Smith/Mt. Holyoke Student Body Differences, anyone?

<p>Thanks for the welcome.</p>

<p>My daughter felt similarly about Barnard.</p>

<p>She did not start out looking at women's schools, though she always wanted a liberal arts college. Most of the schools that initially interested her were in rural/remote locations, and she decided that she didn't want to spend four years in cornfields or woods, or in freezing temperatures (the schools in Maine, Ohio, Vermont, Minnesota, etc). Believe me, we visited many of them. The minute she stepped foot on the Smith campus, she was smitten by Noho. She could eat interesting food! She could walk to a charming town! She was initially concerned about the lesbian/straight ratio, but her visits and overnight convinced her that it wasn't a major problem. And she is very confident (maybe overly so!) that she can find boys at the other schools in the Five College group.</p>

<p>My D's reaction to Barnard was that the campus was claustrophobically small, there was little school identity because everyone emptied out into NYC to play, and the dorms were the pits, or at least undewhelming and among the worst we saw.</p>

<p>MomofSmithie, is your D a first-year or is she waiting to hear or was she admitted ED? Ah...never mind, I see in another post where she was admitted ED II. Congratulations and welcome to the Smith family. In the parents section, we have seating by Obsessed and Non-Obsessed.</p>

<p>Mine is interested in guys but she frankly hasn't had much time. I think she's looking forward to having a co-ed junior year off campus as far as that goes but she's extremely happy there...she'll be home in two days, yippee!!!</p>

<p>Ok, this is right up my alley!!
- I live equidistant between Smith and Mt. Holyoke. (amherst!)
My impression as an outsider (not considering the academic of either school and other stats)..is:</p>

<p>Smith- noho is great but mth girls can get there in 20min easy. Now, I dont mean this as a negative or a positive, but the gereal atmosphere of smith and noho is much more Lesbian-centered than Mt holyoke, and what i have heard from straight girls who are attending smith, is that it can be hard to feel welcome at parties. Nonethless, not all people feel this way, it is just a local rumor/vibe thing.</p>

<p>Mt. holyoke-although ranked lower, it appears more study-centered, and the student body seem to party less then smith. In addition, the campus is sooo pretty!! (u drive by and are in 'awe'). </p>

<p>all in all- they are pretty equal, i think itjust matters what kind of 'commmunity' u want to be in. I know people who love each.</p>

<p>2011, reactions vary: when we got to MHC, D did not want me to park the car...just keep driving. </p>

<p>As for being studious, it me possible to study more than D does but not easily.</p>

<p>{{Mt. holyoke-although ranked lower, it appears more study-centered, and the student body seem to party less then smith. }}</p>

<p>I’m sure the president of Smith, Carol Christ, will be overjoyed to hear about your proclamations. Her daughter attends Mt Holyoke. :)</p>

<p>Mt Holyoke and Smith are both ranked pretty high, guys. And since when do rankings matter in determining wealth of the undergrad experience, quality of the teaching, etc.? In addition, Smith is only slightly more selective than MHC--a difference in about 4 percentage points, I believe.
I applied to Mt Holyoke and Smith for 2010, liking the area, liking the idea of a women's school. I've visited both a few times, and I know I'm posting on the Smith board and this opinion might not be very popular, but I love-love-loved MHC and just liked Smith. The sense of community at MHC seemed stronger, and the environment did seem more "study-centric." Both schools seemed intellectually charged, not one more than the other. Plus, MHC seemed more diverse.
But then again, I'm a humanities major who doesn't have to worry about science facilities and whatnot. To reiterate from previous posts, it's all about the fit. I just wanted to express the opinion nobody seemed to be expressing (unsurprising, since this is the Smith board).</p>

<p>I just checked the rankings---Smith is at 19, MHC at 23. Not a huge distance. Again, I don't think it's fair to say Smith is head and shoulders above Mount Holyoke.</p>

<p>Thanks for your feedback gypsy...everyone is entitled to their opinion; that's why there are horse races! The important factor is fit "for you."</p>

<p>Given what I have seen, in great detail, I can't imagine ANY self-respecting woman would want to attend #1. (I am so pleased my d. turned it town for Smith.)</p>

<p>My daughter is a senior at MHC-Politics. She had a GREAT 4 years- took several classes at Smith (and liked them). It's all about how the school "feels" when you visit. My D just felt MHC was for her-applied ED and hasn't looked back. You must visit and get the idea of which is best for YOU despite what other input people give you. The education is top notch at both.</p>

<p>{{I just checked the rankings---Smith is at 19, MHC at 23. Not a huge distance}}</p>

<p>Not that it means squat, Smith was at #13 the year before and Holyoke was at #24. We'll see if Smith returns to around #13 this year.</p>

<p>The stats used for the rankings represent the class of 08' The US News coming out in Aug. will be based on the class of 09', when Smith had the lowest acceptance rate in years.</p>

