools. MHC is an excellent school, known more broadly than Illinois Wesleyan.
I wouldn’t put much stock in the attention admissions is paying to your D – once she steps on campus as a student she will have nothing to do with admissions again. Choose the school that is the best fit for your D.
@thumper1 . I think my expression was poor. We went to Boston but did travel around a great deal. This was a long time ago when our D was 2. I meant to try and say that we had been to that part of America and understood that it was not like the mid-West or Alabama as examples. She is open to an all women’s college certainly.
Actually, I grew up in the Midwest. The terrain is a bit more hilly than many parts of the Midwest, but the rural, small town feel near MHC isn’t that much different a feel than some parts of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, etc.
That is good to know. She does not want a big city feel.
MHC is an amazing place. The women there are smart, ambitious, but also seem to have fun. As has been said, there are many international students at MHC and they have an early orientation program especially for them. MHC has increased its focus on internships which I know students are excited about. The area is very rural, but it is beautiful. I honestly believe that MHC would offer your daughter a lifetime of opportunities.
MHC, w/o question, outshines IWC.
I’m a proud midwesterner who knows many bright and motivated people who have attended Illinois Wesleyan over the years and gone on to great careers. That being said, if she was my daughter, I would not hesitate for a second to spend the additional money to send her to Mount Holyoke.
Is Illinois Wesleyan conservative/religious? If it is, that would be a contrast to the vibe at a women’s college, which tend to be more liberal and all about empowering women to achieve their maximum potential. MHC is very tolerant of the LGBT community, for example—a conservatively religious school may be less so. AGAIN, I know next to nothing about IWU.
If the money really matters, Illinois Wes–but be prepared that it is a very “regional college” and your D may feel very isolated. If you can swing the money. MHC and don’t look back.
Another vote for MHC. My D attends and I have been extremely impressed…