Academics
This small, private women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia celebrated its 175th birthday during the 2016–17 academic year, and is a place for unique individuals to thrive, empowering each other and forming a supportive community for women. The school offers twenty-nine degrees with fourteen concentrations (including large English and Psychology departments), has extended campuses in London and more than twenty other study abroad destinations (“The internship and study abroad opportunities for students of this school are exceptional”), and all are required to take a collaborative First-Year Seminar. Hollins is “a great place for people who want life experience,” whether in their field of study or in the world in general, and the institution offers “a lot of incredible opportunities for anyone willing to take them.” Traditions abound, such as Tinker Day, when classes are randomly canceled and students and faculty hike up nearby Tinker Mountain in costume. The alumni network is similarly solid, and many students land jobs and internships through previous graduates.
Hollins professors are “amazing, talented, dedicated, and compassionate.” They know their courses and “can walk you through something front to back and blindfolded.” Students often “get invited out to dinner with professors or to parties and readings at their houses,” and “we have professors [who go] around campus singing Christmas songs to cheer students during finals” and bring students with them to the Women’s March. Students “get to interact almost daily with our president, and she knows our names.” Most classes here will have fewer than twenty students (even 100 level courses) so “the line of communication is direct and open,” and “opportunities for involvement on campus are extremely high.”
Student Body
Many Hollins students identify as non-binary and are in the LGBTQ+ community, and the Gender Studies program is quite popular in “really [getting] students involved with what women can do and have done.” This “trustworthy” bunch makes the campus “a place where you don’t have to lock up your bike or worry about leaving your laptop unattended.” Hollins women [aren’t afraid to speak up when something they don’t agree [with] pops up,” and this “normally quite liberal” (as well as “predominantly white”) crew is open to learning about others’ different experiences. The atmosphere here can sometimes “be gossipy or clique-like, though people are usually open to lots of others.”
Campus Life
Life at Hollins usually starts with “breakfast around a small table with too many people” and “really bad puns.” Ladies here just love hanging out with each other, and often “play board games, go to the mall, work out together, watch movies,” or “go to the music building for impromptu jam sessions.” “We’ve also hooked our laptops up to projectors in different classrooms to stream Netflix and various music competition live streams,” says one. Arts and crafts are everywhere, and students take regular breaks to knit, crochet, and embroider, and “the hiking opportunities are endless” thanks to the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. “Every day I am surrounded by mountains. It’s a vacation view in every direction,” says a student. “Hollins is its own little bubble,” so many find it “nice to go out into the city every once in a while” (particularly to avoid the “less than impressive” cafeteria food) and hop a shuttle into Roanoke or to Walmart. There are also “numerous campus-wide activities put on by HAB (Hollins Activity Board)” around the year to give students the chance to meet new people or “mix with groups you usually don’t have a chance to talk to.”
Save School
