I recently checked out both colleges on a visit to MA. Before going, I thought Smith would be a clear winner, but now I can’t decide. With that in mind, I have very random criteria that I consider that I wanted to ask you folk about.
Questions:
Which has a better creative writing program?
Which is more haunted, or at least more allegedly haunted?
Which school is more Hogwarts-esque? (I couldn’t quite tell from only some buildings, also including school spirit)
Which school has better food???
Which school is gayer? (The gayer the better) Also, what percent of the student population at each identifies as queer?
Which school is known to give better financial aid? (we make about $20,000 a year)
Is it worth it to apply early to one, or wait to apply to both during normal admission?
Do both have tennis available as a club sport, or only at college level?
Finally, I have heard good things about Bryn Mawr. Is it worth checking out?
I’m going to answer questions I know the answer to -
not sure
I’m not on the up-and-up on Smith’s hauntings, but MHC has more alleged ghosts than you can shake a stick at. From Lower Lake Drowned Woman to Wilder to Pearson’s basement, hauntings galore. That said, a lot of the stories have been debunked, and there are plenty of newer buildings for the ghost-averse to spend their time in. Best of both worlds!
MHC, hands down. Smith will tell you their house system has us beat, but really, we’ve got the class mascots and colors, and can you really be Hogwarts-esque with more than four houses? Plus, we’ve got that great quasi-gothic architecture. Go Sphinxes!
Currently? Smith. But that may be changing - stay tuned for MHC’s major dining upheaval
You are going to have a wide, wide dating scene at either school. I don’t know the percentages, but I’m willing to bet it’s comparable.
MHC gives a lot more merit aid; I don’t know anything about Smith’s need-based aid, but MHC’s is usually quite good (it will be worse if your family has significant assets)
Apply early if you really like one over the other (and your other schools)
no idea about Smith; I don’t think MHC has club tennis currently. You could start a team!
Love your title. Hope you find the place that’s right for you!
Apply early…IF YOU CAN AFFORD ED. Getting enough merit to attend is nice, but you can’t assume you’ll get it. ED is a binding agreement–if they accept you, all other applications are withdrawn and you promise to attend.
“if they accept you, all other applications are withdrawn and you promise to attend”
if the offered financial aid (when requested) is sufficient to support attendance. You must decide yes or no; if no, you say thanks but no thanks, and apply elsewhere RD (or ED2).
Mount Holyoke is definitely more Hogwarts-esque architecturally speaking (I will always be slightly envious about that haha). That being said, rooms at Smith tend to be much bigger, and the houses are also noice and diverse (house sizes range from approx 40-100 students) and there is also a lot of nice range architecture there and not to mention, it's in the middle of a town whereas MT is in the middle of nowhere.
Idk much about MT food but Smith has many dining halls with different types of food. One house even has an Asian-fusion thing going on. Dining comes with the board so you dont have to worry about meal plans or dining dollars.
Smith is more known for being gay but I think both schools are 50/50
Smith gives better need-based aid than MT but MT gives better merit-aid. With a 20k income it's highly unlikely you'll be asked to pay more than 5k at either school (probably less too). I would apply RD tho, high ED acceptence rate is more of a self-selection thing. And you never know how financial aid might work out until you receive the estimates.
The figure for Smith isn’t close to accurate. About 10-15% of Smithies in a survey identified themselves as gay or lesbian; an additional 15-20% consider themselves bisexual.
I do want to check out Bryn Mawr but I’m put off by the fact they only accept a 5 on APELC. (I only got a 4) I could aim for a 5 in AP lit but I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch. Smith and Mt. Holyoke seem to accept all the AP’s I’ve taken/am taking.
I might have to wait to apply RD because at this point I’ll probably just pick whoever gives the best financial aid, though I’m leaning towards Mt. Holyoke.
I think that that is a very sensible approach. Do check out Bryn Mawr - it sounds like you’re leaning towards an English/creative writing major (forgive me if that is incorrect), and one AP credit is probably not going to have a substantial effect on your overall program/ability to graduate on time. If you have any more specific questions, consider checking out the individual school forums.
vonlost, if what you say is true, then what is binding about ED? What is financially feasible is in the eye of the beholder–one could say “anything that isn’t a 100% free ride is not feasible”. The way you describe it, there is little difference between EA and ED, really.
ED is indeed less binding for those who need financial aid, but there is no reasonable alternative; no school would somehow try to compel attendance, and then expel when the bill cannot be paid. But ED does require that early decision by the FA applicant that EA does not. The ED applicant is presumably ecstatic to be accepted by their first-choice school and will try to make it work if it’s at all possible.
But if there is that number one choice above all others, that dream school, the ED admission advantage can be a huge draw, coupled with a more relaxed senior year with no more applications to write if accepted.
When applying ED, you can’t compare aid packages if you need a lot of aid. For a low income family, that can be really important; even a few thousand dollars makes a difference to a low income family. Also, it is really stressful to apply ED and not get enough aid.
@CrewDad when I said gay, I meant it more as an umbrella term with included bi, and self identified queer people
how old is that survey/ where did you find it?
I’m still saying 50/50 based on the visits I made, facebook posts on the 2020 pages, and the Smithies I met during Discovery Weekend, as well as around NYC.
@eggchild - you might want to review the details of AP credit acceptance a bit more closely for these schools. For example, Smith accepts scores of 4 and 5 for several tests, but they only give you the credit if you are sick and fall behind in credits during a semester and need them to graduate, or other circumstances like that. You can use the AP tests to place out of basic coursework, but that just means you take other classes in their place. Many of the elite LACS function this way - AP credits won’t let you graduate early like they will for some state colleges. Just want to make sure you realize this, especially if you are using this as a criteria for your school selection.
I believe Smith is better known for creative writing, for food, and is gayer. For financial aid, for your income bracket, do take a look at Wellesley that has a no loan policy for low income. I believe Smith has very good need based aid. I have a young friend at MHC who is very low income and they have given her an excellent package, but including loans.