<p>Parents! I'm asking this question here because I haven't been getting much of a response on the traditional student boards. I assume (hope!) it's because they don't know too much about dating people my age. :)</p>
<p>I'm wondering what the dating life is like for non-traditional students (aged 25 - 35, let's say) at small liberal arts schools. I'm very interested in Smith, but concerned about limiting my dating options at this important time of my life. I'm interested in getting married and creating life in the next few years. I'm heterosexual, btw.</p>
<p>Are there lots of 18-22 year olds but no one for us? What do people our age do for a living if they live in, for example, the five-college Northhampton area, other than teach liberal arts students?</p>
<p>Reports indicate that the dating scence at most colleges is pretty dismal. There is a hook up scene but traditional dating deems to be getting rarer and rarer.</p>
<p>I doubt that is true for older students. You might want to e-mail the dean of the ada comstock students (who happens to be a personal friend of mine) and ask if there is a way to contact other current ADAs who are single. (I don't quite know how they'd arrange that, as information like that is usually kept confidential - maybe you should try the Smith LiveJournal.) </p>
<p>Anyway, you are talking about a scene with a lot of students, including graduate students at UMass, and lots of single professors, and lots of graduates (both male and female) who settle in the area. It is also the health care mecca for western Massachusetts. It's not Boston or San Francisco, though.</p>
<p>Go to bars to meet people. That's what a lot of people in big cities do. </p>
<p>I had that discussion in my Genders and Politics class - about student-teacher relationships. I don't think they should be banned...we had a really interesting discussion about eros in the classroom.</p>
<p>You may have to go off campus, concentrate on meeting graduate students for your dating needs, or find organizations on or off campus that cater to older students, especially if you are not into the bar scene.</p>
<p>You also have to honest with yourself. Are you looking to build a relationship with someone or just looking to get laid?</p>
<p>I assume you are female. There's a HUGE difference between 25 and 35 year olds. If you are 25, I doubt you'll have any problem. 35 is an all together different story....as it is almost everywhere.</p>
<p>JK, sort of. But the number of eligible males on the golf course and the 19th hole is impressive. AND they are fit. AND they have to practice patience, whether it comes naturally or not.</p>
<p>Seriously, I was single in the 28th-33rd years of my life. Avoid the bar scene. It is conducive to nothing lasting (altho my best friend met her husband that way, so exceptions prove the rule). Try to find where grad students are since many more will be your age - take some classes where they will be (or audit). Get to know your profs - don't date your own teachers, but you'll meet other people your age through them at dinner parties, etc. </p>
<p>Will you have time for a part-time job, paid or volunteer? If you opt for Smith (women's LAC predominantly younger), choose a job without those characteristics - ie, not on-campus, not totally young colleagues.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone's consideration and help.</p>
<p>Gsp,</p>
<p>I'm definitely not into the "bar scene". I like super-brainy types that don't usually hang out in bars. And I like to be able to <em>hear</em> what the other person is saying. :)</p>
<p>Jonri,</p>
<p>Well, either way, I'm a-lookin'. :)</p>
<p>Jmmom,</p>
<p>I don't yet play golf... it has these connotations of preppiness that it's hard for my rebellious self to ignore. But maybe I'm just missing out on something. Is there a lot of golf in Western Mass?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't yet play golf... it has these connotations of preppiness that it's hard for my rebellious self to ignore. But maybe I'm just missing out on something. Is there a lot of golf in Western Mass?
[/quote]
Well, "bourgeois" is what I called it prior to my addiction (it's a seasonal, daytime addiction; cc addiction fills the evening hours ;) ). Plenty of intellects on the golf course if you decide to give it a try. Plenty of non-preppies. Plenty in Western Mass.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree.. There are not plenty of straight UNMARRIED guys over 35 on the golf courses of Western Mass.</p>
<p>JMMom, I don't want to be rude...but...when is the last time you were in Northhampton? And how much golf do you think is played during the September-May academic year?!!!</p>
<p>jonri - I was partially tongue-in-cheek, and thought I said so. I don't think returningstudent is limiting herself to meeting people between Sept-May, though. And My suggestions did go beyond hitting the little round ball.</p>
<p>The Northampton area has a lot of young people... though I'm not sure how many are really into the serious dating scene.</p>
<p>In addition to TAs (which Smith doesn't really have anyways) and professors (no-no) there are also nearby grad students at UMass... safe, and the right age.</p>
<p>Dating is all about odds -- the odds of meeting someone you like. </p>
<p>Small liberal arts colleges don't have many male students between the ages of 25 and 35. </p>
<p>Smith has no males - zero odds. </p>
<p>If you attend a small liberal arts college, especially one called Smith, you may find a man to love and marry, but the odds are very heavily against it.</p>
<p>I actually agree about "odds", but I'd measure them differently. Relative to population, brainy males in the 25-35 population are probably more numerous than elsewhere, a result of having a school with a large graduate student population, and five schools with young, male professors. It is also the county seat (read: lawyers), and medical center of the area.</p>
<p>The total pool would certainly not be large. On the other hand, there might be many more organized opportunities per capita (concerts, lectures, art galleries, wine tasting, etc.) to meet them. But what do I know? I'm 55 and unavailable for almost 30 years!</p>