<p>Hey, everyone! I have been admitted by Smith and I am new here! I am an intl from Asia(btw, as you may see, I am not an English native speaker)
I got really excited when receiving the offer~~and couldn't wait longer to join this community!
I just received the dorm forms a couple days ago. Cos I need to stay during Thanksgiving and spring break, I don't have many choices. I don't want to live in a too modern house so I am interested in Lawrence, Morris, Albright, Duckett right now. Can someone tell me sth abt the atmosphere in those houses? Thx a lot!
Doris</p>
<p>According to my D who has a good friend in Albright, it had a lot of rooomate drama this year. That really says nothing about what it will be like next year. It is a beautiful, old house. I know nothing about the other houses on your list, but you might want to ask on the Smith live journal where there are more students. <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/smithies/%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/community/smithies/</a>
There is also an 09 class journal, the address for it is
<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/smithies09/%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/community/smithies09/</a>
Good luck and I hope you find friends to go with over those breaks rather than stay at school.</p>
<p>Thank you mini!!
P.S: Is "D" a short for "daughter"?</p>
<p>Just as an fyi, you don't have to live in one of those houses to stay over Thanksgiving or Spring breaks. You can just ask a friend if you can stay in her room. My roommate is from Zimbabwe and has spent breaks in a friend's room in Cutter, and I have a friend who spends breaks in Lamont. </p>
<p>I have a friend in Lawrence, and all I know of it is that it tends to be quiet.</p>
<p>Thx a lot for ur info!! but as an intl freshman who has never been away from home, i still prefer to know for sure where I can stay during breaks. I will try as what you said maybe the next year--i really want to experience different houses~
p.s: what do u mean by "quite" they are always studying all day long or they are not as open as others?</p>
<p>Hi, Doris. Welcome to College Confidential and...more importantly...WELCOME TO SMITH!!!</p>
<p>Doris, D is indeed short for daughter. I'm afraid I started the convention about three years ago. I'd written a post on another, much smaller forum that's password protected and where many people have known each other for years, many screen names are true names and those that aren't people know each other's true names anyway, along with names of spouses, children, etc. In the post there, about D's college search, I'd used her true name as people on that board do. </p>
<p>I thought it was a good enough post that I did a cut-and-paste to put it here as well, and then went through and substituted "D" for her name.
Abbreviations grew and S = Son, H = Husband, W = wife. Some folks put a D before each one for "Dear," sometimes ironically, "As in DD took one look and decided, after driving nine hours, she wasn't even going to get out of the car."</p>
<p>As for housing, don't worry about the breaks...accomodations are made, found, etc. Who knows, you may even be invited home by someone local. </p>
<p>My D is on Green Street and all the houses there are older. She has had the romantic satisfaction of looking out her bedroom window of a Victorian house at a driving Dickensian snow storm. All the Green Street houses are older. Also, you don't get to choose a specific house, just an area of campus...though I know people who <em>have</em> requested a specific house and gotten it...it's not something the Housing folks promise to do.</p>
<p>Cross posted: Doris, listen to the advice. Housing over breaks is not a problem. Spend your worrying on things that <em>can</em> be problems.</p>
<p>I am just curious, but are Green Street houses and Center Campus houses grouped together on the sheet? Could someone who wanted Washburn or Hubbard request a house on Green Street between 40 and 60 students (the only houses that fit this description are Hubbard and Washburn)? What would be the chances of a student getting one of these houses if this were requested?</p>
<p>My D requested Center Campus, and specifically Chapin house. She did this in the section asking for additional info on the back of the form. It worked! She was placed in Chapin and is very happy there. </p>
<p>I also think it helps to send in your form ASAP, requests are to a certain extend first come, first served. We faxed the form to Randy Shannon's office (director of housing) the day we received it.</p>
<p>Yemaya, my D requested "Green St." and 50+ students...and she got into Hub, which suited her perfectly. I don't get the sense from talking to her that larger/smaller is much of a big deal in the context of Green St. itself. She wanted a little larger just for more social opportunities. Even in the 70-student houses, getting to know people and developing a community isn't a problem.</p>
<p>TheDad, I just like Hubbard and Washburn because they fit what I am looking for the closest of all of the houses at Smith (although it is my sister who might go there next year, not me). I just said 40-60 people because that size requirement eliminates all but Hubbard and Washburn on Green Street. Are Green Street and Center Campus grouped together on the housing sheet as they are on Smith's website?</p>
<p>Yemaya, iirc, Green St. and Center Campus are grouped together.
You have a reasonably good chance but there are no guarantees.
