Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva NY
Basic Facts:
- About 1800 undergraduates
- Average Class Size: about 16
- 96% of all students receive some form of financial assistance
- Top 10 ranked (per Princeton Review) for Professors and Study Abroad Programs
Fun Facts:
- It is the only college in the US where men and women receive different diplomas: men receive a Hobart degree; women receive a William Smith degree
- Famous alumni include TV producer (and Gwyneth Paltrow spouse) Brad Falchuk and Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.
“Explore. Collaborate. Act” – This is what HWS expects of its student body. Conveniently located close to the New York State Thruway halfway between Rochester and Syracuse, Hobart and William Smith Colleges is in the idyllic town of Geneva, New York. If you are looking for an intimate campus on the Finger Lakes with excellent academics, this may be the place for you.
What I liked:
Intelligent, down-to-earth students who are eager to learn. HWS’ wants students to be critical and creative thinkers. While there is no core curriculum per se, students are required to take a First Year Seminar, a Writing Enriched Curriculum and a Senior Capstone Experience. The aspirational goals of the curriculum are to expose students to become great critical thinkers via many lenses. The students own the way in which they want to undertake the learning. For instance, a quantitative reasoning course does not mean that a student must take Calculus I. This goal could be achieved in a way that is conducive to the student’s learning.
What I also liked:
Because I think that studying abroad is so important for a student’s global outlook, I was heartened to learn that more than half of HWS students elect to study in over 50 locations internationally. I liked the demographic diversity, too: for a small college, students come from over 40 states and 35 countries.
What I liked even more:
Despite a small ($250 million) endowment, almost every HWS student receives some form of financial assistance. There are numerous merit-based scholarships, ranging from $3,000 to a full ride.
To learn more: Visit www.hws.edu or reach out to me and I’ll tell you all about my visit.
A bucolic campus with access to two major cities.
Classic beautiful buildings make for a probing academic experience.
