<p>Now that my rising sophomore daughter is back home from her New Mexico camp intern experience, I have found out that not only was she named to the Dean's List, but also something called First Group Scholars. The letter Smith sent her via Bannerweb says that generally the Scholars represent the top 10% of the class. I haven't found much information about the Scholars on the website or I've been looking in the wrong place. Does anyone have any information or personal experience to share? It strikes me that Smith would not go to all the trouble of making a designation like that without something interesting attached.</p>
<p>First Group Scholars is, I believe, based on how many credits your D took and how many of those credits received a grade of A- or higher. I think you can have one grade a semester lower than an A- to receive this designation.</p>
<p>This information used to be on the web site and I can’t find it - if your D has a paper copy of the catalog it might be in there. </p>
<p>(And the requirements were discussed many a time on the Daily Jolt, but the Jolt died so I can’t even look there.)</p>
<p>For Dean’s list you need an average of 3.33 for the entire academic year.</p>
<p>Jolt died?</p>
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<p>[The</a> Daily Jolt](<a href=“http://dailyjolt.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/]The”>http://dailyjolt.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>[Daily</a> Jolt’s demise signals end of an era - Opinions](<a href=“http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2010/04/15/Opinions/Daily.Jolts.Demise.Signals.End.Of.An.Era-3905898.shtml]Daily”>http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2010/04/15/Opinions/Daily.Jolts.Demise.Signals.End.Of.An.Era-3905898.shtml)</p>
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<p>Thanks, Borgin, good idea. We’ll take a look at a catalog and let you know if we find anything.</p>
<p>Well, dang. Nothing is constant, I guess.</p>
<p>I can see why many would find Jolt annoying but it could also be a great channel for quick information if you just avoided all the eye-roll inducing threads.</p>
<p>Yes, First Scholars are the top ten percent of the class for the year. The cut-off varies, just as the Latin Honors cut-offs do, because it depends how well others in the class have done. It’s a good indication of whether Phi Beta Kappa and Latin Honors are possible upon graduation. For instance, my daughter was a First Scholar twice and Dean’s List twice (both times close to First Scholar), and she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa (top ten percent of class over four years) and just missed Magna. </p>
<p>She has a friend who never got First Scholar and yet graduated cum laude, as well as others who made the Dean’s List every year and did not make cum laude.</p>
<p>Hm. I know there’s a tea at Carol Christ’s house towards the beginning of the years–I think it’s just for First Group Scholars, but it may be Dean’s List as well. As far as I know, that’s the only benefit…but hey, good food is never a bad thing. :]</p>
<p>Yeah there’s a First Group Scholars Tea, though I don’t think there is a Dean’s List tea, since the Dean’s List is so much bigger, and it gets pretty crowded in the President’s house pretty fast ( you would be surprised how small that foyer is). </p>
<p>Definitely go for the cucumber sandwiches and fresh-baked raisin scones. Also ask to see the grave in the garden or ask President Christ anything about President Mendenhall (who is also buried on campus).</p>
<p>S&P, now you have my curiosity piqued! Who’s buried in the garden? And why does President Christ know so much about President Mendenhall? Sounds like a yummy tea that shouldn’t be missed.</p>
<p>MWFN, thanks for the info about the correlation of First Group Scholars and PBK and Latin Honors. That’s encouraging.</p>
<p>ajlangs, how did last year go for you? Thanks for mentioning the tea. Yes, good food is good!</p>
<p>I think she likes to talk about President Mendenhall because she’s a history geek at heart and he was one of Smith’s greatest and probably most beloved President. The President’s House that currently stands was built for President Mendenhall, because it was a condition of his wife that he not take the poisition unless they built them a bigger, nicer house for all the official entertaining they had to do. </p>
<p>The person buried in the President’s garden is a former music professor at Smith, who really liked the particular view from the top of that hill. President Mendenhall is buried in the rock garden at the edge of the science quad, near the fountain of the water lady. If you look closely, there’s a gravemarker hidden in the rocks. And there is a third person buried on campus I think, but I forget who and where.</p>
<p>Wow! Fascinating! I’ll have to look for President Mendenhall’s marker next time I’m there.</p>
<p>Wow! And I thought Mount Holyoke was a bit odd because they had someone buried on campus. Looks like Smith is just as weird. :D</p>
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<p>When Mary Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, was buried on what was then seminary grounds, her grave wasn’t “on campus” The campus, that became known as Mount Holyoke College, was developed around her grave and monument; however, the burials at Smith took place on the already developed campus.</p>
<p>I’ll leave it to others to decide which college is weirder.</p>
<p>CarolynB-- Last year was great! I can’t wait to get back to Smith for another year. :]</p>
<p>I’ve spent some time over the past few days looking for President Mendenhall’s grave and had very little success until today. It turns out that it’s actually President Neilson who is buried there, something I discovered when I finally happened onto the rock garden! It’s a very nice little grave and very hard to see, even if you are deliberately looking for it.</p>
<p>Thanks, Phanatic, for clarifying whose grave it is. I’m looking forward to finding it when I visit my daughter next time.</p>
<p>Whoops. Did I say President Mendenhall? I don’t know why I would say that. It is definitely President Neilson. As in Neilson Library. Sorry!</p>