<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Just wondering how these three schools compare in the following aspects:</p>
<ol>
<li>Weather</li>
<li>Campus life and size </li>
<li>Surrounding cities</li>
<li>Dorms</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm a rising senior and getting ready to fill out college apps.. Just curious to see how these schools compare. I am also a Posse nominee and these are my Miami schools. Thanks :)</p>
<p>1) Weather at Holyoke is probably the worst. Winters are very cold. However neither Hamilton nor Syracuse enjoy sunlight and warmth. Syracuse out of above 3 has the best climate.</p>
<p>2) Holyoke and Hamilton are rural. I know that parties at Holyoke suck for straight girls. Syracuse is a bigger city. Depends on what you enjoy</p>
<p>3) Some might tell you that Holyoke is close to Boston but it’s not. It’s a long drive and it’s even far from Amherst. The most rural campus ever. Syracuse is itself a great city and Hamilton isn’t close to anything.</p>
<p>4) My friend who goes to Holyoke this fall was placed in quad. There are many quads and triples. There are very few singles and many dorms are old. Idk about Syracuse or Hamilton but better I suppose.</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>Bluecholeric, I have been to Syracuse and Hamilton, and D graduated from MHC, so I can reliably say:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Syracuse and Hamilton are in the snow belt–they get lots of lake effect blizzards. MHC gets nowhere near as much snow. To say that MHC has the worst weather of the three is simply laughable.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have a vision of women’s colleges as having lesbians as a majority, you’re way off.</p></li>
<li><p>MHC is 15-20 minutes from Amherst–that’s not far. The neighborhoods surrounding Syracuse University can be described as sketchy. Hamilton is in fact not near anything!</p></li>
<li><p>MHC has old dorms that are well maintained and have lots of character. D had a single her last two years. Pretty much any junior/senior can have a single. One dorm had a bay window! Every dorm at MHC has a grand piano, grandfather clock, small computer lab, and multiple living rooms.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>MADad - Thanks for chiming in. I could feel my blood pressure raise when reading Blue’s reply…</p>
<p>I’ll start by saying that I know NOTHING about Syracuse. However my daughter had Hamilton and Mt Holyoke both high on her list so I know quite a bit about both. She will be attending MHC in the fall…</p>
<p>Hamilton is just outside of Clinton, NY. It’s a cute little town, but if you are asking about nightlife, well, you’ll probably only get that on campus. </p>
<p>For all of these, the weather will be winter in winter - unpredictable but probably cold and (hopefully!) snowy. As I will tell anyone looking in the north or New England area, if you don’t like winter and cold look elsewhere (and that applies to all of these schools).</p>
<p>Both Hamilton and MHC are similar in size. As for dorms, both MHC and Hamilton have fairly old dorms, but they are very nice, updated and comfortable. Both campuses are lovely. Both have rich history and traditions.</p>
<p>And now I’ll give you strictly opinion from visiting and overnights… Hamilton has fraternities and has a lot of sports teams. My daughter did her overnight the week before ED deadline and was certain she wanted to go ED to Hamilton - until that overnight. She walked away still loving the campus and enjoying the classes, but there was something “off” about the social culture to her. Cliques in the dining hall and a distinctive feel of a lot of wealth among the students. She just wasn’t sure anymore that is what she wanted for certain in a school.</p>
<p>We all loved MHC from the first day visiting, tour and info session. It seemed “too good to be true”. The only drawback was that “women’s college” thing and she wasn’t sure that is what she wanted. How can you learn about the real world when only 1/2 of the population is represented in the student population? Well, how can you NOT learn about the world when 25% of the students are international and there are people there from all kinds of backgrounds. She enjoyed the engaging dialogue in the the classes she sat in on and most of the women she met were articulate and didn’t have that “snob factor” about them that she experienced at Hamilton and some other schools.</p>
<p>As for social at MHC - just like anything, it’s what you make of it. DO NOT buy into that mentality of women’s colleges being not for straight girls. Very wrong on so many levels! South Hadley is a cute little town that seems much bigger than Clinton, NY. There is the 5 college consortium if you need something other than just MHC. At MHC you can take classes and be involved in activities at UMass Amherst, Amherst, Smith and Hampshire and there is a free bus service available to get you there and back. Amherst and Northampton (Where Smith is) are wonderful towns that are more vibrant than Clinton, NY, but still not “big city”. The closest big city is Springfield, MA.</p>
<p>Hope this helps - and good luck!</p>
<p>My daughter agonized over whether to go to Hamilton or MHC. In the end, MHC won out by a hair. The $$$ was similar - I believe Hamilton is one of the few schools which doesn’t take into account the apartment or house in the financial calculation. MHC is warmer on average by 4 degrees in high temperatures than Hamilton - the low temperatures are similar. I think either school would be a good choice, but that being said, as mentioned above, there are clear differences.</p>
<p>I really did laugh out loud when I read the description of Syracuse (!!!) as the best town for weather. I grew up in Syracuse and though parents long left for Florida with no thoughts of return, family still keeps me returning. I attended Mount Holyoke and let me tell you there is no comparison. Syracuse is consistently at the top of national lists for highest snowfall and lowest sunlight. Western MA is FAR more appealing. </p>
<p>Weather aside, you are comparing two completely different colleges here. I don’t know as much about Hamilton - seems in the middle as far as features. Though I am now the adult of a senior in HS, the reason I am on this site, I still visit MHC regularly and find it even more beautiful than when I attended. Though a few of the older dorms did need repairs on the outside the last time I was there, I have always loved the unique features of the architecture. New buildings fit seamlessly into the most gorgeous campus that I have seen, even after the many others I have visited with D and S. The sun setting on Lower Lake in the fall is simply breathtaking. Social life is always a little different, but it is what you make of it. UMASS, Amherst and Hampshire are a free quick van ride away if you need a change of scenery and the “town” has many more features now than when I attended. Attending a single sex school can be a commitment at times, but one I don’t regret. It’s not for everyone, but it has many wonderful advantages and no, not everyone is a lesbian. It is an accepting, intelligent campus that encourages you to discover who you are and helps you become the person you want to be.</p>
<p>Growing up in Syracuse, my friends and I hung out on Marshall Street and SU has good features, but again a completely different experience - big, sports oriented university versus small, liberal arts women’s college. You may really need to spend time at both to get a better idea of which one you really want to attend.</p>