<p>Wellsley, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr all share a reputation for being selective, prestigious, and academically rigorous. They all have beautiful campuses, liberal student bodies, and good reputations. Each is suburban or rural, have small populations, and offer strong political science programs (possibly my major).</p>
<p>So, what makes each one different from the next? What makes each one uniqe? Any input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>There's so much! But after you visit, you'd see that the locations, and the things associated with the locations, are very, very different. Wellesley is in a very upscale burb, with very little "there, there". Many women take advantage of buses that go into Boston and Cambridge, but it also means that the campus is not a center of activity on most weekends. Smith is on the edge (quick walking distance) of a happening town, with 9 bookstores, umpteen coffee shops and restaurants, folkmusic places, and attracts folks from other places over the weekends. Mount Holyoke is bucolic, gorgeous, and somewhat isolated, though part of the 5-College Consortium with Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass. Bryn Mawr is suburban, but very close to Haverford, with joint course offerings, and within 45 minute reach of Philadelphia. Smith is the only one at which you'd likely be tempted to go off campus during the week.</p>
<p>(I happen to like 'em all! my d. ended up choosing Smith over Williams, and a bunch of others.)</p>
<p>Wow, they're so incredibly different. I don't know where to start. I'll avoid talking about Bryn Mawr simply because I don't know as much about it as I do the other Seven Sisters.</p>
<p>Wellesley is known for being the most "academic" of the four. The student body is a little more sophisticated, buried in their books, and "worldly" than the other three. I don't think anyone would argue that it doesn't have the best all-around academics of the four, though I suppose people will argue anything. If I'm not mistaken, they have more Rhodes scholars than any school in the country. (Or is it Fulbright? Or one of the others? One of them, anyway.)</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke's the most relaxed of the three Massachusetts schools. The student body is more diverse, and it's not as hard to get accepted to as Smith or Wellesley. (While Smith's percentage of admitted applicants is higher, students have to show higher GPAs and better high school records.) It's not as studious as the other two, but it's still an amazingly good place to get an education. It attracts more working-class students than Smith or Wellesley. It's currently going through some pretty bad overcrowding issues that are going to make it much more selective in upcoming years.</p>
<p>Smith is a bit of a mix between the two. It's known for being a "lesbian mecca," but in my opinion Mount Holyoke is far more vocal about GLBTQ rights and advocacy issues. Smith is located right in downtown Northampton, while Mount Holyoke is in more secluded South Hadley. I think Smith gives you a far better education than you'll get at Mount Holyoke, and in a quieter atmosphere with less drinking. (It's not like Holyoke girls are having keggers, but with several friends there and living in the area, I can tell you there's a lot more going on at MHC than at Smith.) Smith's alumnae network is absolutely amazing, and Smith women go on to do incredible things thanks to the opportunities the college gives them. They also have great internship programs and special study options. Their research opportunities are also wonderful. It has a relatively high admit rate (a little below 60%), but that's largely due to the study body being self-selecting.</p>
<p>Personally, I love Smith, and I'm applying there. I will also likely apply to Mount Holyoke and possibly Wellesley, but if I get accepted to Smith and get a great financial aid package from them, I can all but assure you I'm there.</p>
<p>If you're looking at those four, how about Barnard? Yes, it's part of Columbia now, but I can assure you it isn't socially. You will still absolutely be at a women's college, and a fierecly independent one at that.</p>
<p>(Or is it Fulbright? Or one of the others? One of them, anyway. It was Fulbright, though this year Smith passed them. Doesn't speak so much to the quality of academics, though, as to the quality of the advising.)</p>
<p>Mt Holyoke offered D far more merit money than any other school she applied to. In visiting, MHC seemed more laid back and quieter. Smith was obviously the most 'liberal' or maybe it's radical? Wellesley seemed more head down academic. Smith was more integrated with the local community than either of the other two.</p>
<p>mini, thanks for the input! What made your D choose Smith?</p>
<p>beginning,thanks for the breakdown- it helps me alot in distinguishing between the colleges. I was considering Barnard, but I don't like the fact that its in an urban area. I want a campus that isn't affected by the noise and pollution of a big city.</p>
<p>bandit_TX, do you have to have a 4.0 and a 2400 to get a solid amount of mert aid, or do students with good grades and good scores get a good amount as well?</p>
<p>MHC has a very nice Leadership scholarship. I'm sure good grades count, but it doesn't take a 2400. Smith has some merit and internship money as well.</p>
<p>The nice thing about Barnard is that it's actually in a pretty quiet area (Morningside Heights). That's the only reason I'm considering it. A lot of the schools I'm looking at are suburban/rural (like Wells, Geneseo, Colby, and Gettysburg), but Barnard's just so good, I can't help myself. :)</p>
<p>"mini, thanks for the input! What made your D choose Smith?"</p>
<p>Without comparing with any other schools (that would be a long conversation), they built a music program and research position specifically around her that was simply unavailable anywhere else; their foreign language programs are superior, as are their western Europe JYA options; she liked being close to a happening town very much (that one caught us by surprise); there is an active Quaker Meeting within walking distance (that was, and is, a big deal); the economic diversity is very high, and noticeably; the library dwarfs other LACs (whoops, sorry for the comparison, and I don't think she actually made that comparison - but the music library is where she lives, and it is huge, and that she noticed) and the money was good (she received their largest merit award, but it was actually irrelevant, as our need was so large that most of what she receives is needbased anyway.). Ironically, the fact that it was a women's college didn't play into it at all (she had already spent a year at co-ed Evergreen), except that she turned out not to be fond of large numbers of male athletes who liked to drink.</p>
<p>PM me if more questions.</p>