Smith College

Smith College http://www.smith.edu/ is one of the two women's colleges in the Five College Consortium. Located in cute, small and funky downtown Northampton, the college sports a gorgeous park setting, a botanical garden, an engineering school and a very liberal reputation. Application deadlines are November 15 for Early Decision, January 2 for Regular Decision. Standardized test scores are optional. International students must provide SAT, ACT, TOEFL, or IELTS scores.
There is something very appealing about Smith College; maybe the fact that all the women I saw were laughing and smiling when they walked across campus, maybe the beautiful setting next to the charming town with its many ethnic restaurants and interesting little stores, maybe the fact that my first enounter with the admissions staff was a long friendly conversation. Smith gives clear information on financial aid on its website. International students cannot expect special consideration for financial aid.
Smith has an exchange program with the Universities of Hamburg and of Hamburg Harburg. As you can well imagine, the huge Hamburg University is quite a contrast to a liberal arts college like Smith, but your fees pay for the following: $23,930 per semester includes orientation, tuition,
tutors, academic advising and course selection
assistance, housing, stipend for full board and living
expenses, medical emergency coverage, excursions
and cultural events, public transport Semesterticket.
Required health insurance fees are posted on the
Smith in Hamburg website. http://www.smith.edu/studyabroad/hamburg_flyer.pdf

Smith's modern Student Center

Mount Holyoke

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/ Mount Holyoke, sehr gepflegt, die Studentinnen mit guten Manieren, Reitclub, liegt in einem grossen Park, der wiederum von Wald und Wiesen umgeben ist.
The women here are very polite, poised, and polished. The college is located in a large park surrounded by fields and woods. There is a horse back riding club. With 16 %, Mount Holyoke's number of international students is very high for a US college. Financial aid is provided if necessary.

Mount Holyoke is one of the two women's colleges in the Five College Consortium. All applications are read carefully and must include a graded writing sample. Please check the website for detailed information: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/adm/app_read.shtml

ACT/SAT/SAT subject tests are optional.

Early Decision I is November 15, Early Decision II is December 1st, and Regular Decision is January 15.
The brandnew science building with its first rate lab facilities.
Check out the modern library in a traditional building that may remind you of Hogwart's.

The indoor courtyard cafe in the library.

Mount Holyoke is one of the 'seven sisters', colleges that were founded for women because the brothers of the ' Ivy League' would not accept women.

I love this cafe with the light flooding down from the ceiling.

MH's red brick buildings create an almost austere look, but the warmth of the students belies that impression.

This is not a school for city hoppers. Visiting women either fall in love immediately (like one of my former students) or escape the serene surroundings for more action. Remember, however, that you can always hop on the free bus to go down to UMass for football games and huge parties.

In addition to a beautiful student center, there is a renovated clubhouse with a store, offices for the various student clubs, and the mail center.

Anything negative in this picture perfect college? It is the farthest away from the other colleges in a tiny town.

Hampshire College

Hampshire College is different from the other four colleges. Much younger and endowed with less money, it has excellent programs for painters, film makers and other artsy types.
http://www.hampshire.edu/
I happened upon an art class of five students with one professor. The quality of the student work was outstanding, much higher than what I had seen before in other liberal arts colleges.

Admissions page

" In addition to transcripts and recommendations, students are asked to submit a personal statement and a critical essay or academic paper. They may, if they wish, include a sample of creative work, such as a portfolio of creative writing, photography, or artwork, a musical recording, or a DVD. ... Students are self-directed, persistent, creative, share a desire to engage in collaborative and independent work, and are willing to assume substantial responsibility for their own education."

The SAT Scores are in the 600-700 range for English and 530 - 660 up for math. Around 400 freshmen are taken per year.
International students: TOEFL or SAT, ACT, ELPT accepted as well as high English grades in the IB. First year credit for the Abitur is given.

This college writes 'credit for the Abitur' on its website. The boss of the admissions team is a former teacher of German familiar with the German school system.

Financial aid for international students is very limited.
Hampshire has early decision on Nov 15, early action on Dec 1, regular decision on Jan 15.

