Smith VS Bryn Mawr VS Wellesley

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>can somebody compare the three for me? how are they in terms of personalities of student body? quality of life? employment prospects? grad school prospects? close-knit (or not so much) community? accessability of professors? athletics? location and convenience for transportation?</p>

<p>also, i dont really understand why bryn mawr is usually left out of the all women's college. i usually hear wellesley, smith and MHC mentioned but i dont know why bryn mawr tends to hide the in the shadows. does it have something to do with academics maybe? location? reputation?</p>

<p>thanks! :)</p>

2

<p>I'm not really going to answer those questions since I don't know myself but I have to disagree with you on the Bryn Mawr thing. I mean, it may just be because i'm sheltered but I've heard about Bryn Mawr many more times than smith. But there are reasons for that considering I know many people who attend and the fact that it's not even an hour drive from my house.</p>

3

<p>They are more alike than they are different. The major turn-off about Bryn Mawr for my D is that Bryn Mawr is really small, about 1300 students, approximately half the population of Smith, which in turn is only about 300 or so larger than Wellesley. D wanted larger, with implications both for course offerings and for an expanded social circle.</p>

<p>I suspect that nationwide the "name recognition" ranking would be Wellesley, Smith, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, and Mount Holyoke in that order. Not that's worth anything one way or another.</p>

4

<p>Its true they are more alike than different. My kid chose BM because even tho Smith had more students, the ease of taking classes in the tri co (Swat, BM and Haverford) negated that difference. For instance, she is allowed to choose course from the tri co "course guide." This has tripled her course offerings and social circle. </p>

<p>She also liked being near Philadelphia (less than 30 min), though she though Noho was nice, too. </p>

<p>Regarding ranking and name recognition, I think all remaining 7 sisters are well known in academic circles. Which one tops the list may depend on where you are coming from geographically; for instance, Barnard is most well known in NYC, BM in Pa, Smith in Mass, etc. BM certainly has a stellar academic record on graduate school admissions : see </p>

<p><a href="http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Again though, Smith and Holyoke and Barnard all have much to offer. Any prospective student should VISIT and TALK to current profs and students. Sit in on classes. Good luck~</p>

5

<p>The advice above is spot on...and I don't really have anything to add; unless of course you want to hear my very biased opinion supporting Smith. These colleges are more well known depending on where you live, that is no doubt; and they are very similar in many ways. A visit usually helps a great deal (I know it did with us over a year ago.) I also agree with TD about the ranking order (although, that shouldn't come into play when making a decision about where you'll spend the next four years of your life.)</p>

6

<p>"can somebody compare the three for me? " Well, I can tell you about Wellesley.</p>

<p>"how are they in terms of personalities of student body? "</p>

<p>Based on my experience, I would say pretty similiar. There are stereotypes about each institution, but most anyone who goes to either college would tell you that there is no one stereotype.
If I really had to do it, I would say the people I've met from other women's colleges (okay, about 2 Smithies in grand total) seemed pretty much like the Wellesley students I hang out with. Think Hermione Grangers.</p>

<p>quality of life? I'm a fan.</p>

<p>employment prospects? Good. Trying not to think I have one year left.</p>

<p>grad school prospects? Good. I'll be applying next year. I think I will get into somewhere good.</p>

<p>close-knit (or not so much) community? I would say so. If you get involved in an extra-curricular or a department or your floor you tend to find friends. Less weekend events at Wellesley though, because many people go into Boston for entertainment. Wellesley does have a cross registration relationship with MIT, but I've found that Wellesley academics are satisfying on their own. I really like the course I'm taking at MIT now (it's a graduate class in a science research field I'm interested in, but you wouldn't have hear of otherwise. It is, coincidently, all women).</p>

<p>accessability of professors? Excellent</p>

<p>athletics? I don't know. If you are into watching sports, the culture here is apathetic.</p>

<p>location and convenience for transportation? Wellesley has a bus that gets you into Cambridge every hour during sane hours for free during the week, and an hour/40 minutes for $2 each way on the weekends. Wellesley is also accessible by the commuter rail (not the T, Boston's subway). It's not convenient if you never had to ride 40 minutes to get to school, and Boston isn't in your backyard, but Wellesley is not in the middle of nowhere. The town of Wellesley, does not cater to the college, but rather the market that thinks it's okay to leave your Mercedes-Benz running on the curb with the key in the ignition. You can get most of what a student needs there, but very little of what a student wants. There is also a Saturday shuttle ($2 round trip) to the local mall. That one is a real pain. </p>

<p>"also, i dont really understand why bryn mawr is usually left out of the all women's college. "
i usually hear wellesley, smith and MHC mentioned but i dont know why bryn mawr tends to hide the in the shadows. does it have something to do with academics maybe? location? reputation?</p>

<p>I don't know. Size? W,S, and MHC are all in Massachusetts. To be honest, Wellesley gets the lion's share of pop culture references, not all of them flattering.</p>

<p>"thanks!"
You're welcome.</p>

7

<p>Bryn Mawr is left out of the equation only because many people can't remember the name. The same is often true for Mount Holyoke.</p>

<p>Of course, it's also geographic. Where I live, Bryn Mawr is MUCH better known than MHC -- and probably even better known than Wellesley and Smith. </p>

<p>Edited to add: Of course, they are all well-known in academic circles. The above comment refers to the average person who knows little about colleges.</p>

8

<p>Though Bryn Mawr can cross register with Haverford and Swathmore, remember that Smith can cross register with Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and UMass.
My daughter thought that Smith had much more of a sense of community than Wellesley, which she found a little cold. She just finished her first year at Smith and absolutely loves it there. The campus is great, the students are friendly and the professors are top-notch.</p>

9

<p>In all honesty the seven sisters switch places every 10 years. However, it seems that Wellesley has always been sort of at the top. When my mom looked at colleges she apparently didn't bother looking at bmc it was too hard to get into - she ended up going to Vassar. Now, Vassar is at least a tad more difficult to get into than Bryn Mawr.
Wellesley is the most pre-professional seven sister without a doubt. There are a lot more pre-doctors and pre-lawyers there than anywhere else.
Bryn Mawr and Smith are probably the most alike out of the sisters if there were rivalries, it would probably be between these two. They are both the most academically intense. Bryn Mawr is well known for its heavy workload (also seen at neighboring Haverford and Swat). Smith is fairly well known for literature/writing. While Wellesley might have more name recognition/famous grads, BMC and SC grads tend to stick to academics.
I chose BMC because I liked the location better and I felt there was more access to the opposite sex/boys were more welcome at BMC.<br>
It should be noted that both schools have topped Princeton Review's list for "Dorms like Palaces" and "Best Food", an influential factor in anyone's decision.
If you visit them you will know instinctively which one is best for you.</p>

10

<p>My daughter was very happy with Smith. They really encourage them to become scholars. She and her friends all ended up very successful in their fields. There is also a Smith network. Even when she was working on her dissertation overseas there was a network of Smithies she got together with. They help alumna get jobs, she found a rental in DC through their network and has made friends wherever she has lived through the Smith network. It is unlike what I, my husband, or our other children got through their colleges.
As for the food, Smith has individual dining rooms in the dorms. You can come down to breakfast in your nightgown and enjoy very good food</p>