<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I am interested in Woman College, but do not want to apply more than two in my list. Since Smith and MHC have lots of similarity, I would like to choose one of them to apply. Could anyone offer me some advices to compare the two schools in the following area,</p>
<ol>
<li>Rate to get into graduate school immidiately after graduation</li>
<li>Employment rate after graduation</li>
<li>Academic rigor</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li>Both are 25%</li>
<li>Within 2 years, it’s 75% at Smith. It’s a bit more than 2/3 right after graduation. I couldn’t find an exact number for MHC, other than 86% for both grad school and jobs right after school.
Smith’s also got a much stronger network of alumnae, with about 48,000, which is really quite helpful. MHC’s is around 20,000. </li>
<li>I haven’t actually taken a class at either, but from most comments I’ve heard, both are pretty comparable in terms of rigor and academic quality. Some people say Smith’s got a better reputation in this aspect, but I think in reality both are excellent (even though I’ll be a Smithie this fall!). You can be sure that you’ll get an excellent education at both, though.</li>
</ol>
<p>The schools might be similar, but you should really visit to see which one you like better, since the atmosphere and the student body isn’t the same. A few differences are:
-Northampton is more lively than South Hadley, although neither are cities.
-Smith’s larger.
-MHC has a higher percentage of international students.
-Smith has no distribution requirements, other than a writing-intensive course during your first year.
-Smith offers engineering.
-Smithies have a reputation for being too politically correct, which might be a a pro or a con for you.</p>
<p>Thanks Guitar500! Very informative.</p>
<p>I am international, Canadian and living in Asia right now, thus not able to visit the US colleges. Do you have any idea about the parttern for international students to work in US or go to US graduate school in the two colleges, upon graduation? Or most international students just go back to the home country?</p>
<p>I’m international too! I don’t know anything specific to internationals at Smith and Mount Holyoke, but I’ve heard getting a job is very hard unless they become permanent residents. Most just go back to their home countries, although a couple do manage to stay. It might be easier if you major in a STEM field. Internships and research projects are possible, and in fact I have a friend who’s done it at MIT for two summers. He’s also doing grad school in the US, so that’s also possible.</p>