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Mary Lyon Legacy Program Enters Second Year

In a bid to encourage current students to share their MHC experiences with prospective students and increase applications, last year's Mary Lyon Legacy Program gave each MHC student a certificate that waived the cost of a prospective student's admission application fee. The program, which expanded to include alumnae, proved so successful that it's being repeated this year.

In the next few days, each student will receive a notice in her post office box to pick up a packet containing a certificate to pass on to a high school senior who might be interested in attending Mount Holyoke next year. Students are encouraged to send their certificates with personal notes, telling the recipient why she'd thrive at MHC.

Last year, nearly three-quarters of all students picked up their legacy packets, and 249 of the certificates shared by current students were received by the admission office along with prospectives' application forms. The program was extended last fall to alumnae clubs, with each of 110 groups receiving between one and five certificates (depending on the size of the alumnae group). Overall, 246 certificates were distributed to alumnae, eighteen of which were received by the admission office with applications.

267 Mary Lyon Legacy forms were received with first-year or transfer students' admission applications; 172 of these students were admitted, and eighty-seven ultimately enrolled at Mount Holyoke. For Frances Perkins Scholars, five applications were received, of which five were admitted and three enrolled.

Although the final admission application deadline isn't until January 15, students are encouraged to send their certificates early to give prospective students plenty of time to complete their applications.