<p>Ok, so i am enrolled at Smith currently (just completed my first year) and had a somewhat difficult time there. Though there are a lot of great things about smith (housing, professors, general care of students) the all-female element, though great for some things also adds an element of competitivness, i've never experienced before. Plus the town of Northampton doesn't offer much in the way of social stimulation, and i found it almost impossible to meet guys (friends or otherwise) despite the five college program. Anyway, i applied to transfer to Barnard(all female, i know, but i heard being near columbia kind of offsets the all-female thing) and Macalester. I didn't think i'd get any aid from them(i did!), and i have to admit, i was a little homesick at the time so being 20 minutes from mi casa seemed appealing. I was waitlisted at Barnard and was told i would find out if i got in on the 15th of June. I made the deposit for Mac so i bought myself time there. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on any of my other prospective schools. Smith is still a good school, i just don't know if I would be happier somewhere else, ya know? I would especially like to hear from girls who may have done the all-women's route and bailed on it! Thanks!</p>
<p>hey, i'm actually in the same situation... i'm currently a student at bryn mawr, and thinking about (well..having to decide by monday!) transfering to claremont mckenna- a little different in that we have a brotherish school and a lotta guy schools around, but...eek! no fun deciding..</p>
<p>i can comment on claremont mckenna... i visited a friend awhile ago. um, very--what i would call--bougie. while at a party at my school, they serve "jungle juice," at cmc they were passing around gin & tonics. uh, yeah, definitely very different from what i was used to. but it shouldn't be too shocking coming from another private school. cmc seemed really testosterone-y... my friends at scripps actually say they avoid cmc guys because they're too egotistical and competitive. networking seems to be very important there; my friend regularly has dinner and cigars with his professors (again, something pretty weird to me). i've heard it compared to a boy's club basically. though everyone i met seemed very nice and down to earth.</p>
<p>ummm Bryn Mawr? Nova, St. Joes, Swat, Haverford, etc. all in the area...</p>
<p>Villanova DOES NOT welcome Bryn Mawr students on their campus. Don't be fooled. Villanova is way too Catholic to appreciate the liberal nature of most Bryn Mawr students. Haverford parties are terribleeeeee...(a.k.a after the alcohol runs out everyone stands around awkwardly), not to mention that the ratio of girls to guys is always off when a whole bunch of chicks from an all-womens college show up at the party. Swat's your best bet but is still a 30-40 minute bus ride away..not to mention that the party may be crappy. It's no fun traveling 40 minutes to a party thats not even good. Everything these colleges tell you must be taken with a grain of salt or in this case a couple of grains.</p>