-Money is not a factor
-want a diverse community
-have a town/ not isolated
So forget Smith and Vassar - they are not there.
What do you mean by diverse - wealth, race, etc.
Skidmore is 1732 or 2694 white
F&M is 1108 of 1904
Bryn Mawr is all women of course - 690 of 1363
CC is 1346 of 1960 white
MH is women and 1125 of 2169
I’d choose F&M because it’s in Lancaster proper - so when you say “not isolated”. They have an env studies but not science degree.
BM is interesting - because you’ll do things with Haverford.
I wouldn’t MH.
Really - only you can decide.
2 Likes
Thank you for the response!
Yes you are right about smith and Vassar, I’m just bummed because I really wanted to go to Vassar!
I’m definitely looking for a diverse community in terms of race and background, also a safe place for queer and disabled people.
I didn’t really like Holyoke, and I thought Bryn Mawr is a little cultish but the consortium creates a lot of opportunities.
Right now, I’m planning on going to a revisit day at skidmore and F&M, and maybe will go to Connecticut’s and bryn mawr’s. I am open to all but have been drawn to F&M and Skidmore.
1 Like
Focus on the schools that feel right to you. They are all great choices.
8 Likes
Thank you!
Congratulations on your acceptances! Of the schools you’re visiting, I toured MHC, Skidmore, and Conn College with my D23, and My S26 is considering Conn College (just toured it, though I wasn’t with him) and Haverford - which is not Bryn Mawr, but of course very closely linked socially and academically. My D23 is majoring in environmental sciences, and S26 is thinking very seriously about poli sci, so I’ve had one or both of these majors on my radar when thinking about these schools.
Neither kid loved Skidmore (S was on D’s tour, so they both saw it) – something about the vibe was off for them – but they do have a robust environmental studies/sciences program, and they seem to be devoting a lot of resources to that. Saratoga Springs is a great town with lots to do and quite close to campus. I don’t know much about poli sci there, but I do recall that they had a good reputation for applied learning, and being so close to Albany, I would imagine there are internship opportunities in the state capital.
MHC was one of my D’s top choices in the end. Yes, it’s a little isolated, but you’re linked to the five-college system through a bus network, and there is a lot of interaction between schools in the coalition. Northampton does have a lot going on, and it’s easy to get there. There’s a small but very nice strip of shops and restaurants just across the street from MHC. Environmental studies is very strong, and there’s a five-college marine science concentration that might be of interest. But if you know you don’t like it, you’ve got lots of other great choices.
Conn College – D applied and was accepted but it was not one of her top choices. S is much more enthusiastic and will definitely apply. It has strengths in both environmental studies and government, and a heavy emphasis on helping students pursue internship and career opportunities. S26 likes the pathways curriculum. He’s also a fan of New London, although the campus is not walking distance (you get uber vouchers to go into town) – based on that alone, it might not be the place for you, because it might feel isolated, but if you’re considering it, you should give it a second look.
I can’t tell you much about Bryn Mawr, but based on what I know about its relationship with Haverford (which I’m more familiar with), there are lots of academic and social opportunities from this partnership that are even easier than at a place like MHC because of their proximity. They’re just minutes apart, and there are shuttles that run all day - students take classes on both campuses and eat in each other’s dining halls. Swarthmore is also part of this consortium but is just a little more out of the way. I don’t think isolation will be a problem here - you’re in a small town (but not middle of nowhere), and an easy train ride from Philly. I do know someone who’s going to Bryn Mawr, and she’s quirky, artsy, and smart. Bryn Mawr doesn’t strike me as cultish at all, but I have only indirect contact.
Can’t advise on F&M at all, but it sounds like you like it!
I would definitely advise admitted students’ days or at least a revisit for any school you’re considering seriously, if you can manage the travel. I hope this helps!
5 Likes
I certainly wouldn’t count on it but I also wouldn’t write off Vassar entirely yet. You were not rejected!!
Last year for example they accepted a lot of kids off the waitlist. In fact, Vassar accepted 171 students of 523 that embraced a place on the WL. That’s 32.7%!!
I would strongly suggest you write a LOCI if you remain interested and if so inclined tell them if accepted you will attend. Good luck.
6 Likes
Thank you so much, this is very helpful! All the best to your son and his application process!
