I’m trying to decide between Smith, MHC, and Wellesley. They all have pluses and minuses for me.
I think Wellesley offers the programs I want and is in the best location (closest to Boston); MHC seems so serene and peaceful, and all the people were so friendly; and Smith has the most politically active and aware student body, and is in Northampton which is the coolest town.
But I worry about the stress level at Wellesley. I’ve heard different things about it, but it seems there is definitely a lot of stress. I am pretty introverted and have anxiety, and it’s really important for me to have a place to recharge and de-stress. I think I can keep up with the work, but I worry the whole campus will be buzzing 24/7. When I visited Smith, I also felt a lot of disconnect. People seemed pretty drawn inwards, and sort of just doing their own thing without acknowledging others. I was born and raised in a big city, so Mount Holyoke just seems so isolated.
Could anyone address this?
Also, I want to double major in theatre and medieval/early modern studies. I take theatre just as seriously as I do my academics, and I want to be in an environment that will support this. At which college is theatre thought of most highly, and at which college are activities like theatre the most supported.
I know Wellesley has the Shakes House, but Mount Holyoke’s theatre seemed really small. I don’t know much about Smith’s department. Any insight would help!
Thanks!
Did you post this in the threads of each school? You might get more responses if you do. For what it’s worth I graduated from MHC many years ago, and I have a daughter who is a junior now and looking at all three. We visited Wellesley first for a special open campus event last year. We were extremely impressed by the student panel and the campus in general. The student panel members did come across as very intense and driven academically, a little intimidating. We went to Smith next, another student panel, equally as impressive. My daughter just didn’t feel it at Smith, the campus felt a little cramped and busy to her, lots of traffic through Northampton. But if you’re from a city that might appeal to you. After Smith I took her to MHC. We didn’t do a formal tour, instead I gave her my version as an alum. We were able to enter many buildings, look at classrooms, the library, everything really, except the dorms. I will say that her first impression, after spending the day at Smith, was that the campus had a calm, peaceful, friendly vibe. She liked it much more than Smith. As for MHC being remote, the PVTA bus system easily connects you to the other 5 colleges, and the larger towns of Amherst and Northampton. I used it frequently when I was there, and never felt isolated.
I know nothing about the theatre programs, so I can’t help you there, though I suspect that even if MHC doesn’t have as much going on as you want you can get involved with all sorts of theatre activities through the 5 colleges.
In the end I doubt my girl will attend any of these schools as she thinks she wants co-ed. But she was very open to visiting, and learned a lot through the process. And you never know…she may change her mind over the next few months!
My D’s roommate is very serious about theatre and she has been in several productions so far at MHC, including one with a visiting director from Yale Drama. Also the 5-college consortium offers many more opportunities since students from all 5 schools are able to participate in productions at the other schools…
I visited Smith and Mount Holyoke, and both were friendly and welcoming, but there was something about the people at Smith that felt more sincere. I am pretty introverted around people I don’t know, so I imagine that Smith may feel different to other people.
I went to MHC for the first one and a half years and just transferred to Wellesley this semester. MHC is a lot more international for sure; in a classroom, you’d expect about 30-40% of the class to be international. MHC is more chill, and the typical person is more “type B” from my experience. There are more conversations about elitism, racism, etc., and there is a less pre-professional vibe (in fact, sometimes being in a field that makes money is looked down upon in a pretty condescending way).
On the other hand, at W, in a room of 30, perhaps 1 or 2 would be international. From the people I have met so far (and take in mind I’ve been here a total of 1 1/2 weeks) are more cookie-cutter successful and overachiever. Because Boston is so close by, there is not as tight-knit a community. Also, I’ve observed that everything is just a little “nicer” (the little things). For example, MHC has one ice-cream machine in Ham; Wellesley has 5 different flavors of ice-cream in every dorm at every meal. I don’t know if this is relevant to anyone, but just an interesting observation :P. Also, there is more of a “prim and proper” feel to Wellesley, and in the one week I have been here, I’ve been reminded that I am in “one of the best colleges in the world” and of the W name than I have in one semester at MHC; not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
The characteristics of these colleges are neither good nor bad; it depends on the person. I personally thrive in competitive environments and would trade the community for the opportunities that come with the city (the bus is not bad).
