Denison v. Mount Holyoke?

Midwestmomofboys
Mon, 21 Mar 2016 14:52:16 +0000

Wow, congrats on your acceptance with fantastic merit awards at both schools!

A few thoughts, as the parent of a Denison-to-be student, who has visited 15-20 east coast and midwest LACs (though since I have a son, not Mount Holyoke. I did, however, attend BMC and am a big advocate for women’s colleges, especially with a close relationship, a la BMC-Hford and the 5 college consortium).

Academically, Denison’ poli sci offerings are impressive for someone interested in political sphere. The Lugar program in Poli Sci is a specific program/track which is focused on policy and requires internships as part of the program. There is also the PPE major (Philosophy, Political Science and Econ), which has been described to us, by current Denison students, as involving requirements which would be analogous to a double major. My own kid is not that interested in the E part of the PPE major, so not likely to pursue. Denison has also introduced a new major, Data Analytics, which could be an option for someone looking to connect traditional humanities/social sciences with more specific skills. Doing a major and minor seems pretty common among the Denison students my kid has connected with.

Denison is much more diverse community than it used to be, the school is working hard to create, and develop, a community of students from all kinds of backgrounds. Something like 18% are first generation college students, and about the same percentage are Pell grant recipients. We were very impressed by the obvious diversity on campus when we have been there. Greek life – something my kid is not interested in – is non-residential so there are no “frat” houses on campus. When the move to non-residential Greek life was made in the 90s, all students were also required to live on campus (unless they live at home with their families), so there are no off campus “pseudo frat houses” either. Greek life participation is about 30%, so about the same as Kenyon. From everything we have seen, there is a vibrant arts and music scene on campus, so plenty to do for students who are not interested in drinking the night away. Columbus is about 30 min from campus, and it sounds like students really do take advantage of the cultural (and shopping) offerings available. The student body seems to draw pretty heavily from North Carolina to Boston, as well as midwest, so it is not an intensely-Ohio based community. Many Chicago area kids too, from what my kid says about the Admitted students FB group. Students seem to have no problem getting work in major east coast markets, so I don’t think the Ohio location limits a student to midwest careers. Of course, there are some pretty darn successful alums, including Steve Carrell, Jennifer Garner, as well as the head of ESPN and former head of Walt Disney.

Mt Holyoke will always hold a special place in my heart, as I interviewed there, and just loved it. I wound up at Bryn Mawr instead, but always found Holyoke to be a serious academic community. I appreciated the advantages of a women’s college – with resources and academics focused on women – and the broader academic offerings available through, for me, the Bi-Co community.

I would suggest exploring the key differences between the all-women’s focus at Holyoke with the 5 college consortium vs. the all-in-one option at Denison. The logistical/schedule challenges of taking classes across the consortium is something to keep in mind-- my experience at Bryn Mawr was different, because Hford was literally 5 min away, and pretty much everyone took classes on both campuses. It is a little trickier with the 5 college program. I believe some of the schools only allow you take classes at other campuses if your own school does not offer it (Amherst, I believe, does that, though someone can correct me).

Bottom line – you can’t go wrong with either choice. You will have a fabulous experience at either school, so try to focus on the key differences, and figure out what matters most to you.

Congrats, and good luck on your decision!