<p>I was accepted to these 5 schools and I was wondering if anyone has anything to tell me comparing and contrasting any or all of them.</p>
<p>I really liked Mount Holyoke when I visited: the campus was beautiful, I loved the diversity, the women seemed smart but not ultra-competitive, and everyone was very open and welcoming.
However I am worried about going to a women's school. I am a girl who generally has more guy friends and I don't know how I would deal with being a an all-women's school. Also, while the all of the sisterhood and all of the traditions seem really cool, I don't know if they're really me. Can someone please give me your experiences and comparisons to Mount Holyoke and these other schools?</p>
<p>About Me:
Female
3.85 Unweighted GPA
29 ACT
Newspaper co-Editor in Chief
Yearbook Senior Editor in Chief
Chair of the Social Action Board</p>
<p>I'm a Senior at a boarding college-prep high school with 160 students.
Interested in humanities such as ethics, philosophy, and English, as well as fashion/costume design (which I have a lot of experience in and would like to integrate into my college experience somehow even if I don't actually major in it).
I want a liberal, small school which will have a good balance of academics and arts.
I want a school with geographical, racial, religious, and socio-economical diversity.
Non-academic interest include theater, listening to music, farming and sustainable practices, and swing dancing.</p>
<p>Please give me some input into which school you think may suit me best or any comments you have the schools that are not specific to me.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>tellmenow, I think you would have better luck posting your question on each of your other 4 school’s forums. I only know as much as you about Mount Holyoke, since D2 has an acceptance and may attend. But you would need to get comfortable with the all-women’s school concept, and only you know if you are.</p>
<p>My D1 is a student at Goucher and it is smaller than MHC and less geographically diverse. There are not as many internationals, and a lot of students are from Maryland and other east coast states. It seems to me to have racial, religious, and socio-economical diversity. 68% of the students are women. Don’t know if you have visited, but the campus is lovely, surrounded by woods in a suburban neighborhood. It is extremely easy to get involved. My D had never written for her h.s. newspaper, but she will occasionally write for the Q. Baltimore gets a lot of bands she likes so she often attends concerts downtown. Goucher’s big thing is their study abroad requirement. </p>
<p>I will be happy to answer any questions you have about Goucher if you post them on the Goucher forum.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision. You have great options!</p>
<p>thanks for the feedback!</p>
<p>Hey- I’m a current senior at Mount Holyoke and I know a lot of people are concerned about being at a women’s college. I can tell you that growing up I had mostly guy friends and I was definitely concerned about being in a women’s environment and feeling close to people and missing guy friends. But I have been here for 4 years and I’m graduating in May and I know that the friends I’ve made here I will be friends with for the rest of my life. One of the most wonderful things about MHC is that there is a place for everyone here and there are all sorts of different people that you can get to know. Most of my friends were surprised at how many of us only had guys friends growing up and how close we’ve become. Another plus- there is the 5-college consortium. I have a bunch of really great friends from the other schools and I love hanging out with them just as much as I love my friends at Mount Holyoke. Being in an environment that is supportive of women and women’s education is a really incredible experience and you also get to have the benefit of having 3 other liberal arts schools and 1 huge university right near by! It’s nice to have the choice of where I want to spend my time and know that I have incredible resources around me.</p>
<p>I am currently a Mount Holyoke student looking to transfer because of the environment, and a lot of this had to do with the fact that they are not accepting of guys, especially when they are around during the week. It seems like there is a real prejudice against men from much of the student body. Many of them feel “uncomfortable” around them and even put them in awkward situations. If you are used to many of your friends being guys, you better be ready to only be around guys at certain times (mainly off campus) and to get weird looks if they visit you.</p>
<p>This leads me to another point: Residential life is awful…not impressed at all. There are other sexist people who work there, too and it is extremely unprofessional.</p>
<p>In addition, there has also been cases of girls getting reprimanded for kissing their boyfriends or other forms of PDA while girls can do the same and even shower together and be perfectly fine. If you’re looking for people who are accepting of many kinds of WOMEN (and women only), then this might be a good place for you. For me, who also had many guy friends in high school, it is not the right environment BY FAR. The mission stated on the website about empowering women is great, and that is what I thought I would experience at MHC. However, this environment coddles women and looks down upon men and has turned into a place that is only accepting of women.</p>
<p>Based on the other schools you are looking at, I am not sure MHC is the right place for you. To be frank, if you are a lesbian you would be accepted here. If not, and especially if you have a boyfriend, you will have a harder time being accepted here when you are with a guy on campus.</p>
<p>@ tellmenow. Congratulations on your acceptance to the five colleges!
I’m a senior at Mount Holyoke and I’ve had a very positive experience throughout my time here. To be honest, I never considered going to an all women’s college when I was in high school. Once I started looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to go to a small liberal arts college with great diversity and very strong academics. A friend of mine suggested MHC and although at first I frowned at the idea of going to an all women’s college, I soon warmed up to it once I started doing research on MHC.</p>
<p>I find women here very welcoming, inspiring and driven and I can truly say that I’ve made life-long friendships during my time here. At the same time, MHC is academically very rigorous and I have experienced many challenges as well as accomplishments throughout my time here. </p>
<p>I highly recommend that you come back to campus for an overnight and talk to current students and “get a feel” of the college inside and outside of the classroom. If you don’t have the opportunity to visit again, talking to current students is definitely a great way to learn more about the different colleges. </p>
<p>Overall, I find Mount Holyoke women very open and friendly and my guests (both male and female) have always felt welcome on our campus.</p>
<p>Again, congratulations and feel free to PM me if you want me to elaborate on anything or if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>@tellmenow, congrats on being accepted to those schools! when i was a high school senior i was ultimately deciding between MHC and Goucher, so I feel your pain! Both schools are wonderful, small, liberal arts school on the east coast, which is what i was looking for. i went with MHC because of the caring and passionate student body, brilliant and approachable professors, and challenging curriculum. i must tell you that kaydee1’s experience is not a common one. i have had many male friends visit campus and have not had any uncomfortable experiences. i also have many friends with off-campus boyfriends who have never had any issues. also, i am not a lesbian and have felt completely welcomed and safe on campus. to anyone looking at MHC, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions! best of luck, @tellmenow!</p>
<p>My daughter is currently deciding between MHC and another school and will be attending an overnight visit later this month. The final choice will be hers. I’m not posting here to endorse one school over another. </p>
<p>But I did want to say that I’m impressed by MHC’s commitment to freedom of expression. I’ve noticed over months of reading posts on this website that often moderators from various colleges will remove comments critical of their particular college. That seems not to be the case with MHC. I’ve also noticed that MHC is the subject of much low-level bashing in this forum, not sure why (criticisms based on nothing more it seems than anecdotal evidence, or worse, no evidence at all). Through all of this, MHC seems to allow everyone to have their say, a crucial element in academic excellence. Also, given that MHC has a very high percentage of international students, perhaps the highest of any small liberal arts college, and that many of these students are from countries whose governments brutally suppress freedom of expression, it is fitting that the college would model this fundamental value and apply it consistently even in this pedestrian forum. </p>
<p>Indeed, MHC first came to my attention last year when I read a shocking news story about the governor of Maine removing artwork that he considered subversive from a Maine state building. MHC president, Lynn Pasquerella, was one of the first academics to openly criticize the governor for this despicable action in a letter to the New York Times.</p>