<p>So, I'm at a community college (in RI) right now, looking into art and computer science (hoping to either double major or to combine the two), and Wellesley and Smith are 2 of 4 of the colleges I'm looking into. As a rape victim, the issue of women's rights is important to me, so I like the idea of a women's college. However, I'm worried that because they are women's colleges, my boyfriend will be unwelcome there. Does anyone know how males are treated who visit campus? As long as they are welcoming, the two colleges might move up on my list, since I don't party, and I've read that the two schools aren't really too fond of partying. </p>
<p>Other than that, how would the two schools be for my major(s)? I wish to possibly work with video game design or with other creative uses with computers. </p>
<p>Finally, the plausibility of transferring, which would include financial aid. I read in an article that Smith gives equal aid to transfers as first years, which is great, because I'll probably need a fairly significant amount of aid. With the colleges hold being a community college student against me, out of state? What's the typical GPA like of a transfer? </p>
<p>Thanks, and I have a feeling that this board is one of the more supportive on College Confidential.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about Smith and Wellesley, but I am a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and our campus was welcoming to males and men are allowed in the residence halls and can spend the night as long as your roommate (if you have one) approves of it. You should take a look at our computer science program. I know it is very, very small and academically rigorous so you’ll get tons of one-on-one attention if they offer the types of courses you’re interested in.</p>
<p>MHC, Smith, and Wellesley are all academically rigorous schools and will likely expect that you have a high GPA and will be looking closely at your essays and writing samples, even though you’re a computer science major. I know that at MHC they’ll only admit as many transfer students as they have empty space in the class you’ll be transferring into, so the number of spots can vary from year to year…this is probably the case at Smith and Wellesly, which are also residential campuses.</p>
<p>Thank you. I understand that you’d need a high GPA, but could you please give me an educated guess as to how high? Like, will it be hopeless for me if I don’t get a 3.9? This is my first semester in college, and although I’m aiming high, I’m worried I won’t get the 4.0 I’m striving for. I mean, I THINK I can write fairly well, so hopefully writing won’t be a problem.</p>
<p>What drew you to Mount Holyoke, out of curiosity? I suppose I have more interest in Smith, because I’ve heard about it being considered by people I know/knew personally, so I haven’t heard much about it.</p>
<p>I doubt that my guess, even an education one, can be much help since even a 4.0 won’t necessarily guarantee you admission. Just keep your grades high, particularly in your major, make sure you write excellent essays, have a good writing sample, and make sure you’ve got professors that will speak very highly of you in their letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>Like you, I was unfamiliar with MHC and heard about it because and I was interested in Smith. I did research on Smith, and Wellesley. At the time, Wellesley was the only school I was applying to that required the SAT II’s (we’re talking ten years ago or so) and I wasn’t going to take the SAT II’s just for one school, so I didn’t apply to Wellesley. I had heard of Smith and told my high school college counselor that I was interested in Smith. She told me to consider MHC as well, and MHC had much more outreach available in my hometown. I got to meet current MHC students and graduates of MHC at an event and was able to have an informational interview and a formal interview with two different graduates of MHC. Smith came to town and I had a formal interview with them, and that was it - no outreach. They weren’t very responsive to me, while all my MHC contacts were very enthusiastic and helpful. I’m from the west coast, so I wasn’t able to just go to Smith and talk to them in person - I was very reliant on long-distance communication. </p>
<p>I’d say it wasn’t so much that communication barrier as it was that I felt I would “fit in” at MHC based on the women I met. I went to MHC as a first-year student sight unseen and completely fell in love with it. The main difference between MHC and Smith is that MHC is more suburban while Smith is a little more urban as they’re located right in Northampton. </p>
<p>Since you live in RI, I highly recommend you drive down on a weekend and visit both schools. Oh! That’s another great thing about MHC and Smith…they’re part of the 5-college consortium, so you can cross-register at MHC, Smith, Amherst, Hampshire, and UMass, and there’s a free bus that drives between the 5 campuses. I lived in RI briefly after I graduated from MHC and a day trip is definitely possible. There’s no better way to get a feeling for each of the campuses than to visit them and meet the students there in person!</p>
<p>I’m a Smithie and will attempt to answer your questions
Your boyfriend would be more than welcome on campus. Because of the 5 college consortium, we have men on the campus all the time and most people are very friendly with them. Plus, many students miss male having males to just hang out with, and may enjoy having one around</p>
<p>As far as Smith finaid goes, I’ve heard mixed things. I couldn’t have asked Smith for a better aid package, but others complain. YOu won’t know til you see it</p>