Please check their website for explanations of early decision and early action. Not all colleges explain these deadlines so well. http://www.hampshire.edu/admissions/2258.htm

You may have noticed that Hampshire has even more trees than the other colleges. It is located on a former farm with a large wooded area. Amherst is not in walking distance, but the bus connects students with the other colleges. Hampshire does not duplicate any course that is offered by one of the other colleges. As a result, Hampshire students take courses in all the other colleges in addition to their own.

University of Massachussetts at Amherst

UMass is a large public university in an idyllic New England setting.
http://www.umass.edu/umhome/index.php

The library is in the prominent highrise. Other highrises house dorms, located right next to the football field.

Admission to UMASS at Amherst is competitive, but no comparison to the requirements for Amherst College. Check out the admissions page. http://www.umass.edu/umhome/index.php

In the center of the campus, the pond and its surrounding lawn invite contemplation. However, students always seem to walk from one end of campus to another. I have seen them sitting only in the underground coffee shop which has the charm of a dilapidated subway station.
Admission deadlines: November 1 for early action, January 15 for regular decision, October 1 for the spring semester.
International students are usually required to take the TOEFL or the ELPT, but they can send the SAT if they reach 400 points or more in the English section. Please go to the UMass website for more details.
http://www.umass.edu/admissions/10_Step_Process/Standardized_Tests/
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/lc_two/englang/englang.html

For out-of-staters:
New England RegionalStudent Program (NERSP)
"If you are a legal resident of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont, and the major you want at UMass Amherst is not available at your state’s public colleges, you may qualify for a reduced tuition rate. Go to NERSP for more details."
UMass costs $30 000 per year including room and board. http://www.umass.edu/admissions/financing/
The building with the columns houses Commonwealth College, which is the Honors College within the university and a great bargain. http://www.comcol.umass.edu/ You need straight A's in your highschool transcript and SAT scores above 700 in each section. There is no separate application process. The admissions team will pick candidates from the general application pool.
UMass is one of the American universities participating in an excahnge program with universities in the Land Baden-Wuerttemberg. See details here: http://www.landesstiftung-bw.de/
and here: http://www.studium.uni-freiburg.de/international/outgoing/outgoing_multipage/stipendien_programme#1.2

This photo shows one of the many security posts that you find on EVERY Amerian college campus. Students can call for help and also ask an officer from campus security to accompany them from lecture hall to dorm at night.

Amherst College

Amherst is a small town (35 000) in the Pioneer Valley at the southern end of Massachussetts not far from the Connecticut border, about 3 hours drive from NYC.

The town has a small and very prestigious college: Amherst College. In addition, there is a large university at the outskirts: the University of Massachussetts at Amherst. Three other colleges are in its vicinity: Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire College. The five colleges work together in the "Five College Consortium' which allows all its students to participate in each other's classes.



https://www.amherst.edu/ is at the top of the ranking scale for Liberal Arts Colleges. Due to its small size (1 600 students), Amherst College takes only a tiny number of applicants, all of them boasting extraordinary accomplishments.
From the president's newsletter 2009:
" Appropriate candidates for admission have worked hard in school, have assumed leadership positions, have read broadly beyond the curriculum, and are deeply curious about the world around them."
Please note that reading 'broadly beyond the curriculum' means avid reading beyond assigned works and beyond the scope of NY Times bestsellers.



Positive point: Amherst is one of only 8 colleges that have extended their need blind admission to international students.
“Need-blind” means that a school makes admission decisions without holding financial need against that applicant. Amherst also agrees to meet the full financial need of every student who is admitted." (from the website)



Academic calendar:
September 1 - December 19th 2008
January 23 - May 16th 2009



Applications had to be in before January 1, 2009 for the fall of 2009. The college informs students of their acceptance starting in April 2009. The early decision deadline was on Nove 15, 2008. Information of acceptance was sent out on Dec 15, 2008.



SAT subject tests are required in addition to the ACT or SAT. 75 % of the applicants have ACT scores between 30 and 35 (maximum 36) or SAT scores of 760 - 770. No result below 660 (SAT) or 28 (ACT) shows up in Amherst College's admittance statistics. In 2008, nobody was accepted from the waitlist.