<p>Does anybody know anything good or bad about Mills College in California? I haven't seen it mentioned on cc so I just wanted to put it out there and see if there is any feedback on it...</p>
<p>I have heard wonderful things about Mills! I think it's often overlooked as a LAC. One of my friends attends and gives it rave reviews. I don't know many specifics except for within the dance department...</p>
<p>I've also heard wonderful things about it. I do know that it's gorgeous, and that virtually all the dorm rooms are singles. Of course, it is all women, but being in Oakland there are plenty of men around!</p>
<p>It was founded by a small group of Mt. Holyoke alumnae as a "daughter college" (as opposed to a "sister college"), so I presume it is similar to Mt. Holyoke in some ways.</p>
<p>very fine school, located in not-so-fine 'hood. Sort of like an oasis in East Oakland. Just down the road a bit is the highest crime rate in the State. Few things to walk to off campus...altho bus system is very good, car is a virtual necessity to get around Oakland or to visit Berkeley since your D won't want to be standing at the bus stop after dark.....</p>
<p>btw: can take classes at Cal, but transportation and scheduling is not as easy as they make it sound.</p>
<p>thanks for all of that information...that was just the stuff that I was looking for...all of the nitty gritty details that they don't disclose on their website</p>
<p>Well do u think a school is going to say they live in A bad neighborhood right in front of u on the website if they did no one would apply!</p>
<p>well, of course I don't think that they would say anything bad about there own college on there website...I have read a lot about the good things but I was just asking about the downfalls of the school...which can truly only be found out by others who have gone there or know about the school by location and such....I just wanted another opinion..thats all</p>
<p>...Mills College in the news...</p>
<p>2 colleges team up on nursing
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/24/BAGRFA0LAM1.DTL%5B/url%5D">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/24/BAGRFA0LAM1.DTL</a></p>
<p>Dorm decisions
There's one rule that defines the college housing experience -- the more things change, the more they stay the same
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/27/HOGP0DRMUK1.DTL&hw=Mills+College&sn=001&sc=1000%5B/url%5D">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/27/HOGP0DRMUK1.DTL&hw=Mills+College&sn=001&sc=1000</a></p>
<p>Oakland: Writers Harvest yields food from thought
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/30/EBG6UERKGT1.DTL&hw=Mills+College&sn=003&sc=804%5B/url%5D">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/30/EBG6UERKGT1.DTL&hw=Mills+College&sn=003&sc=804</a></p>
<p>Immigration snubs Yiyun Li, a Mills College teacher and literary sensation
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/23/DDGOIGBS321.DTL&hw=Mills+College&sn=006&sc=736%5B/url%5D">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/23/DDGOIGBS321.DTL&hw=Mills+College&sn=006&sc=736</a></p>
<p>Campus News Briefs from the Mills College newspaper, The Weekly
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/09/43e9cdedc90ca%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/09/43e9cdedc90ca</a>
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/09/43e9cd556c7fe?in_archive=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/09/43e9cd556c7fe?in_archive=1</a>
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/02/43e141ab94b36?in_archive=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/02/43e141ab94b36?in_archive=1</a>
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/01/26/43d840f92ca14?in_archive=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/01/26/43d840f92ca14?in_archive=1</a>
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/12/01/438e2330e669f?in_archive=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/12/01/438e2330e669f?in_archive=1</a>
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/11/10/43726dd39d27e?in_archive=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/11/10/43726dd39d27e?in_archive=1</a>
<a href="http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/13/434d8b93a221f?in_archive=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.millsweekly.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/13/434d8b93a221f?in_archive=1</a></p>
<p>Newsroom from the Mills College website
(selected news articles from the Mills College administration?)
<a href="http://www.mills.edu/news/2005_index.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.mills.edu/news/2005_index.php</a></p>
<hr>
<p>Chances are, your D wouldn't be standing on a bus stop alone, but will travel around on- and off-campus with her fellow Mills students.</p>
<p>...from the Campus Safety Report 2004-2005...
<a href="http://www.mills.edu/student_services/safety_and_transportation/report.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.mills.edu/student_services/safety_and_transportation/report.php</a></p>
<p>Mills College is a community of over 1,500, located in Oakland, California; a culturally diverse city with a population of over 372,000. </p>
<p>Crime Statistics and Rates</p>
<p>The chart (15k, pdf) shows crimes reported during the last five calendar years to the Mills Department of Public Safety.
