Wellesley vs Vassar vs Smith vs Mt Holyoke

<p>D got into all four. Interested in Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, French. Thinks she will prefer co-Ed (vassar) college but seems open to all. Finances mostly equal with Vassar somewhat more pricey. Will be visiting all four schools for overnights this week. She's
a serious student without much of a need for a party scene, so this won't be a main issue. Looking for academic challenge with small discussions. From AZ so weather will be a shock with all four. She likes the open curriculum of vassar and smith so any comments about the distribution requirements at Wellesley and Mt Holyoke would be helpful. Also comments about co-Ed vs all women will be helpful. She's fairly liberal but not a women's lib liberal and not fond of in your face activism. She got 21st century scholar from mt holyoke. So please help with any feedback you might have.</p>

<p>My daughter visited all 4, applied to and got into Smith and Wellesley (plus other colleges), and is attending Smith. Although she wasn’t specifically looking for a women’s college, she is enjoying being at one. She, her roommate, and many of her friends are STEM majors and love their science and engineering classes. She also loves her humanities classes, particularly French. The professors have been very accessible. Although there are parties available, Smith is a great place to have fun outside of the party scene.</p>

<p>My daughter chose Vassar over Wellesley, after Vassar took her off the waiting list. For her, a no-brainer. Another website describes Wellesley as a “very competitive college where students attack mountainous workloads with fierce intensity”, while Vassar is on the top-ten list of colleges with the happiest students. Wellesley is a wonderful place, but Vassar, for my D, a better fit.</p>