Hi, I am an international student, and got offers from W&M, Mount Holyoke and UCSD, Mount Holyoke gives me good financial package. but seems to me W&M is little bit more prestigious, I am debating with myself, should I go to Mount Holyoke with the money or go for better prestigious W&M. anybody who knows those schools have any suggestions? thanks a lot. BTW, I am intending to study economics/art history for my undergraduate study, I can study finance at W&M for my undergrduate major which is a plus. Mount Holyoke and UCSD does not have finance major. hopefully I will go to a good Business school or law school for graduate study.
I find it hard to believe that William & Mary could be more prestigious than Mount Holyoke. It is difficult to find an older college than Mount Holyoke and William & Mary does win out there. How old is William & Mary’s art museum? How comprehensive is it? The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum was founded in 1876. The first object acquired was by a then-contemporary artist, Albert Bierstadt. Other museums founded in the 1870’s include the Metropolitan Museum of Art (in New York) and the Museum of Fine Arts (in Boston). Mount Holyoke economics majors have alumnae models and contacts at Goldman Sachs. That said, William & Mary has a good reputation and a beautiful small campus – but no lakes or waterfalls as far as I know.
Mount Holyoke certainly has a great art museum. The permanent collection is incredibly good and diverse, and they get wonderful visiting shows.
Both Mount Holyoke and W&M are good schools. I honestly don’t think age is any determinant of quality, but for what its worth, William and Mary was founded in 1693, second to only Harvard, but the art musuem at Mount Holyoke has been around for longer. The Muscarelle, however, just had some new unreleased pieces by Da Vinci come in as a visiting exhibit, and William and Mary was the first college in the US that it visited. Again, I don’t think either is necessary indicative of quality, but a museum that is reputable enough to get Da Vinci drawings is no slacker in art imo.
The economics program at WM is also quite strong. If you want to look at where students at WM have typically gone to work after graduation, feel free to check out here http://career.wm.edu/CFM/OutcomesIndex.cfm. I am not familiar enough with the art history program to comment on it. For the finance major, you do have to apply to the business school typically in sophomore year after taking the prerequisite courses, but if it is something you are motivated to go towards, I don’t think it should be a major issue.
Lastly, these schools have different environments, both climate-wise and culture-wise. Mount Holyoke is a women’s liberal arts college, WIlliam and Mary describes itself as a “liberal arts university,” and UCSD would be described as a research university. Each has its different sizes and campus vibe. It’s unfortunate that you may not get to visit them all before you make your decision, but asking the alum/current students is a good start (also check out their websites, youtube channels, and any other resources you can get your hands on)