2 Likes
You are very right, but I am very interested in taking a gap year. I’ve had some health issues so I want to be in the best shape possible before I start college, however, Vassar does not allow you to defer a year if you get off the waitlist.
I could try to go if I got in, but I am worried that I wouldn’t be healthy enough.
I don’t know if the risk is worth it, even though I’ve loved Vassar and their new program with the university of Edinburgh
3 Likes
Congratulations on five wonderful options! It may be of interest to you that Conn recently opened a Disability Cultural Center. I’m not sure if the other schools you’re considering have a DCC (though no reason you couldn’t start one!), but they don’t appear on this list: List of DCCs | +OK | University of Illinois Chicago
1 Like
Deleted.
Considering this is the community you are looking for and your major, I’m shocked you didn’t like MHC. Or is it just the town you didn’t like?
1 Like
Thanks for sharing, that’s very helpful!
1 Like
I think it was more the location, yes. Do you think it’s worth revisiting?
Not if you didn’t jive.
And you wrote this:
“I didn’t really like Holyoke”
We are not you. We are random people on an internet site. Go with your gut, not with what we think.
2 Likes
Brynn Mawr and Skidmore are in the best locations of the bunch, IMO. The Main Line on the whole is very nice and has everything, plus you are close to so many other schools. That location has really great college buzz and the BMC campus is stunning. Skidmore is in one of the best mid-sized towns anywhere IMO; I could write a page on that place. Most of the Skidmore campus architecture is newer and not classical, but the campus setting and location are beautiful.
Of that grouping of schools (excepting Smith and Vassar), I can’t really nudge you in any one direction. I can just say that if you value place and all else is equal, those two locations easily win out for me relative to the other locations. I don’t really mind Conn’s location and the campus is appealing. I do mind Mount Holyoke’s location, though the campus is admittedly quite nice.
F&M also is in a great location IMHO…right in Lancaster.
1 Like
Lancaster has some charm. We didn’t spend a ton of time there, but from what I remember I would not score it in the same league as Saratoga Springs. Bryn Mawr and the greater Main Line area is in a different category and hard to compare. But, no, for me, I would place Lancaster firmly behind SS and BM. It is nice though.
1 Like
Yes. The location is isolated, no doubt (although there is a movie theater within walking distance of campus). I’ve been there many times. But the thing is that when you’re in college, you’re spending most of your time on campus with your college friends and doing college stuff.
Here’s the other thing. Mt. Holyoke is different than another college in an isolated location. It’s part of a 5-college consortium. In order to make that work, the 5 colleges run their own bus/shuttle system all day long, day & night, 7 days a week. It will take you to Northampton, which is a bustling big town/small city of 30,000 + all the people it draws into town from the surrounding area to the shops and restaurants on Main Street, or to go to one of the live music venues in town, or to conduct business at any of the county offices. (It’s the county seat.) And Smith College is there. Or you can take the shuttle to Amherst, which also has stores and restaurants, but more than that, it also has 3 colleges. UMass alone has 30,000 students.
My point is that there are ways to reduce the isolation at Mt. Holyoke which don’t exist at other small colleges in an isolated location.
You have a choice. By your description, Mt Holyoke has everything you want except the ideal location. So, you may have to make a trade off. But you’ll have to trade off some of what you want if you pick a less isolated college in order to get the busier location. Everything has its trade offs.
Consider this. You’re only at college about 7.5 months per year, not year round for 4 years. You’re somewhere else for 4.5 months each year. And you can study abroad or at another college for a semester or two. Given how well Mt. Holyoke matches your needs and interests, I’d think long and hard about passing that up to get the perfect location. You’ve got the rest of your life to find the perfect location.
Comparing the MHC location to Vassar’s, Vassar may seem like it’s less isolated because it’s in Poughkeepsie, but there’s a lot more to do in the 5-college area. Poughkeepsie really doesn’t have a lot to offer.
Just my 2 cents.
1 Like
I vote for Bryn Mawr. It was my D25’s second dream school after Wesleyan. I think the tour guides can be a little cultish but felt you would find 75% are much more chill.
You can also take classes at UPenn which is awesome and the train stop is within walking distance so you can hop into Philly or get to nyc so easily. The dorms and food also seemed to be the best.
I went to an all women’s school mhc then Barnard and it is the best of both worlds. You have a lovely safe, supportive, nurturing environment to come back to but all the other schools to push yourself as well.
Congratulations on getting in!
2 Likes