Colleges
So wow. It was crazy awesome. I'm going to one of those three schools, dammit.
It's funny - I have to choose between being a prep, a hippy, and a raging lesbian feminist. The latter seems like the most fun, but Smith wasn't my favorite of the three colleges. I would be totally fine going there, and the location is great and we saw Julia Stiles on campus, plus they have a great music program and a GORGEOUS theatre and a sister school in Hamburg, but I REALLY like Amherst (duh, we knew this) - their campus is gorgeous and THEIR sister school is in Tokyo.
So let's run a brief overview, since I feel like some of you would LOVE some of these schools.
AMHERST
Wow. Okay. Wow. Um. Wow. They're nuts. They're absolutely insane. The Hampshire guy called the Amherst kids "snooty" and they're the second best liberal arts college in the country. Their campus is beautiful, they're like three steps from downtown Amherst (think kind of old-north-endy, but cleaner), and they have "a bajillion" a capella groups. I doubt any of you guys would like it there, but I love it hardcore. (But they "don't talk about" Hampshire)
HAMPSHIRE
HIPPIESOMG! It's awesome. I loved this place. Their film and photography department is AMAZING, as well as their art and psychology departments. Point one: They have a farm on campus, but the animals are for behavioral studies designed and carried out by psych "concentrators". The academic system is bizarre, in that you start as a Division I student for like...three semesters, where you take a course in each...what did they call them...of five "schools of thought" - I can't remember the exacts, but it's like...life sciences, social sciences, stuff like that. Big science school. Then you become Division II student for another three or four semesters (depending on what you feel like), where you decide your "concentration" (major) and take courses in it and whatever other stuff you feel like, four courses per semester. As a Division III student, you design and carry out an individual research study/major project. Yeah. That's how awesome this place is. During that time, you DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ANY COURSES. Throughout the whole time, you don't get grades, just "evaluations" by professors. All the work for your classes is reading and essaying, and the essays are all open-ended. Their pool is used for kayaking lessons and scuba-diving lessons. I mean, come ON. (But the Amherst kids are "snooty")
SMITH
Wow, so this didn't feel like a giant sorority or anything. The housing system is a little spirit-y, in that you stay with your "house" all four years and it's like a "sisterhood", but it's not a sorority. (P.S.: Smith is an all-women college, for those who don't know.) They have an event called "Celebration", where they basically rock out with every kind of love imaginable (read: make out with each other. Nah, I have no idea, but it's celebrating acceptance of homosexuality). It seemed more based on social stuff than the other two, but the location was the best - smack dab in the center of Northampton, and there were huge thrift stores and lingerie stores EVERYWHERE. Plus they're known for their music, language, and theatre programs throughout the other four colleges. (But apparently Amherst girls hate them 'cause they think they're trying to steal the boys. XD)
For parties, you go up to the frats at U Mass Amherst or to Smith. The frat boys like Smith because of all the lesbians and bisexuals.
I'm working on Kitty to apply to Hampshire. The acceptance rate there is 55% and your GPA as an admission factor is "not important". That's how hippy they are. XD
It's funny - I have to choose between being a prep, a hippy, and a raging lesbian feminist. The latter seems like the most fun, but Smith wasn't my favorite of the three colleges. I would be totally fine going there, and the location is great and we saw Julia Stiles on campus, plus they have a great music program and a GORGEOUS theatre and a sister school in Hamburg, but I REALLY like Amherst (duh, we knew this) - their campus is gorgeous and THEIR sister school is in Tokyo.
So let's run a brief overview, since I feel like some of you would LOVE some of these schools.
AMHERST
Wow. Okay. Wow. Um. Wow. They're nuts. They're absolutely insane. The Hampshire guy called the Amherst kids "snooty" and they're the second best liberal arts college in the country. Their campus is beautiful, they're like three steps from downtown Amherst (think kind of old-north-endy, but cleaner), and they have "a bajillion" a capella groups. I doubt any of you guys would like it there, but I love it hardcore. (But they "don't talk about" Hampshire)
HAMPSHIRE
HIPPIESOMG! It's awesome. I loved this place. Their film and photography department is AMAZING, as well as their art and psychology departments. Point one: They have a farm on campus, but the animals are for behavioral studies designed and carried out by psych "concentrators". The academic system is bizarre, in that you start as a Division I student for like...three semesters, where you take a course in each...what did they call them...of five "schools of thought" - I can't remember the exacts, but it's like...life sciences, social sciences, stuff like that. Big science school. Then you become Division II student for another three or four semesters (depending on what you feel like), where you decide your "concentration" (major) and take courses in it and whatever other stuff you feel like, four courses per semester. As a Division III student, you design and carry out an individual research study/major project. Yeah. That's how awesome this place is. During that time, you DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ANY COURSES. Throughout the whole time, you don't get grades, just "evaluations" by professors. All the work for your classes is reading and essaying, and the essays are all open-ended. Their pool is used for kayaking lessons and scuba-diving lessons. I mean, come ON. (But the Amherst kids are "snooty")
SMITH
Wow, so this didn't feel like a giant sorority or anything. The housing system is a little spirit-y, in that you stay with your "house" all four years and it's like a "sisterhood", but it's not a sorority. (P.S.: Smith is an all-women college, for those who don't know.) They have an event called "Celebration", where they basically rock out with every kind of love imaginable (read: make out with each other. Nah, I have no idea, but it's celebrating acceptance of homosexuality). It seemed more based on social stuff than the other two, but the location was the best - smack dab in the center of Northampton, and there were huge thrift stores and lingerie stores EVERYWHERE. Plus they're known for their music, language, and theatre programs throughout the other four colleges. (But apparently Amherst girls hate them 'cause they think they're trying to steal the boys. XD)
For parties, you go up to the frats at U Mass Amherst or to Smith. The frat boys like Smith because of all the lesbians and bisexuals.
I'm working on Kitty to apply to Hampshire. The acceptance rate there is 55% and your GPA as an admission factor is "not important". That's how hippy they are. XD