Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Aerial of HWS

It was a beautiful morning when we visited Hobart and William Smith Colleges  (HWS).  We had a beautiful view of the area as we neared HWS.  HWS is located in the Finger Lakes Region.  It is one hour away from Rochester.  We drove through a small picturesque town to get to the colleges.

Total enrollment is 2368.  Total international population is 123 which represents 5.2% of the student body.

Five most popular majors are Economics, Art/Architecture, Psychology, Environmental Studies, Media and Society.

Financial aid is available to international students but they must complete the College Board's CSS Profile. HWS offers merit based scholarships and need based grants to International students.  The average amount of award is $34,267.  HWS does not offer 100% tuition scholarships.  The minimum family contribution is $3500. 

Scholarships
HWS is test optional.  However, some scholarships require SAT/ACT scores.  Biggest scholarship is $25,000.  See link to scholarship page    http://www.hws.edu/admissions/merit_based.aspx

I feel it is incumbent to mention that HWS that there was a recent article in the NY Times and other publications re a female student being sexually assaulted on campus.  The article is "Reporting Rape and Wishing she hadn't:How one school handled a sexual assault complaint" I know that HWS has taken several measures with respect to security as the Head of Security met with the group of college counsellors whilst we were on the tour.

Academics
Every student has to have 2 areas of concentration - either a major and minor or a double major.  The first of the majors must be a disciplinary major i.e. biology, music etc, the other must be interdisciplinary e.g media and society.  The rationale is that students need to have different perspectives to be able to do well in the world. 

HWS students must complete a course of study which includes
HWS's eight educational goals and objectives
First year seminar
Passing 32 courses.

The 8 educational goals are:
Effective communication skills
Critical thinking and argumentation skills
Quantitative skills
Experience scientific inquiry and understand nature of scientific knowledge
Appreciation of artistic expression
Grounded foundation for understanding differences and inequalities of gender, race and class
Critical knowledge of the multiplicity of world cultures
Foundation for ethical judgement and action