Thx, we may do that if we can fit it in.
Delayed flight today meant we didn’t have as much time as we thought we would. But we checked out the Holyoke Mall; she likes the small-town feel but wanted to be assured there are ‘city’ options close by. What can I say, she’s 18 
Found a place with boba tea in the mall, so that box was checked.
D wants to do research - while MHC is good overall for STEM, the additional resources thru UMass Amherst appear to be exceptional. We’re definitely looking at everything.
We will be there tomorrow. We live not too far away so just driving in for the event. Looking forward to it!
We visited UMass and Smith previously. We enjoyed both of those towns but really liked the little area around Mount Holyoke. It has a bookstore and a movie theatre and a restaurant, which was pretty much all we were looking for.
The “Experience MHC” event held on Sunday-Monday was phenominal!
D23 went in thinking MHC would likely be where she commits, while still hoping to get off the WL at Case Western or Wesleyan.
Prior to this visit, we had only given ourselves a tour on a weekend last August - that was before school started, so the campus was pretty empty. We arrived this time late on Saturday afternoon, and just drove around campus. There were students out all over, enjoying the outdoors. We went to Johnny’s Bar and Grill for dinner - it was great food.
Sunday morning we started with a tour of the dance and sports complex, then info sessions, lunch in the cafeteria, a regular campus tour (she did that while I met with financial services), then we wrapped up the day with M&C - milk and cookies. Evidently, that’s one of their traditions - every weekday afternoon, in every dorm, milk and cookies are served. That evening we talked, and D was very excited about all of it - and was 100% decided that of all her acceptances, this is the one she wants to commit to.
Monday morning, we had breakfast in the cateteria - she confirmed that it was the best food she’s had in any cafeteria in all our visits. Then she got to sit in on a couple classes - a quantum mechanics physics class, and a costume-making class. She got to meet several junior and senior physics students, and they invited her to check out their “physics lounge” where they often hang out to do homework together - and they all encouraged her to commit to MHC.
She traded info with several other admitted students, and was texting with at least one of them while we were in the airport yesterday.
Now she is even thinking she might end up turning down a WL offer from Wesleyan or CWRU - not 100%, but getting there. She totall sees herself at MHC.
Now the challenge is the $$ - we had already booked the trip before we finally got the initial FA offer late on Thursday 4/13; we trusted the NPC would be close, as it was for every other school. But the actual offer was over 50% higher than the NPC on their website (hence my meetings in person with FA). They will hopefully be digging into the financials, and have promised to get back to us by the end of the week.
Assuming they can get the #'s close, we’ll likely be done! If the $$ is doable but not great, I will encourage her to stay on the WLs, especially for Wesleyan as they seem to be known for exceptional FA (and our agreement is that over a certain threshold she will be participating in some of the $$ pain!)
It was so great to see her absolutely light up on campus 
Sounds like a great visit. MHC is a beautiful, charming campus and a welcoming community. My daughter (finishing her sophomore year) lit up the same way when she first visited. She couldn’t picture herself anywhere else and still loves it. I hope the $$ works out for you.
Dear ProudDad – Your daughter is so lucky to have been admitted to Mount Holyoke. In the spring of 1965, I had the same experience. After my first visit to the campus, I knew it was “it” for me. I applied early decision, was accepted, graduated with the Class of 1970 and never lost my intense delight with all Mount Holyoke experiences. The academics are exceptional but the friends I made and the professional and personal networks I enjoy to this day make my family’s investment so long ago well worth it. Today it is possible to post a question on a number of Facebook groups private to Mount Holyoke alums and receive thoughtful answers from alumnae of all ages and from all over the world within hours. It is extraordinary. Your daughter will love this College. I hope the money works out for you.
We were on that tour with you, I bet. We enjoyed our day as well. On Monday my D wanted to sit in on Intro to Theatre but the classroom was empty. She joined some other prospective students in a Political Economy class and enjoyed that. She followed that with a Creative Writing class. That costume class was one of her alternate choices - would love to hear more about it. We are also working with FA now as my D really thought this school might be a contender but they are a bit on the high end for us. They are the only school that didn’t offer her any merit so we are hoping there might be a small merit award that could be added. Good luck to you!
