<p>I'm one of the few girls (or at least the vocal minority) who plans on going to an all-girl's school, and has loved the concept from the start (and not to offend anyone but likes men). Smith is my top choice, but I really like Mount Holyoke too. One of the only reasons Smith is top and MHC isn't is because of the town of Northampton. It's great! I don't need a big city or anything, and I know South Hadley definately isn't Northampton, but what is there to do at MHC? I know there are clubs & orgs but simply on a weekend- what do you do? I'm a huge movie fan myself, are there any movie theaters in South Hadley?</p>
<p>There is a small movie theater in SH opposite the campus. There is , of course, the 5-college bus to Amherst and U Mass as well as Northampton. MHC provides activities but don't expect South Hadley itself to be a source of entertainment. The college also has buses to Boston and New York from time to time. </p>
<p>I am an alumna who has visited recently with my D but I'll leave it to current students to fill you in on the social life. The students we talked to said you can meet men but it takes initiative and perseverance. If you want easy, casual conversation with a variety of men while being a student-- and this is a priority for you --then you would be better off not attending a women's college. Nevertheless, many women who do like men decide that what MHC offers is worth the "sacrifice".</p>
<p>Yeah, the no-men thing (or extreme lack of ) isn't really a sacrifice for me, my boyfriend and I are pretty serious (don't laugh and/or roll your eyes please-I get that a lot). Thanks for the info- hope your daughter's college search (or new college life) goes well.</p>
<p>I had a serious boyfriend when I started at MHC and thought similarly to you. I enjoyed the female friendships on campus. Broke up with boyfriend my sophomore year and then went Junior Year Abroad ( that's where I met my now husband of twenty years). While abroad, I enjoyed conversation with men on a daily basis-it took a while for that to feel just "ordinary". On the other hand, some friends who went to co-ed schools all four years had problems of entangling relationships that were hard to disentangle or feeling left out because "everyone else" has a boyfriend. That's one problem you don't have at women's colleges--there's alwys plenty of fellow "singles" to hang out with--also lots of others with relationships "elsewhere" who have time during the week and on some weekends to hang out with their friends.</p>
<p>Yeah that's an advantage. Your story sounds so romantic:). It's good to hear that there are happy endings (well not with the old boyfriend).</p>
<p>I'm considering Mt.Holyoke... but I'm a shy girl (around the opposite sex), so i really think going there and not having the ability to just casually talk to guys will really be difficult. I can hardly get a guys attention as it is! I'm definetly not the kind of girl who guys out and tries to get guys....</p>
<p>My daughter is a first-year at MHC. She goes contra dancing every Friday night (admission is a couple of bucks) and goes to Rocky Horror after concerts. She's made some "guy pals" through both.</p>
<p>My experience (although 30 years ago!) was that only women who were able to take initiative with men were able to meet guys while at MHC. Also we had the "advantage" that men in the area were attending all male colleges so they were eager to meet us too. On the other hand, January term and opportunities to do internships, semester abroad or in Washington, could provide more casual coed interactions -- or the type of activities boxmaker mentions.</p>
<p>My suggestion would be not to expect to develop a boyfriend while at MHC (although it's not impossible)-- only go there if it offers you enough compensating advantages. Life after college will be coed.
A women's college could help you develop more self-confidence and expertise so that you will attract attention of males and females by what you know and what you can do later. If this sounds too much like social renunciation to you, you might be happier at a coed school.</p>