<a href="http://www.mills.edu/student_services/safety_and_transportation/crime_report_chart.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.mills.edu/student_services/safety_and_transportation/crime_report_chart.pdf</a></p>
<p>These statistics were acquired from the Oakland Police Department uniform crime report for 2003 </p>
<p>The City of Oakland has 35 designated police beats. Mills College is located in beat 28. If you would like to view current or past statistics for beat 28 or other areas of Oakland click on this link: <a href="http://www.oaklandpolice.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.oaklandpolice.com/</a> </p>
<p>Residential Security </p>
<p>Mills College houses approximately 600 students and 21 College employees in varied accommodations ranging from single dormitory style rooms to houses and apartments. Service and programs designed to enhance the quality of life and safety of the residential student population are a major priority with the Residential Life staff. (See the Mills College Student Handbook). </p>
<p>Entrances to Mills College residence halls are locked 24 hours a day. Residents are issued keys only to their room and to the front door of their residence hall. Building locks are changed on a regular basis. Locks are also changed immediately when lost keys pose a security threat to building residents. </p>
<p>Guests to residence halls are the responsibility of the person they are visiting and must abide by that halls rules, including the campus escort policy. The residential hall escort policy is that all guests to a residence hall must be escorted by the person they are visiting at all times while inside the residence hall. </p>
<p>Internal residence hall security is monitored by the Residential Life staff with any needed assistance provided by the Department of Public Safety. External building security is maintained by public safety officers. </p>
<p>Each residence hall is served by live-in Resident Directors and Resident Assistants. These staff members are trained to respond to safety and security concerns and conduct safety and security education sessions with the residents of their hall.</p>
<p>wow...thanks so much gsp<em>silicon</em>valley...that is all great information...</p>
<p>mills is NOT in a bad neighborhood. it is in a beautiful residential neighborhood that is a little close to a bad neighborhood. i live in the bay area. i know. there are not big campus security issues. they have excellent scholarships, especially if you apply EA (i got in with a scholarship and i'm waiting to see where else i get in)</p>
<p>Crime rate around Mills is MUCH lower than it is around Harvard.</p>
<p>Very well, perhaps it is. I know my very good friend who is planning on going to Mills described it as being an oasis within a bad area. But hey, maybe it isn't as bad as people say it is, as I would say about USC.</p>
<p>Mini, show us some statistics or something.</p>
<p>Are there any statistics about this out there?</p>
<p>Oakland, yes, crime, but Mills Colleg is within a forest nestled in the corner of the city where the city of Oakland is almost undetectable, similar to how Knowland Park and the Oakland Zoo don't seem like they're in Oakland.</p>
<p>On one side of Mills arethe East Oakland neighborhood'severybody talks about and on the otherside is Interstate 580 and the foothill neighborhoods of Oakland that isknown for mansions on the hillside.</p>
<p>Just note that Mills College's location really doesn't affect the campus safety or atmosphere at all because it really does feel like....basically a greenhouse in the middle of an industrial city.</p>
<p>These are the on-campus crimes at Harvard - you'll find virtually none at Mills. I will find the off-campus numbers at H. (I know they well surpassed Columbia's and Yale's last year.)</p>
<p>Why all the sudden interest in Harvard, Columbia, and Yale? I thought we were talking abou Mills.</p>
<p>I think it was just a comparison of crime rates. No one says, "Oh, don't go to Harvard; it's in a bad neighborhood with too much crime." So if there's less crime at Mills, that's not a good reason to stay away.</p>
<p>I spent the night there last night. I was accepted EA and was really excited about it. I loved the classes I visited and everyone I met was really friendly and nice and happy to go to Mills. But last night's visit showed me that I didn't pay enough attention to the vocal lesbian population. I'm totally ok with lesbians and homosexuality, but the prevalance at Mills really intimidated me. It seemed like more than half of the girls I met were lesbians, and I don't want that influence to completely dominate my college experience. I guess the moral of that little tyrade is that there's a big lesbian population.</p>
<p>No, the moral of your story is that it is so very important to spend quality time (i.e. overnight, 2-3 days while school is in session) with students, faculty, staff and the campus community, in order to get a real feel for the campus culture, lifestyles, politics, people, food, academic and social scene, etc.</p>