Yep, there was just that one group for the dance and spots tour. Great tour guide!
The costume design class went a full 2 hours, it was a lot of kids working on projects so D and a couple other students got a lot of interactive time with the professor and other students.
One of her takeaways was around getting the classes she’d need - from the parent FB group posts, you’d think everyone has trouble getting classes. But from her conversations with other students, it sounded like getting classes in Physics, as well as film/media/theater is not an issue. According to her conversations with the students in that class, the main hard-to-get classes are in psychology (which is the biggest major, so I guess that makes sense). Not her area so it’s not really a concern for her.
And according to my tour guide (I did a tour on Monday while D was in class), the HARDEST class to get into is actually a PE class - something in the equestrian center, evidently super popular, so not one you can count on getting in to. But not an ‘essential’ class, either.
Best of luck with FA. My D got a small merit award - nice, but when there is need-based on top not that relevant, as it just counts towards meeting need, not on top. Hoping they will be able to calculate ‘need’ similar to how other full-need schools did. Or at LEAST in line with the NPC on their website!
The only not-well-planned part of the 2 days was the class visits - there was no one coordinating, and D had to wait around the building entrance until some students let her in. And I heard from a few other parents the kids had to pick a different one.
It generally seemed to work out, but with everything else so well-planned it seemed a little weird that that part was not planned out as well.
D23 has been out of town on her HS music tour. She was pretty much ready to push the button tonight or tomorrow for MHC, but yesterday morning got a note from CWRU, different than the weekly ‘please confirm you still want to stay on the waitlist’ emails.
It said they believe they WILL in fact have space to take kids from the WL, that the committee will be meeting Monday, and to please confirm if you want to be considered. She of course clicked on ‘yes’.
Tonight when she gets back we’ll be making a pro/con comparison list.
COA is going to be about even, with a slight advantage to CWRU - CWRU will be more in year 1, as they don’t reconsider for WL students based on income changes (but manually calculated so we know what year 2 would be). MHC did update their offer, but they define ‘need’ differently. So 10-12k more for CWRU in year 1, but about the same amount less in year 2, so a wash overall for year 1 and 2. Assuming income stays similar (likely but not a sure thing) then MHC will end up about 10k more per year for year 3-4. Not insignificant, but not enough to tip the scales unless all else really IS equal.
So it comes down to fit.
D loved both.
CWRU for the city vibe, the museum, the performing arts center, the research opportunities, the abundance of off campus food, the and more.
MHC for the east coast vibe, the cute town, still just 15 min to a mall, the all-women very tight community, the cool traditions, small class sizes, and still options for all the 5-college consortium has to offer.
She met current and prospective students at both she really likes. And professors at both she really likes.
Two VERY different schools. And CWRU is still a WL - but with that email, and May 1st approaching, if a last-minute offer comes in she is trying to weigh what she would choose.
Very different schools, they would be very different experiences. D can see herself thriving in either - and my wife and I agree. She can do physics and theater at both, and both would prepare her for grad school, and life beyond. With lots of options if she wants to change direction. That makes it a great problem to have, of course - 2 options D would love means there is no wrong choice!
I’m going to cross-post this on both college boards, as I suspect there’s not a lot of overlap with these 2 schools!
Well, that’s a curveball! I don’t know anything about CWRU, but good luck with the decision.
So have any Case Western grads won the Pulitzer Prize for drama? Wendy Wasserstein '71 and Suzan-Lori Parks '85 from Mount Holyoke both won the prize.
thanks, good to know!
I think the size of the department and extent of the resources at Case was greater - but as my D is telling me, the quality of what she’ll have access to at MHC is great; and smaller class sizes mean if if there aren’t as many opportunities, there isn’t as much competition for those opportunities, either.
I hadn’t realized that about MHC. They DID brag about their “favorite dropout” (Emily Dickinson), as well as Frances Perkins (first woman to serve as a cabinet secretary to a US President - she served under FDR, and helped write the social security act).
