What is the Five College Consortium?
College consortiums, like the Five College Consortium, are a unique resource that adds considerable value to the students of participating colleges. In these models, a group of colleges—usually located very close to one another—collaborate to share resources, allow cross-registration, and provide other benefits. This is often especially desirable to students who want to attend a smaller school but have access to big-school resources, or to those who want to attend a large school but still take small, discussion-based classes. If you think that a consortium might be a great addition to your college experience, keep reading to learn more about the Five College Consortium. Founded in the 1950s, the Five College Consortium is a collaboration between four colleges and a university, all located in the Connecticut River Valley area in Western Massachusetts: The collaboration includes shared resources such as library subscriptions, joint faculty appointments, public radio, and studies of the history of science and astronomy. This collaboration is beneficial to students, faculty, and staff by sharing educational and cultural resources and facilities, departments and programs, and inter-campus transportation. Location: Amherst, MA Acceptance Rate: 9% Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1500–1560/33-35 Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,914 Located in Amherst, MA, Amherst College is commonly ranked among the nation’s best liberal arts colleges and known for its diverse and dedicated student body. Amherst students have their pick of 43 majors in the arts, sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Amherst College has no core curriculum, providing students the flexibility and independence to pursue the fields that interest them and explore the 400+ courses it offers every semester, in addition to the thousands of other classes students can access through the Five College Consortium. Location: Amherst, MA Acceptance Rate: 70% Middle 50% SAT/ACT: N/A Undergraduate Enrollment: 717 Also located in Amherst, Hampshire College is considered one of the most innovative schools in the country—it has a long-standing reputation as a disruptor in higher education. Hampshire students pursue their passions through self-designed and professor-guided programs of study. Hampshire College doesn’t have majors—instead, its curriculum is organized around four Learning Collaboratives: Environments and Change, In/Justice, Media and Technology, and Time and Narrative. There are also no grades; rather, students receive narrative evaluations. This helps students identify areas of strength and places for potential growth. Location: South Holyoke, MA Acceptance Rate: 36% Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1410–1510/328-35 Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,178 Mount Holyoke is a women’s college located in nearby South Hadley, MA. In addition to being a member of the Five College Consortium, it’s also a member of the Seven Sisters—a group of historically all-women’s colleges founded in the 19th century. Mount Holyoke boasts small class sizes and a low student-to-faculty ratio, which contributes to a strongly connected campus. It offers more than 40 majors, 36% of which are interdisciplinary, the flexibility to pursue multiple fields of interest, and to make connections between them. Location: Northampton, MA Acceptance Rate: 21% Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1450–1520/32-35 Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,549 Smith College is another all-women’s institution and a member of the Seven Sisters. It opened in 1875 with just 14 students and today is among the largest women’s colleges in the country. Residential life plays a considerable role in the Smith experience—students don’t live in dorms; rather, they live in one of 41 self-governing communities. Smith College is the home of the renowned Smith College Museum of Art and the internationally recognized Sophia Smith Collection of women’s history manuscripts and archives. It’s also well known for the beauty of its campus, which includes a botanical garden. Location: Amherst, MA Acceptance Rate: 60% Middle 50% SAT/ACT: 1330–1480/30-33 Undergraduate Enrollment: 23,920 UMass Amherst is the anomaly in this group—it’s the only public school and home to more undergraduates than all the other members combined. UMass is a valuable member of the Five College Consortium, as it contributes significant resources, like access to world-class research facilities, New England’s premier honors college, and more than 100 degree programs among its ten schools and colleges. As a public univeristy, Massachusetts residents can take advantage of in-state tuition here, and many do. Over the past few years, approximately 65% to 70% of first-year students have hailed from the Bay State. The Five College Consortium offers students a number of advantages. Students can take classes at any of the other schools in the Five College Consortium, even if they don’t have access to a car. The local bus system, PVTA, is free with a student ID, but it can be inefficient, and from some schools it can take up to an hour to get to those furthest away. That said, most schools are just 20-30 minutes apart. There are some limits on how many classes you can take off your home campus, and these vary from school to school, though all allow at least two per semester. Another benefit of cross-registration is that students can take classes not offered on their home campus and apply these toward a certificate, which acts sort of like a minor. Certificates can be earned in fields like Coastal and Marine Sciences, International Relations, Middle Eastern Studies, and Reproductive Health Rights and Justice. Students can join clubs, play intramural sports, and engage in other extracurricular activities on any campus they choose. The only exception to this is varsity sports, which students must play for their home school. The Five College Consortium collaborates to offer theater and dance productions, lectures, and concerts. It’s also home to Museums10, a collection of seven campus and three campus-affiliated museums to promote the region’s cultural landscape and create learning and professional opportunities. Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile
What’s Covered:
What is the Five College Consortium?
Which Schools are a Part of the Five College Consortium?
Amherst College
Hampshire College
Mount Holyoke
Smith College
University of Massachusetts Amherst | UMass Amherst
What Are the Benefits of the Five College Consortium?
Cross-Registration
Take Classes Not Offered at Your School and Earn a Certificate
Increased Club and Activity Options
Shared Cultural Resources
