<p>Hi all,
I was accepted to Smith today and am very excited! I still have a bunch of schools to hear back from and do not yet have a concrete first choice, but I would like to learn more about Smith from people who are more familiar with it than I.
I visited Smith last April and was, in general, quite favorably impressed. However, the one thing that I am concerned about is my fitting in at Smith. I know that Smith has a large lesbian and queer population, which of course does not bother me at all. I have also heard that many students tend to be pretty funky or alternative or exceedingly liberal. I wonder how I would fit in at Smith. I am straight and fairly traditional in my appearance and social mannerisms (even a bit preppy)- I don't have pink hair or any piercings other than my ears, if that helps clarify my point. I am definitely liberal, but really not at all alternative. I currently attend a high school that is a prep school through and through, so one can imagine that Smith seems like it would be a fairly different environment. Thus, I wonder if I would find like minded people at Smith- or if everyone there is much "cooler" than me. :)
Would love to hear about this from people who know more than me.
It's much appreciated- thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I live in the Smith area (okay, maybe more like half an hour away, but I’ve definitely been in NoHo enough to know what Smith’s like :P), so, for what my opinion’s worth:
Smith is one of those schools with a place for practically everyone. Even if you aren’t an overwhelmingly liberal queer, you will still fit in perfectly at Smith. One of the great things about Smith is that it is comprised of smart, strong women, which is one link that brings all Smithies together.</p>
<p>You don’t need to have blue hair, or funky fashion, or a certain sexuality to fit in at Smith. All you need is an open mind, a sense of self, and intellect. This reply may not have been exactly what you were looking for, but I tried! :P</p>
<p>Congratulations on the acceptance!</p>
<p>“liberal but not alternative” is one way I suppose my D could be described and she did fine. She had a great four years.
Great way of putting it.</p>
<p>The reason Smith is so wonderful is because it is so accepting. I’m a second semester first year and I can honestly say I had the same fears as you going in. This is going to sound cheesy and like I’m trying to sell you on the school, but I swear its the truth: I feel more like myself when I’m at Smith then when I’m at home with my friends. There are absolutely girls with pink hair in your Italian classes, and hard core liberals at the dinner table. I will not deny that for a moment. Firstly, that isn’t everyone and Smith is so much more than that. Secondly, just because you don’t have pink hair or are super liberal doesn’t mean those people won’t accept you. Smith’s motto (which you will hear 1,000 times) is “don’t judge me”. It gets to the point where its comedic because no is judging you for anything. </p>
<p>You will find people that are exactly like you, which is great. But I think what has made my experience at Smith even better is I have found people who are exactly the opposite of me. It ended up that these girls became my best friends, and the reason I love Smith. As long as you are open to learning new things you will not have a problem fitting in.</p>
<p>I think you’ll fit in just fine! I’m liberal, but in terms of appearance I’m a dress and sweater kind of gal and am pretty “regular”. Smith has this way of making it so the girl with pink hair who’s crazy liberal can be best friends with the girl who wears Ralph Lauren and is more traditional. This is going to sound dumb, but those differences really don’t exist as much at Smith. People are people and you get to know them for their mind</p>
<p>I think you’ll fit in fine. Smith is a real melting pot of people from a lot of different backgrounds and walks of life. You will find people like yourself, but you’ll also be exposed to people that are a lot different from you, and that will be good for you and for them. Just to give an example, my roommate first year was very preppy and very sort of…I guess mainstream would be the best way to put it. She loved Britney Spears and polo shirts and had lived a pretty sheltered life. I was from a big town way on the West Coast, and I was into punk rock and jazz and art house films, etc. So we were like oil and water at first, but we ended up being really good friends and we both learned a lot from each other about being accepting and being open to new experiences. I got her to try ethnic food, she got me to sing along to Britney. We remain good friends to this day. We both had lots of friends of all different kinds at Smith (gay, straight, all different races, really preppy, really nerdy), and neither of us had trouble fitting in. </p>
<p>So in sum, I wouldn’t worry about it. Keep an open mind, be ready to try new things, but also remember that just being yourself you are bringing a lot of things to the table that will broaden other people’s experiences. Who knows, you might end up with some pink hair by graduation, and you might convince a friend to lose a few of her piercings :-)</p>
<p>To TheDad’s “open mind, sense of self and intellect,” I’d add a sense of humor. My JCrew daughter (attended top NYC day school through 8th grade and then prep/boarding school) graduates from Smith this May.</p>
<p>you’ll be fine. There is a full spectrum of folks at Smith and while I was there I learned I wasn’t quite as far over towards the left as I thought (or rather, I learned that the spectrum went a lot further over to the left than I’d ever realized!).</p>
<p>My best friend from Smith has long hair and a boyfriend and goes to church every Sunday. None of those things are true of me. It’s never been an issue, and we both looooooved Smith.</p>
<p>This may be such a silly question, but will you really see men around campus? I’m so afraid that I’ll be at Smith and not be able to socialize with guys. I do know of Smith students that date men that they have met around campus or in town.</p>
<p>alexpappas-I had at least two boys in my classes every day of the week last semester. This semester, I have 3 boys in my classes MWF. YOu definitely see them!</p>
<p>Thanks for the response rocket6louise!</p>
<p>Other perspective - I have had exactly 2 male students in my 10 classes this year, but I have had several females from Amherst, UMass and MoHo. Take that as you will.</p>
<p>But in all actuality, you will see boys on campus, especially during the weekend. Girls have their boyfriends over for the night and they show up at brunch the next morning, a cappella groups from other schools perform here once in a while, etc.</p>
<p>If you want to actively meet men you have to take the first step - take a class or join a group that has connections on other campuses. I’m on the Quidditch team, and we play the mostly-male UMass team frequently.</p>
<p>"Girls have their boyfriends over . . . "</p>
<p>Brothers and unattached male friends also visit - - that’s how D met her BF (he was visiting a former hs friend enrolled at Smith).</p>