<p>Is it better to visit during the normal school week or during the Accepted Student days?</p>
<p>I dont know for sure sarucane, but I would guess the accepted students day is much better. I went to their open house day in late August and it was AWESOME. the whole admin was on hand with tours and lunch and all sorts of happy, welcoming people. It was quite enticing. At our lunch table was the rowing coach (I’ve done varsity rowing, which was a coincidence, but she was soo great at talking to me) – also econ professors came by to chat with me when they learned I wanted to be an econ major.</p>
<p>It was quite excellent. I see the point of going on a non-admitted-students day, to get a feel for the “real” school, but I still think the official day is, overall, more useful to you as you make your decisions.</p>
<p>just my thought.</p>
<p>There are a lot of positives to attending admitted student’s day (or Open Campus, as it is called). For one thing, there are a lot of opportunities for discussion that you wouldn’t get on a normal visit: there’s a student activities fair where you can meet the heads of various student orgs, there’s usually a similar fair with profs from each department, there are panels for students and parents with faculty and administrators, etc etc etc. So you will have access to a much wider group of students, profs, admin, and financial aid people than would otherwise be the case. </p>
<p>On the downside, it’s very crowded, and not always convenient for everyone. You may already be pretty sold on Smith and if you’re just interested in taking a tour, seeing a student house, and sitting in on a class, then it’s better to come on a day when there’s not the huge mass of people. But if crowds don’t bother you, and you’d like to learn as much as you can, admitted students day is well organized and a lot of fun.</p>
<p>I am also a fan of Accepted Student Days. You get all the panels and such, which can be useful (especially considering that Smith doesn’t just offer really generic ones but has a bunch that are more suited to specific interests (i.e. study abroad info, tours of science buildings, tours of performing arts spaces)), and if you stay overnight or even just take the time to walk around on your own you can still get a sense of the “real” school.</p>
<p>Anyone going to both the Open Campus days and Discovery Weekend?</p>
<p>^ Are you sure that Open Campus and Discovery Weekend aren’t happening at the same time? They used to be separate events, but now they’re making an effort to combine them so that the Discovery Weekend kids can go to the Open Campus events as well as their own events. I have no idea what the timing is for these this year though.</p>
<p>I met people during Open Campus that I still remembered from Open Campus when we were seniors. They weren’t my best friends, but we’d see each other on campus and catch up.</p>
<p>Open Campus is Thursday-Friday, Discovery Weekend is Friday-Sunday. Folks invited to Discovery Weekend are invited to both (and it has been this way since 2004, at least).</p>
<p>I’ll give an opposing view - my D was not a big fan of the panel type presentations - felt it was too much of a sell so did an overnight (she distantly knew the person she stayed with) and went to several classes, observed play rehearsal and hung out in the dorm. That sense of the real experience was very helpful.</p>
<p>What sealed the deal for my d was staying an extra day (on Saturday) which is traditionally the day students present their research. It allowed her to really imagine herself as a Smithie four years hence, and it worked!</p>
<p>Also traditionally, it is a weekend to which students of color are invited (Discovery Weekend). Smith thinks it especially important that students of color be able to envision themselves as students and scholars.</p>
<p>so Discovery Weekend is only for students of color? what do they do…I don’t understand why they are separated from other students…??</p>
<p>They are there for the Accepted students days, and Discovery Weekend. The reason Smith has Discovery Weekend is because it is in YOUR interest, as well as that of all students at the college, to enroll significant numbers of non-white students, and they have found this to be an effective way to make that happen. And one of the ways Smith does that is make it clear to students of color that Smith considers them first as student scholars, and want to expose them to ongoing student research (which is open to everyone).</p>
<p>As far as I am aware, there are many colleges who have special events for student applicants of color, but none where it is organized around academic pursuits.</p>
<p>^It’s interesting you say that. My Smith Constitutional law professor spent a good week teaching us about the evolution of affirmative action (what Smith practices is NOT affirmative action, but this was in Con. Law, so bear with please) and how when originally enacted courts upheld it with arguments that claimed it was beneficial for the minority student, but overtime the court argument has shifted to arguing how beneficial it is for white students to be around students of color. Just interesting. </p>
<p>Anyway, to the main point: Discovery Weekend is similar to Women of Distinction which happens every fall (which is basically Discovery Weekend for very strong prospective applicants of color, whereas Discovery Weekend is for accepted students of color). More or less, Smith strives to provide a “diverse” community. Not just racially but also socio-economically, in terms of class status, citizenship, geographic location, etc. But for race in particular, students of color can be wary of stepping into a world where the majority of the students, faculty, administrators, townsfolk are not of color and in fact where many of the students have never been to school with a student of color, lived in a town with people of color, and/or really spoken to/had meaningful interaction with people of color. It’s like when you go into any strange environment, you worry you won’t fit in, but race is a particularly scary one because while you can to some extent hide your socio-economic status in order to be accepted, it’s pretty much impossible to hide your race. So you want to go to places where people are accepting. And colleges have figured out that one of the ways to convince highly qualified students of color that they’ll fit in at a place like Smith, an elite institution which, while diverse, is nothing like larger or urban campuses in racial diversity, is to help them network with other students of color, and give them time to understand what special challenges and opportunities women of color face at Smith.</p>
<p>Yeah sometimes it’s hard for me to think about it from a different perspective, being Caucasian and all, but that makes a lot of sense, S&P. Thanks!</p>