<p>I also think Smith is a match/safety for you. I'm just semi in love with Smith and trying hard to get my daughter to see it's good fit for her. It's on her final list, but she still waffles back and forth. I'm so glad to see happy Smith parents here, who's kids turned down higher 'ranked' schools, even.</p>
<p>Bettina, for some reason, last year this board was absolutely infested with Smith prospects and parents; some of us parents are still here. And several of the regular posters, such as Carolyn, have very good things to say about Smith.</p>
<p>When the dust settled, I was ready to say that I thought that Smith was a better fit for my D than either Harvard or Stanford. Yale would have been a toughie in either direction in that whichever way she went, I think all of us might have second guessed. Alas--or fortunately--the adcoms relieved my D of having to make that kind of decision...it's hard to ignore prestige even when you know the emphasis is stupid. For my D, Smith over Wellesley was a pretty clear choice even though that's against conventional wisdom and <em>for her</em>, I agreed with her.</p>
<p>Btw, Bettina, I see that you're in SF...we're in SoCal. The local Smith alumni associations have parties for prospective students in early January...ours is January 9th. My D went to one as a junior and there were about 15-20 current Smithies there who were the best advertising that any school could hope for. Talking to the students rocketed Smith up her list from a "maybe" to a "I've got to find out more." You might want to see when/where your local prospect party is...if you can't, go to the Smith thread under Liberal Arts Colleges and give me a holler...I know I can get the info for your area from our local rep.</p>
<p>Gosh TheDad, thank you so much for the offer of more info. I have sent some of your recent threads to my dd. I'm in SF but my dd is in SoCal. She goes to a prep boarding school on financial aid. They have college visits and more.</p>
<p>She has 6 schools the GC calls 'long shots' . After that she has 4 match or match/safety. Then only 2 safeties. </p>
<p>If she gets in early to UCHI, she will drop most schools, if we can be ok on financials. I don't want Smith to be one of those.</p>
<p>She is not at the point of finer distinctions. She wants to pick a school on high minded ideals and not worry about quality of life. At her school, girls pick Wellesley over Smith.</p>
<p>Bettina, the SoCal Smith party is on January 9th in the San Fernando Valley (Encino). I think the time is 3pm to 5pm. PM me if you'd like more info for your D or if she would like an address and/or a ride.</p>
<p>Is there a reason BC isn't on your list? It would seem like a good match.</p>
<p>Actually there is a reason. I visited it over the summer, and the whole time all I could think was, "This is wayyyy too Christian for me." I know that Georgetown is Jesuit too, but I felt totally comfortable there (I'm Jewish, btw). On the other had, when I visited BC, I just felt uncomfortable and overwhelmed with all the religion stuff. But you're right- it did seem like a perfect match. :(</p>