@Pizzagirl the quaint village of south Hadley is crawling distance from MHC. Movie theater , sushi (surprisingly high quality and economical) , bookstore et al. Jump on the free bus for 20 minutes and your at cvs trader joes staples ect. It’s the frequent free bus which connects the entire pioneer vally. Lots of action for college students.
I think the point is there are plenty of other places where you don’t need to hop on a bus for 20 minutes to get to CVS, Trader Joe’s, etc. That’s a long schlep for basic necessities. Even suburban Wellesley, which does not cater to college students all that much, has a Whole Foods, a Roche Brothers, a CVS, a bookstore, etc. And there, if you hop a bus or train, you have all of Boston. I get that you’re a fan of Mt Holyoke, but don’t you need to be realistic about its rural setting? Hey, I was a fan of Grinnell and Kenyon for my kids but they are rural - and you have to know that going in.
@Pizzagirl seems as if we have very different ideas of rural. To me walking about 300 feet fr the campus gates to town with sushi and a movie theater among other commercial concerns is not rural. Hopping a 30 minute shuttle to major airport with direct flights is not rural. Jumping on free bus which takes you in 20 to all the popular consumer warehouses bedbathandbs target el al is not rural.
D commented over spring break how convenient the piñoneer valley is, as opposed to where we live in costal Los Angeles. No MHC is not Barnard is terms of city life. But it’s not isolated. Far from it.
My mother is a W allum, I know the area. Not exactly “boston”.
As someone who was incredibly enthusiastic about being a part of SBC Class of 2019 this is terribly sad and a huge disappointment to me. I hope all the students find their place soon.
@VioletPie, what are your plans now?
@Luciethelakie I am in a bit of an unfortunate place as Sweet Briar was serving as my only match (I was accepted with a scholarship in Dec.) I’m hoping that I will hit the lottery and Yale, Wellesley, Washington and Lee, or Vanderbilt will accept me, but I am searching for a new reliable match, perhaps Agnes Scott or Byrn Mawr? Thankfully some colleges are accepting late apps for us.
(That being said I really really REALLY loved Sweet Briar; if anyone could recommend a similar college I would be grateful. SBC was just so perfect for me and what I wanted.)
@VioletPie, I’m so sorry you’ve found yourself in this predicament! Bryn Mawr is an outstanding school and Agnes Scott sounds terrific too.
Is Mount Holyoke taking Sweet Briar student apps? They seem like a nice fit (more like SB than Bryn Mawr, I would think).
@VioletPie You might be interested in Salem College, on their website they say they’re accommodating students who applied to Sweet Briar and students who need to transfer out. They set up a special scholarship for former Sweet Briar students and say they’re making an exception to consider students who applied to Sweet Briar for merit and need scholarships (I’m pretty sure it’s too late for other students). Here’s the site: http://www.salem.edu/admissions/sbc
@intparent Hm, that’s interesting. I visited MHC, thought it was beyond beautiful and juuust isolated enough for me. but I was worried that it might be too politically-minded for me, especially as I have a few more conservative viewpoints. Why would you say it’s more like SBC than Bryn Mawr?
Because it probably is a tad more conservative overall. But given that, Agnes Scott may be the better fit after all.
^^^I agree. Agnes Scott sounds like a better fit. Bryn Mawr is quite liberal, as are the other schools in the tri-co (Haverford and Swarthmore).
I went to BMC and my D is currently considering Agnes Scott. No question, Bryn Mawr and all of the Seven Sisters are extremely liberal and politically active/activist. My Freshman roommate was from the South and felt like a fish out of water. She transferred immediately. ASC and other Southern women’s colleges will most definitely be a better fit for OP, in my opinion.
The only (obvious) matches I can think of between SBC and MoHo are their equestrian programs and more rural setting. I agree with previous posts that it will still be a very liberal environment.
I agree that MHC is a pretty liberal environment. Maybe not QUITE as in-your-face as at Smith, but still pretty activist and liberal. Although I am sure, as at any college, it depends on who you hang out with.
@VioletPie I would definitely recommend MHC if you are an equestrian or want a larger student body. (And don’t mind the cold!) However politically Agnes Scott would be more like SBC. It is also similar in size and has a nice blend of older buildings and new facilities. And most important- a healthy endowment. Our family toured AS last year when our daughter was looking at schools and we were really impressed. We even met a student whose parents worked at MHC but she choose AS because she wanted to go some place different and warmer!
@VioletPie, what attracted you to Sweet Briar and what did you love about it enough to make you commit? If you mention those things it might be easier to help you find some matches. The closest likenesses to SBC might be the nearby women’s colleges Hollins and Mary Baldwin, but…those schools might not be on the most stable of financial footing either. Agnes Scott is also lovely with a beautiful campus and very diverse students, but it’s not rural like SBC, which seems to be an attracting component for you.
Another suggestion is Wesleyan College, a small liberal arts college for women in Macon, GA. Other small Southern women’s LACs are Stephens College (MO), Columbia College (SC), and Salem College (NC). However, some of these colleges might be facing similar financial struggles as Sweet Briar because they do have similar profiles - small, sometimes tiny enrollments; smaller endowments; high acceptance rates; and low student yields.
Hey everybody, I’m a current Sweet Briar student and was wondering if you could help me out on this whole transfer business. Here’s the link to my post: