Mount Holyoke College Top Questions

very diverse but there isnt alot of mixing on campus, dispite what the school says.

The student body at MHC is very diverse. We have people from all over the world. I love that I get several different cultural point of views in my learning environment. There are also all sorts of personalities on campus. We have preppy girls, jocks and people who really don't fit into any category. At the end of the day I feel that we all appreciate one another and get along nicely.

Oh lord, this has been a touchy subject lately. I think Mt. Holyoke is the most accepting place possible, but some students like to claim otherwise. Clearly at a school like ours there is not going to be any outward discrimination, but people focus on the little things and blow them out of proportion. As for politics, well, students are excessively liberal (said by a liberal herself). They don't like to hear both sides of an argument, clearly stunting any kind of intellectual debate. I think this is a common problem at liberal colleges though, and in my opinion is better than the reverse.

Everyone is super diverse. The student body is unique. The only type that might feel out of place would be the super-rich, super-conservative girl shopping at Coach for flip-flops.

I love the Eliot House. I go there for a weekly Tea Ceremony, Zen Meditation and an Interfaith lunch, every Wednesday. I learn about different religions and ways of practice.

Mt Holyoke students are from everywhere. We have a huge international population, but the states are also very well represented. I think considering the diversity, we get along pretty damn well. It is pretty hard not to interact with different kinds of people, although international students do tend to clump together. But really, can you blame them? Students are predominantly left, and you might feel a bit uncomfortable if you are conservative, though we do have a small population. I mean, if you think homosexuality is a sin, you probably don't belong at mt holyoke. (and personally, I woulnd't want you here.) I know my parents were worried that the lesbian population would be really "in your face" and cliquey, but it is so not true. One thing I have learned is that you can't tell a book by its cover, and when I meet someone I'm totally okay now with not knowing what orientation or even what gender they are. Why confine ourselves?

The campus prides itself on being racially diverse, although it is less so than some public universities. Still, for a school of it's size and location in western Mass., it is pretty diverse - walking around campus I always hear people speaking in different languages. The school has a lot of religious/racial pride groups and events, but they aren't particularly well known on campus unless you seek them out. Students obsessed with partying or big cities tend to feel kind of out of place, since the school is overall pretty academically minded, although there are certainly plenty of parties. Most students are from the East coast, although a good few are from the West coast. Not very many are from the middle of the country - I get really excited when I meet someone from Colorado or the states in the area because it's pretty unusual. Students come from all kinds of financial backgrounds, although as a private institution most students do come from middle or upper middle class families. Students politically tend to be between moderate and extremely liberal, and most students are aware of politics and have at least a small idea of world events.

The school is very accepting of anyone LGBT. However, different racial groups tend to clique together, and most people come from wealthy or upper middle class backgrounds, and do not really understand those of us from more working class backgrounds. If there were four tables, one would be the lesbian clique, another the snobby, rich predominantly white girls in J.Crew with Amherst boyfriends, another would be international students, and the last would be the awkward, gamer, D&D types. Students here are definitely predominantly leftist, but most are apathetic unless they belong to an activist org.

The student body is one of the most diverse as far as colleges go. No one feels out of place because everyone is accepted. All types of students interact with each other but I do feel that people are more likely to find friends in their own racial and socio-economic back grounds. Part of being at Mount Holyoke is getting over others' differences and hanging out with people you wouldn't normally.

I love having a diverse student body. Within the first semester of school I made friends from all over the country and the world. I would never have had access to these intelligent women if Mount Holyoke wasn't invested in creating a diverse campus. Everyone dresses differently, speaks differently, and believes different things. It is refreshing.

there are those that are fillthy rich and others who aren't. No one really discriminates. Also if you really wanna know about mtholyoke, visit holyokeconfessional.com..unfortunately you need to be on campus to access that. its basically like gossip girl...except ten times more hilarious. haha

Most students wear whatever they want. Some wear sweats, and others all designer names. It really depends. There is intereaction between different types students, but most stay within their groups. Most of the students are from the East Coast/New England area. There are a ton of international students, which basically is our diversity. The students are definitely predominantly left, there are very few on the right.

