Mount Holyoke vs Wellesley

College Search & Selection
1

Hello all! I visited both Mount Holyoke and Wellesley about a month ago, and they’re my top two schools. I have some questions about both the colleges that might help me make my decision.

  1. I’ve heard that Wellesley can be competitive. I have anxiety so I’m wondering if it’s the best place for me to be. How competitive is it? My high school is extremely competitive, so it might not be too much of a change, but I kind of want my college years to be more fun and less stressful than high school has been.

  2. Regarding mental health, how are the facilities at both colleges? Are people supportive of those who are struggling, or is mental health pretty stigmatized?

  3. When I visited Mount Holyoke I really loved that there was a little movie theater directly across the street. However, there didn’t seem to be that much else to do. Do a lot of people take the bus to Amherst or Northampton? I’ve also heard that the town of Wellesley is a little upscale and that there’s not much to do there for college students.

  4. If you attend either college, how many hours of homework do you have a night/how heavy is the workload?

  5. When I visited Mount Holyoke it was really cool that students got to co-publish research papers. I know there’s good research opportunities at Wellesley, but do students often get the chance to publish work?

I really loved both colleges, but something about Mount Holyoke’s dorms seemed homier. The dorm I got to see on my tour there was spacious, very pretty, and very nice. I loved the little common room with the kitchenette and the piano. I could imagine myself sitting there, reading a book. The common rooms at Wellesley, at least the one I saw, seemed loftier and somewhat colder, but there weren’t many people there at the time (I had a saturday 10:00 tour, so lots of people were probably still asleep). I didn’t get to look inside a dorm room at Wellesley; how spacious is it? Do the common rooms at Wellesley feel cozy during the evening?

Thank you all for your time! :slight_smile:

2

Unless you need to choose between these two because you can only apply to one, it is fine to aply to both now, and see if you get in, then go visit again after you have your acceptances in your hands.

3

Yes, definitely apply to both. If you like these schools, you may very well like Bryn Mawr and Smith as well. Be sure to check them out, too.

4

I can answer a few of your questions about Mt Holyoke (based on what my daughter has reported). There is a theater, several restaurants and shops and a coffee house. More there than we initially thought. That being said my daughter takes the free bus to Amherst almost every weekend. She also joined a club at Amherst College so is there during the week on some evenings as well. She finds the free bus system easy to use as she has grown up in a city and is very used to public transportation. Northampton is a bit further and the free bus trip there is a bit convoluted so she ubers over there. My daughter went to an extremely competitive high school. She has mentioned that the atmosphere at Mt Holyoke is so utterly collaborative, it shocked her. So different from where she came from. She lives in one of the oldest residence halls…has a room with massive ceiling height, hardwood floors and an almost room size closet. She lucked out as a first year as some of the other buildings aren’t quite as grand. It also has two sitting rooms and a full kitchen. Compared to the cinder block room from my college days it is a virtual palace. One thing to note is that Mt Holyoke does give merit aid and Wellesley only gives need based aid. This mattered to us as we are full pay. So something to consider depending on your circumstances… My daughter is very happy there. I totally agree with the other poster who mentioned apply to both and if accepted do the overnights. You’ll get a feel for which suits you best. Also plan to attend as many classes as you can manage.

5

Hey, current wellesley sophomore here.

  1. I’ve heard that Wellesley can be competitive. I have anxiety so I’m wondering if it’s the best place for me to be. How competitive is it? My high school is extremely competitive, so it might not be too much of a change, but I kind of want my college years to be more fun and less stressful than high school has been.

Wellesley can be competitive in some aspects, but i have found that there are plenty of people who are willing to help you study and have study groups together. In general, i find it roughly equivalent to my high performing private school.

  1. Regarding mental health, how are the facilities at both colleges? Are people supportive of those who are struggling, or is mental health pretty stigmatized?

Wellesley is doing a lot for mental health. They have free counseling services and are hiring new counselors to help reduce wait times. There are lots of resources and support groups available. I have found that there is way less of a stigma around mental health in wellesley than in hs.

  1. When I visited Mount Holyoke I really loved that there was a little movie theater directly across the street. However, there didn’t seem to be that much else to do. Do a lot of people take the bus to Amherst or Northampton? I’ve also heard that the town of Wellesley is a little upscale and that there’s not much to do there for college students.

Its true that there is not a ton in the town of Wellesley. There are a ton of events happening at any given time and we have a movie theater that does two different movies every weekend, chosen by the film society. Boston is super accessible and has a lot to do.

  1. If you attend either college, how many hours of homework do you have a night/how heavy is the workload?

Depends on the class. My social sciences classes tend to have 2 hours per class (classes are twice a week), sciences tend to have a problem set due every week that will take 4ish hours. Workload is not crazy, but material tends to be denser/more complex.

  1. When I visited Mount Holyoke it was really cool that students got to co-publish research papers. I know there’s good research opportunities at Wellesley, but do students often get the chance to publish work?

Again, depends on the field. It more common in sciences, but i have a friend in poli sci working on something to publish.

I really loved both colleges, but something about Mount Holyoke’s dorms seemed homier. The dorm I got to see on my tour there was spacious, very pretty, and very nice. I loved the little common room with the kitchenette and the piano. I could imagine myself sitting there, reading a book. The common rooms at Wellesley, at least the one I saw, seemed loftier and somewhat colder, but there weren’t many people there at the time (I had a saturday 10:00 tour, so lots of people were probably still asleep). I didn’t get to look inside a dorm room at Wellesley; how spacious is it? Do the common rooms at Wellesley feel cozy during the evening?

It depends on where you live. Every dorm has a living room with a baby grand. The older dorms have smaller rooms and cozier common spaces, while the newer dorms have bigger rooms with more modern common areas. The common rooms are very social spaces, especially in the evenings.

Hope this helps!

6

Go take a look at Scripps as well. Very smart, collegial, bunch. Great weather too :slight_smile: And part of the Claremont Consortium of colleges, so lots of resources and very vibrant college area.

7

If you liked Mt. Holyoke, but want a bit more of a town around it, look at Smith. You may really like Smith.

8

When I went to Wellesley (back in the dark ages) I spent part of nearly every weekend in Boston. Easy to access and tons of things to do. Some people go into the town fairly often, but I rarely did unless I needed something from the drug store.