I have a junior daughter interested in the sciences, specifically Bio or Pre-Vet. She’d like to attend grad school so we are focused on keeping undergrad costs down but she will not qualify for FA. Her stats are good, so far. Unweighted 4.0 and taking a very challenging schedule. ACT of 34. Lots of great ECs. I am wondering what her chances might be to get a merit award at MHC. It seems like a great undergraduate school for a Science major.
My daughter is studying bio at Mount Holyoke and by all accounts the bio department is great. Regarding merit aid, I know that MHC does give out significant merit awards to some students: sounds like your D has a good shot at it with her stats!
Yes, she has a good shot at merit. My kid with fairly similar stats was offered $25K per year a couple of years ago. Now… given the sticker price, MHC is still pretty expensive. But it was a good offer for schools in that price range. In case you are wondering, my D also got a nice merit award at Lawrence in Wisconsin, which is a bit lower cost to begin with – if we had been looking for a way to keep costs down a lot, it would have been a good choice. She got merit at other schools, but those were the best financially. Vet school is expensive, and vets don’t make a lot so it can be hard to pay off – if she is serious about it, keeping undergrad expenses down is important.
@staceyneil @intparent – wow…thanks so much for your input! Do you mind answering another question – did your daughters interview? If we set up a visit, should we request an interview? Thanks!
My D did not interview. She had a great app (including very good recommendations), but is kind of socially awkward. 
We decided interviews weren’t going to help her and she hated them, so she did not. My older D (stellar interviewer) did interview at MHC – if I remember right, it was a current student who did the interview, not an admissions rep. That was quite a few years ago, though.
My D1 interviewed for this year’s application cycle. Her interviewer was a student. She described it as more of a conversation and enjoyable. Very low pressure.
Thanks @intparent and @BearHouse – guess we’ll think it over a bit. My D is very introverted so, even with
another student, it could be tough for her. Perhaps some practice would help!
My daughter also received the $25K scholarship at MHC. (Her states are similar to your daughter…35 ACT, 4.92 gpa, 13 AP classes total) She did interview and it was one of the things that sold her on MHC and made it her first choice. She absolutely loved the interview and learned so much about the school from a student perspective. I think the students MHC selects to do the interviewing are extremely personable and do a good job setting the kids at ease. She interviewed with an admissions rep at Smith the next day and had a completely different (although not necessarily negative) experience. When my daughter interviewed, they had a number of current students also sitting in the waiting area wearing name tags, who came around and visited with the students while they were waiting their turn and visiting with the parents when the students went back into the interview. I was so impressed with these young ladies and learned so much about the school from them that can’t be found in the brochures or on websites.
I hope you’ll decide to give the interview a try. I think everyone to whom I’ve spoken has had a great experience with the interview process at MHC.
I interviewed in october of 2015, and i highly recommend it. the interviewer was an mhc senior, who was very nice and had an answer for all of my questions. i also spoke with another student at the office waiting room who was awesome (we have the same name 
) mhc also allows negotiating of finaid, so depending on what your daughter gets from other schools, i think you might be able to get more than they initially offer.
The MHC website is not clear on whether the interview is evaluative or not. I always think that unless colleges say otherwise, assume that they are evaluative. Therefore, a poor interview CAN hurt your chances. My kid got into a lot of great colleges (everyplace she applied) without interviewing. It is easy to say someone should interview if you or your kid is strong in that area, but if you aren’t sure, there is no good reason to take the chance. I do really like having kids sit in on classes if school is in session – that is something you can arrange through the admissions office, and is an easy way for your kid to interact with students without the evaluative pressure of the interview.
@txserenity, I am curious as to the timing of your D’s merit award. I recall an earlier thread where your D was prepared to turn down her ED contract due to not receiving enough merit aid. Was there some kind of negotiation that resulted in increased merit aid?
@lots2do Yes, the school reconsidered and increased her merit aid award amount after the appeal committee met.
@txserenity, well that is great news! Congratulations to your D. I am glad that it all worked out.
Thank you! Very excited for her!
Wow! That is great news. I remember reading the anguish you felt for your DD. MHC really did right by your DD!
Thanks for all of the responses to my inquiry. @txserenity – so…there is an appeal committee? I am glad that it worked out.
MHC places weight on the interview. My MHC daughter interviewed with a staff member and I strongly believe that it tipped the scales steeply in her favor. On the other hand, her shy younger sister, who did not apply to MHC (regrettably) ,was waitlisted at EVERY school she interviewed with. If I had a third daughter applying to colleges, I would strongly encourage some practice interviews with unfamiliar adults. Unlike SAT prep, interview prep is skill that will relaize lifetime of return on investment.
MHC has very rigorous process for selecting and training student interviewers–like a undergrad fellowship.
Newhall Fellows conduct the on campus interviews: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/meet_our_students/harriet-newhall-fellows
more info for on campus interviews. http://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blog/fresh-perspectives-on-prospectives/ MHC wants to “get to know you”.
@thinmints That’s what it said in her email, that the Scholarship Appeals Committee reviewed her request for reconsideration.
@txstella Thank you!! It was so stressful! I am very relieved and very grateful to MHC.