Racial issues come up from time to time, as they do everywhere. People are ignorant and assume all the black people are on financial aid and on all the white people are rich, neither of which is true for everyone. I think that is a problem everywhere though. Most people do not get dressed up for class, totally unecessary. Different types of students do interact but there are also some cliques, like at any small school. Mount Holyoke students come from allll over! There are a lot of rich girls, but there are also girls on financial aid who can go to MOunt Holyoke thanks in a large part to the rich girls. Students are politically aware and active, predominantly left. In the dining hall there would be some athletes from varsity teams, they all hang out together, then the equestrian team people, rugby people, and a lot of people from the Caribbean tend to hang out together.

There must be hundreds of students from other countries. People are not competitive. While most are lovely people, I had to get to college before experiencing the junior high/ high school girl petty talking-behind-people's-backs and more obvious ways of throwing barbs. People smoke right outside the buildings and on the paths, so you can't get anywhere without inhaling carcinogens. I have taken an awful lot of flak for not drinking, but have found a few people on my side. I honestly think that having the ALANA students start orientation a few days earlier separates them from the rest of the student body, so people are extra aware of and uncomfortable with the topics of race, ethinicity, etc. Many non-white students are quite active with their cultural groups and clubs, but often white students feel left out, uncomfortable again, or even guilty simple because we're white. I have talked about this with many of my friends (white, like me. The Ghanaians hang out together, the Koreans together, and the whites by default) and the consensus is that we used to not even be aware of these differences in 2nd or 3rd grade, but now we're ultra-conscious about race and feel guilty because we're self-conscious. Geez. Vicious circle.

One of my reasons for coming to MHC was how diverse the student body is. We have students from all over the world and it's one of the more interesting things about being here.

MHC is its own global village, with students from all walks of life. Some traits that all Mohos have in common are a love for learning, bettering the world, and open minds.

it's comfy, you can be whatever, and no one is gonna judge you. i'm a straight girl with a crapload of gay, bi sexual friends, you just roll with it. This isnt a place for some one who is afraid of different. we thrive on it.

very diverse community

A very multicultural campus, lots of racial discussions. The lesbian population seems to be overwhelming to many straight students, and somewhat overly present. Unless you're gay weekend life isn't too much fun and straight students go off-campus for fun. Casual dress, more dressed up in nicer weather. There is different group interactions, financial backgrounds are hard to tell, some wealthy kids, middle class, and poor, i'd say most are middle class. We are politically aware and active, and a very liberal campus, but there are the republicans too. Future earnings are talked about, but most students just want to love their field and then the success will come.

I am in the Hawaii club which is mostly made up of Asian Americans. I've been to Passover on campus which was a very feminist and open interpretation of the holiday. LGBQTQ have interesting film screenings sometimes. Socio-economic groups I can't think of any actually. Anyway there are a ton of groups on campus and a lot of diversity just among the students I've made friends with that lived near me my first year so I feel like this campus is very open to organizations and also mixing of organizations. A student that wanted a football team and lots of men on campus would feel strange here. Most students wear hoodies and jeans to class. Some get more dressed up while others just wear sweats. It varies quite a lot. Umm... four tables of students in a dining hall... there's often one that's all Chinese from China, sometimes one that's all black from Africa or the Carribean, but often there are completely mixed groups. Most students at Mt. Holyoke are probably from the North East, but like I said, there's a diverse student body here. People from all over the country and all over the world. Prevalent backgrounds are... middle class I suppose. Often lower and higher middle class too. Students are politically active and politically aware. Predominantly left though we do have an active Republican group on campus. Yes, students talk about how they won't make much money because the economy and job market is suffering so badly.