A LOT of history there. It all adds to the allure - she truly is leaning towards MHC even if she comes off the WL for Case. Now if she came off the WL for Wesleyan, that would be a harder decision, I think.
It’s so hard to fall in love and commit, but ALSO stay open to other options. I know my S18 withdrew from a couple of WL’s once he committed, he wanted to be done and move on. I had thought D23 was approaching things differently; but after the MHC visit maybe not…
We don’t brag about Elaine Chao who is the second Labor Secretary to have attended Mount Holyoke, either. Your daughter might enjoy the program that our interim President, Beverly Daniel Tatum, put on with Suzan Lori Parks and her producer, Debra Chase '77. Here’s the link: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/news-stories/launching-leadership-suzan-lori-parks-85-and-debra-martin-chase-77
One of the recently announced Commencement honorees at MHC is a physicist. Here is the description of her career:
Nancy Welker ’63 is a physicist and nationally recognized expert in superconducting. She had a 55-year career at the National Security Agency (NSA), during which she led groundbreaking research in superconducting materials and integrated circuit manufacturing that made it possible to develop a new generation of faster and more powerful computers.
One of Welker’s many major accomplishments was the creation of NSA’s Microelectronics Research Laboratory (MRL) in support of NSA’s groundbreaking integrated circuit fabrication facility, the Special Processing Laboratory (SPL), which produced otherwise commercially unobtainable products for the NSA and other government agencies. She went on to manage the SPL as it produced state-of-the-art complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chips in a wide range of designs and configurations. Welker was the first woman appointed as chief of the research and development (R&D) group where she had previously held several key management positions.
Recognition for her work includes the Federal Women’s Program Lifetime Achievement Award in engineering, the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Lifetime Achievement Award, the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award and the Exceptional Civilian Service Award. In 2021, Welker was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame.
I forgot to mention Chloe Zhao '05, who won the Academy Award for Best Director in 2021 for her film “Nomadland” which won Best Picture that year. She majored in Politics and minored in film studies at Mount Holyoke.
update - D23 just got off the WL at CWRU!
So now the hypothetical decision is a real one! The net COA will end up about 36K less at CWRU over 4 years - not an insignificant amount; but not QUITE enough to make the decision a complete no-brainer. I built out a spreadsheet to compare the costs
Given physics and theater (but with the desire to do a physics PhD, theater is more passion than long-term career objective - but still VERY important to her), input on other criteria to consider is appreciated…we’re going to be talking this evening. And likely tomorrow, and the next day…
My daughter was debating between MoHo and CWRU and in the end it was Mount Holyoke all the way. She leans toward STEM, and felt that outcomes for women students in STEM, particularly with grad school, were better at Mount Holyoke. She also has an artsy side, and felt that could flourish at MoHo buy might not at Case. It just felt all STEM, all the time. A campus tour sealed the deal, with the tight community and students studying on a Friday afternoon. The costs were the same for us after her scholarships, so that wasn’t a factor. Good luck at she makes the decision.
thanks, it’s nice to know there’s another out there that was debating the same two schools; they couldn’t be more different, so I wasn’t sure how many others would have ended up with those 2 as top options!
Our visit at CWRU was great, she got to meet with a professor in the performing arts - we got a private tour, got to see the costume design center, etc. And in talking with a tour guide, they had a dance performance that night we got invited to - so D definitely saw the “artsy” side of the school.
Is your D starting this fall, or already there? Our concern is that MHC might not be ENOUGH STEM. Though it sounds like that means getting the classes she needs in the STEM arena.
She is going to be starting in the fall so nothing firsthand yet. I also can say that size was a big determining factor. When the search started she wanted a big university but the reality was she was better suited to a small LAC when the tours started. We have a tuition exchange scholarship through my employer so it was a weird search process for us with a lot of disparate schools. We looked at Bard and Fordham and CWRU and a slew of others and in the end this one spoke to her the most. She’s inclined toward the biological sciences and music, so take that for what it’s worth! As a women’s college alumna myself, I am a big believer in the value of that community so i think that was persuasive to her as well.
We had Case on our acceptance list as well. But she booted them which made me a little sad….currently deciding between MoHo and Smith. Physics major