<p>How can any college change enough in 12 months to move 5 spots either way? They can't! More or less shows you how idiotic the rankings can be at times, don’t ya think? :)</p>

<p>AG, I don’t believe anyone stated Smith was “head and shoulders” above Mt Holyoke. If they did, they would be wrong. I’m biased though. My two favorite aunts are Holyoke alumnae.</p>

<p>I so much appreciate the input on this thread! Obviously, visits are in order. My only other question is about the sciences. My impression is that MHC may have more bio based majors/better facilities. But Smith has Praxis (which seems like a wonderful opportunity). Are there biology related work experiences available through the Praxis program?</p>

<p>Actually, I would have thought that, if anything, MHC might be stronger in chemistry, not biology. Smith is a national center for genomics research (under Steve Williams) and they have a large number of paid research assistantships through the STRIDE program, and for juniors and seniors. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/faculty_swilliams.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/faculty_swilliams.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/SWILLIAM/home.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/SWILLIAM/home.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It is Christ's goal to make Smith the #1 destination for female scientists in the nation. They are already that in percentage of women majoring in the sciences. It will be interesting to see how that plays itself out.</p>

<p>MHC does have a long-standing reputation in the sciences, and I am sure you could do fine at either place.</p>

<p>Our D has applied to both MHC and Smith. She likes both schools, likes NoHo's shops et al. </p>

<p>Her sense was that MHC was more friendly and respective. She is hoping to be accepted by both and in April visit each to make her decision. While I do appreciate that each school has its proponents, the truth as we see it is that both are excellent schools with great potential for our D. Seems to me to be a shame that some are so positive about their school that they deem it necessary to be negative about the other.</p>

<p>{{I've visited both a few times, and I know I'm posting on the Smith board and this opinion might not be very popular, but I love-love-loved MHC and just liked Smith.}}</p>

<p>Americangypsy, I see you applied ED to Yale and were deferred (I’m assuming you’ll matriculate if accepted or you wouldn’t have applied ED) and RD to Stanford. The two Universities couldn’t be more different than Mt Holyoke or Smith—especially Holyoke. You certainly are open to different environments. :)</p>

<p>{Seems to me to be a shame that some are so positive about their school that they deem it necessary to be negative about the other}</p>

<p>Ok, I saw the “head and shoulders” crack and can appreciate your feelings. I won’t speak for Sam, but you can’t judge a thread or college by <em>one</em> parent’s silly statement.</p>

<p>I used to live in Amherst and have been around students' and alumnae from both colleges for years.<br>
There has always been a friendly-- and not so friendly—rivalry between the two colleges. If you believe someone here was rude, you haven’t heard anything yet.
You and your daughter were exposed to the G rated version of the campuses/students’ and not how verbose women from both colleges can be when discussing the other<br>
I can assure you, women at <em>both</em> colleges can make disparaging and, when drinking, somewhat disgusting remarks about each other. The Amherst guys are always good for a few nasty cracks too!</p>

<p>A thick skin has its advantages. :)</p>

<p>Yes, RLT, I was deferred from Yale early, and it is my first choice. I almost wish I didn't apply to Stanford...I realized later that it wasn't for me. I actually do see some similarities between Yale and Holyoke (Gothic architecture, for one) but possibly only because I fell in love with both. I also applied to Wellesley (got a likely in Feb), but I really don't think I'll matriculate there.</p>

<p>I also applied to Wellesley (got a likely in Feb),</p>

<p>Yeah, I saw that. You need to update your PR stats.</p>

<p>I understand how you see the similarities in the campuses architecturally. Both are among the most beautiful in the country, imo.
I love the Sanford campus also, even though I’m more inclined toward old gothic and eastern architecture, as you are.</p>

<p>If I might ask, what didn't you like about Wellesley?</p>

<p>Good luck with Yale. Please post back and let us know where you will be matriculating :)</p>

<p>Well, I always hate saying negative things about a school I only know so much about. But the atmosphere at Wellesley felt that little bit more tense, more uptight than that at, say, Smith or Mt Holyoke. Also, it's stricter, and I've heard that at times the administration's tactics can be a bit infantilizing. There are other factors, but I just didn't feel the fit while I was visiting there that I did at other schools.</p>

<p>Yale and Mt Holyoke have other similarities, I think. They both have a certain sense of community, which MHC naturally has, and Yale creates with the residential college system. The student body was similarly friendly and welcoming, with an artsy/musical tilt. Both have rigorous academics with an undergrad focus (although certainly MHC has more of one). And both have the classic New England college feel.</p>

<p>I just wrote an entire post on the Smith board without talking about Smith. To anyone who gets frustrated by tangents on CC boards, I apologize.</p>

<p>Americangypsy Hope you get the acceptances you are seeking, you sound like the kind of young lady we hope will be the classmate of our D.</p>