<p>I posted the same question on the Smith forum as my d has been accepted to both schools. We have received a great aid package from MHC and one of our remaining concerns is the quality of the advising and research opportunities, especially in the sciences as she is interested in studying neuroscience. She was admitted to Wellesley as well where the students raved about the nurturing they received including seminars where they were required to learn to write a grant and develop manuscripts for publication, research opportunities etc. Since my d knows that Wellesley was not the right fit, we were hoping to find a similar level of support and faculty commitment at MHC. Can anyone speak to that concern?</p>
<p>Hi rapamom, I can’t answer your question but I am also interested in this, especially research in the social sciences (intended sociology major). I’d love to know a bit about how the advising works at MHC, and what people’s experiences have been with their advisers :)</p>
<p>As a preface and a word of caution, rapamom, my experience with this website is that it has become more of a marketing/promotional/recruiting vehicle for colleges by parents and less of a place for finding unbiased information about the student experience (I believe this is why fewer and fewer actual students are using this site anymore). </p>
<p>That said, our daughter, who is a chemistry/engineering major, chose MHC over the other two colleges you mention. She researched the advising - student/teacher relationship experience as best she could in making her decision. In the end, she found that all three colleges offered similar experiences in that regard. All three offered superior research facilities and highly qualified faculty who had done extensive research in their fields. All three prepared students for grad-school if that was their chosen path, etc. All three offer paid research internships with their science departments. And, having hired recent college graduates for entry-level positions for more than 35 years, I can verify that all three colleges have excellent reputations in the “real world.”</p>
<p>What I can tell you in as unbiased a way as possible is that our daughter has had a great experience with all of her teachers (including non-science). All of her classes are fairly small. All of her teachers know her by name, know her strengths and challenges and have worked with her individually to meet those challenges. She has good working relationships with all of her professors, including her advisor and feels free to go to any one of them to discuss any aspect of her college career. </p>
<p>The differences between these three schools in terms of academic experience are subtle. The differences with regard to culture are less so (I think you’ve already discovered this with Wellesley). I believe our daughters ultimately make their choices on the basis of these cultural differences. Whatever your daughter’s choice, she can’t go wrong with either school. I suggest the overnight experiences that both schools offer will help her to finally decide (try to encourage her to look beyond the hype). That really helped our daughter make up her mind.</p>
<p>Thank you for the helpful response. Yes, I agree - in the end it comes down to fit/culture. A very hard thing to asses in a short time. My daughter is very sensitive so one bad night with an accidentally mismatched young woman can break it and one great night with an equally accidental perfect match up can make it. It can be hard to see beyond that one person for her. I keep trying to provide her with other perspectives so that maybe culture can shine through. So I appreciate your experiences.</p>
<p>I’m a rising Mount Holyoke sophomore (soon-to-be psychology major) and I’ve been nothing but satisfied with the support from within my department so far. My advisor is within the psychology department and has been an amazing advocate and resource for me; when I had a sudden scheduling snafu just before the start of my first semester, she went out of her way to help me get into an intro to psych course. She even offered to keep me on as an advisee while she was on leave because she happened to be in my area of interest. </p>
<p>I took another course in the area of psychology I’ve most interested in, and I think the world of the professor. When I went to her office hours I admitted that I was often shy about asking questions about the course material out of class, and she suggested that I start coming more and meeting with her regularly. She also went out of her way to advise me on pursuing research opportunities on-campus and I’m now going to be working in her lab this coming fall. </p>
<p>One of the requirements for the neuro/behavior major at MHC is the [research</a> methods class](<a href=“https://cat.mtholyoke.edu/showcourse.shtml?section_number=01&year_term=2012&semester_offered=F&department_id=psych&course_number=200&db_id=hU2_uyQURDQQNR~NNN_QIDQN]research”>https://cat.mtholyoke.edu/showcourse.shtml?section_number=01&year_term=2012&semester_offered=F&department_id=psych&course_number=200&db_id=hU2_uyQURDQQNR~NNN_QIDQN) that psychology majors take, which might include some of the subject matter similar to the seminars your daughter liked at Wellesley. </p>
<p>All professors also have open office hours (and so does the president of the college, actually), and I’ve found that it’s an amazing experience. I’ve always felt that my professors are really there for me as a resource. You have to make the decision to go to office hours (most of the time – sometimes professors will schedule meetings with you, depending), but if you do it really pays off. </p>
<p>This is just my personal experience, of course, but hopefully it helps! It sounds like your daughter has really great options available to her. Best wishes to both of you!</p>
<p>Great advising. Very committed faculty. You’ll find similar responses from students and alums of each of the Seven Sisters. As I’ve said in private message, your daughter really can not go wrong. There are mild differences, and they are mostly social (not academic). Anywhere she goes, she’ll have access to top faculty and great advising.</p>
<p>mtholyoke2010 - she had a great experience at the admitted students event this past Sunday/Monday. She said there is a wonderful warmth she felt in the community. At one point she received a sad text message from someone at home that was upsetting and total strangers saw her face and came up to her asking if she was OK and gave her hugs!!! Unbelievable. That sold her. She was also impressed with the neuroscience class/students and faculty. Its all good</p>
<p>This is good news. She will love Mount Holyoke.</p>