Anyways, remember that this is only my perspective, and take it with a grain of salt! Ask another W or MHC student, and they may have an entirely different interpretation of the schools. I hope this is helpful!
@Thehopefulwriter Thank you for your post. I am sure this will be very helpful to many people! From my personal experience (parent of a MHC student who was waitlisted at W; we spent a good amount of time on the W campus) I think your observations are very accurate. It is great of you to take the time to share them here for future students! Good luck and best wishes at your new school!
I’m a Mt. Holyoke student, and from what I can tell everything Thehopefulwriter said is correct. I don’t thrive in competitive environments - they turn me off, and Wellesley has a reputation for being intensely competitive. Mt. Holyoke is a very relaxed campus. Holyoke and Smith are very similar in a lot of ways - you’ll see people playing up the differences as a lot more significant than they really are. Lots of politically active people on both campuses, although I feel like people at Holyoke are more laid back about it (something I found to be positive). One thing to be very aware of is that Mt. Holyoke doesn’t have a Medieval historian right now, so you might have to take some Five College classes to supplement that part of your program. Of course, the same thing might be true at Smith. I think Holyoke is as isolated as you want it to be. I grew up in a mid-to-large sized city and don’t find it that bad, the PVTA isn’t hard to use (and, unlike Wellesley’s buses into Boston, it’s also free) if you want to get off campus, and there are a few small shops and restaurants within walking distance. Personally, I’ve found it to be relaxing to not have so much going on around me, but that’s a very personal decision.
Since when aren’t Wellesley’s hourly buses to and from Cambridge free?
Perhaps they are, and I was misinformed, but when I was doing research on schools everything I read indicated they cost money.
They’re free on week days, but there’s a cost on the weekends.
More specifically, it’s $3 each way from Fri evening through Sun. You have to buy tokens at the student center; they don’t take cash. We would always buy our D a bunch of tokens as a parting gift to encourage her to go downtown!
Current W student. W is extremely competitive, particularly in humanities and pre-med majors where the school’s grade deflation policy hits the hardest. I will say that W has pretty abysmal support for pre-med students; if you’re interested in med school I would encourage you to spend your $$$ elsewhere.
That said, in almost every other aspect the school has a massive amount of resources and a great reputation, particularly in New England. For women interested in STEM, the environment is fantastic. Small class sizes ensure that the professor knows every student and is accessible.
My d has same questions, accepted ( transfer)at MHC, waiting to hear from Smith. Where did you end up?
Tell us how it is.
Rainyears, this maybe a bit late. at MHC you will access and consideration for 5 college theater productions. It is nt unusual at all for MHC students to take advantage of clubs and other offerings thru the 5 college system. My daughter was born and raised in Los Angeles, and she’s never complained about feeling isolated or bored. She does make good use of the free PVT. In her opinion MHC is not “isolated”, more like convenient without the chaos.
Bunnywins - thanks for your comment. My D is a prospect considering Smith and Wellesley, and very interested in premed. It would be extremely helpful if you could talk more about W’s support for premeds and what is unsatisfactory about it.
Mount Holyoke is known for its science offerings and offers a post-baccalaureate pre-med program that has a 100% success rate in gaining admission to medical school.
I don’t believe the post-baccalaureate pre-med program has a med school acceptance rate of 100%
https://apps.aamc.org/postbac/#/program/33
I’d take any 100% Med school acceptance rate stat with a grain of salt. My MHC daughter has several classmates who started at MHC with the intention of going on to Medical school. Most have reconsidered that path during thier time at MHC. One will apply to grad programs in Physics/Engineering, the other will (after studding in Europe and entering at EU, will be applying to Law School. She also has a friend who is busy finishing up some typical medschool pre-req, to supplement her major in history and plans to sit for MCATs. That the beauty of Liberal arts Education, the freedom to explore different paths and find the one for you.
is Mount Holyoke’s post-bac program new? I didn’t realize they had one