And getting your housing form back earlier rather than later also helps.</p>
<p>Re Lawrence: "Quiet" means non-partying, I believe. Some of the residents are quiet because they are shy or because they work hard. I know at least five people there who are quiet but extremely friendly. Lawrence has a lot of traditions, some of which may be common to all the houses at Smith, but some of which are probably unique to Lawrence (like the tradition of wearing black to Opening Convocation -- a wild, anything-goes sort of event -- in honor of Sylvia Plath, who lived in Lawrence). There is a birthday committee who are in charge of making posters and leaving little presents for residents on their birthdays. First-years do get to know seniors, and near the end of the year, there is a senior night when first-years do skits to celebrate (and poke fun at) the seniors in the house as a way of saying good-bye, and the seniors give little bequests to those they are leaving behind. If you like a lot of social interaction, it may not be the place for you, but there ARE some friendly, caring people there.</p>
<p>Senior banquet is not limited to Lawrence, but my friend was stressing over theirs last week. The environment isn't anti-social or anything, just not as loud as houses in the quad. In fact, I watched Gilmore Girls in Lawrence last week and a lot of people stopped by to see what was going on.</p>
<p>Sylvia Plath also lived in Haven (and possibly in another friend's room), but her attempted suicide occurred when she lived in Lawrence, which was after she had left Smith for awhile. I think that's the reason they wear black.</p>
<p>I'm afraid that my take on the Quad would be "great to go there for parties, great to go back home and leave the noise and mess behind."</p>
<p>Have to step in to "defend" the Quad here. Many students prefer the Quad because some students like "bigger" houses. There is a greater opportunity to get to know a greater number of people from house living if you live in the Quad.</p>
<p>My D is a relatively quiet person and certainly not a loud liver or major party girl. She chose the Quad for her first year because she knew, having spent a high school summer at Smith, that some of the smaller houses do get reputations for "drama" or other issues. It's similar to the principle of insurance, that a larger pool provides a better spread of risk. </p>
<p>Her house has 82 students and 57 rooms are singles. (The doubles have bay window seats overlooking Paradise Pond.) My understanding is that there is ONE major party held in her house per year.</p>
<p>I have had the opportunity to visit several times over each of the three years she has lived at Smith and never saw messes or heard loud noise. (And I was there on some Saturday nights aside from Family Weekend.) Any parties would be held in the first floor common areas, and the student rooms are all, I believe, on higher floors. My D's original plan was do the Quad first year, get the lay of the land, then move to a "cutsie" house after that. She ended up liking the people and situation enough to remain a Quad liver. </p>
<p>Smith is often stereotyped. Sometimes people think that the Quad is for the people who do not match certain of the Smith stereotypes (particularly, that the Quad is THE place to live if you are interested in a heterosexual social life). But as with all aspects of Smith, there is lots of diversity, including in the Quad. </p>
<p>The main negative of the Quad is that it is the furthest point from the center of campus. But no point on Smith's campus is more than 15 minutes from any other point, and my D enjoys the daily walk past Paradise Pond. </p>
<p>Yes, the senior banquet and "willing" of items from seniors are traditions in the Quad houses as well. </p>
<p>Welcome, Doris, to the forum and to Smith!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your valuable info!
To TheDad: yeah, I agree with you now. I believe I can find someone to "take" me during vacation~and I have several friends in MHC who I can call for help! Thank you!
To dooger: Thx for ur info! I will fax the form asap!
To jyber209: I think I may be a bit like ur D--in some ways I am a little bit shy and not used to attend many parties. And I love to be the furtherest point from the center of campus,cos I plan to exercise more to lose some weight~~~so taking a walk is good for me^_^and I like ur intro about Quad. I am seriously considering living in there~</p>
<p>Doris, </p>
<p>the houses that tend to house most international students are Cutter/Ziskind, Lamont, and Gillette. But there are plenty of international students, quiet students, loud students, etc. spread out across campus. The truth is, the best house on campus is......</p>
<p>whatever house you end up in. Because they're more alike than different, and you're likely to make friends wherever you go.</p>
<p>True.</p>
<p>I've heard students from lots of houses passionately defend them to others. The only house I've heard consistent negatives about this year is Albright. In the past, I've heard a couple of things about Sessions. But in general, most students seem to bond with their houses.</p>
<p>what??I wanna cry now...
cos after the discussion with my parents. All of us has arrived on an agreement that it would be better if I can stay in my own house during breaks the first year--since I have millions of stuffs to bring with me if I move during breaks. and I just faxed the forms to Smith a couple of minutes ago--implying that I wish to live in Albright!(it seems to be really funny according to the intro on <a href="http://www.smith.edu%5B/url%5D">www.smith.edu</a>)</p>
<p>Don't worry about it. I have met plenty of people who love Albright and the location is grea, if you like to wander through Northampton. My D has a good friend in Albright and this year it has had alot of interpersonal drama, but that relates to who was in the house this year, not the house. It will have at least some different people next year, including possibly you, and that will make its charactor next year. Albright is one of the larger houses, so you are sure to find friends there. My D is in Baldwin, which is right next door and she loves the location.</p>