<p>I noticed on the official Smith web site, they are dropping some hints for incoming Smithies.</p>
<p>i.e. Don't bring a fridge, there's plenty of refrigerators in the houses.</p>
<pre><code> Don't bring a printer, there's plenty of printer options.
</code></pre>
<p>etc.</p>
<p>I'm wondering what current Smithies or alums think about this?</p>
<p>Also, I'm thinking they're trying to save room for a bunch of triples in light of the big class size. Hmm.</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>I think a lot of that has to do with Smith wanting to save on energy costs. Energy is/was about 25% of the schools budget, just keeping the buildings heated and cooled, lights on, running the wi-fi and internet, the fire safety systems and kitchens is hugely expensive. Add to that thousands of computers, hundreds of printers, multimedia equipment. And then add personal refridgerators. It costs a lot. </p>
<p>I don’t think a printer and a fridge are absolutely necessary. They are nice to have, but not really required. My first semester I had neither, though my roommate brought a fridge. Even when I got a printer a few months later (bought it for about $20 from another student), I still primarily used the laser printers in the library, they were faster and more reliable. It was nice to have the option to print at home though, when I wanted to. But there are plenty of refridgerators and printing options on campus, that is true. Most houses have at least one fridge on every floor for students to use. </p>
<p>The only instance in which I think having a fridge would be really essential is if you needed it to store medecine.</p>
<p>You’re probably right…looking at it again there are a number of “tips” relating to sustainability.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard anything definitely about when housing decisions will be out?</p>
<p>“Sometime AFTER July 15,” which was the original date I had been led to believe. This is from the 2015 Facebook page.</p>
<p>Our housing forms, filed on line, were “lost.” And no one is returning phone calls or emails. I don’t get why no one is helping us sort out the problem. Advice?
Tally 4 phone calls
3 emails. </p>
<p>It’s only a little worrisome now that they’ve announced they have something like sixty extra beds to house this year. . . .</p>
<p>The online forms were lost? </p>
<p>Now, I’ve dealt with the housing office being slow. I’ve dealt with them being inefficient. I’ve dealt with them being sassy.</p>
<p>But this… I have no words.</p>
<hr>
<p>On another note, I had both a printer and a refrigerator last year. The refrigerator was a great convenience, but I could have used the one in the kitchenette easily (the two houses I lived in only had one refrigerator for the house to share). The printer was beyond useful and I would highly, highly recommend one. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to get the job done.</p>
<p>You might want to post a question on the FB site. Some other people mentioned a similar problem on there.</p>
<p>[Smith</a> College Class of 2015 | Facebook](<a href=“http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smith-College-Class-of-2015/174620342569361]Smith”>Redirecting...)</p>
<p>@mustangmom that is…</p>
<p>When did they announce they had 60 extra beds to house? It seems like there are always some students in temporary housing, but are they looking at significantly greater numbers this year?</p>
<p>There are 708 first years plus 86 transfers and ADAs.</p>
<p>@Mustang Mom, from the FB page:</p>
<p>email Elizabeth Hait at <a href=“mailto:ehait@smith.edu”>ehait@smith.edu</a></p>
<p>Re: printers and refrigerators; </p>
<p>Neither are necessary, really. I did not have either my first year and I survived! Printing at Smith costs $0.05 a page, and it just seemed more cost effective (and practical) to just run to Neilson or Seelye to print papers out, as opposed to running into potential problems with a personal printer (ink, breaking down and whatnot). I had multiple papers due every week, and this system worked out great for me. </p>
<p>I didn’t have a fridge either, and found that one was not of the utmost necessity. Something to consider is the additional noise that comes from having a fridge in a dorm room. My hallmate hated waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of her refrigerator making noises and would often complain about that (ditto to my brother when his roomie had a fridge in the dorm). </p>
<p>@Mustang Mom;</p>
<p>+1 to what Bossf51 said! Elizabeth Hait is absolutely wonderful. I would recommend reaching out to her over the phone, but she is just as quickly responsive to emails. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help–yes, Ms. Hait is great. And I know having this many extra beds to find must be an incredible nightmare.<br>
Hopefully, this will work out. You wonder about how the bounty of students will manifest itself in terms of registering for classes, too. But not worrying about that yet. . .</p>
<p>It’s probably going to be a mad house! I don’t understand why they over admitted this year! I guess they think the “summer melt” will help ease the overcrowding.</p>
<p>It’s not that they “over admitted.” It’s that based on past experience, more students accepted their offers from Smith than they anticipated. All admissions departments use formulas…and sometimes circumstances make the formulas inaccurate.</p>
<p>It’s also not significantly more than the past two years. In 2009, 787 came in total and last year there were 753. The ones digit may be a bit off on those, but the tens is correct.</p>
<p>McPucks, assuming you found the info on the website, where did you find that? Or did you look at old CC posts? Just curious. :)</p>
<p>I think the fridge issue depends on where you live. My d is in the quad and the tiny kitchen is in the basement and so having a fridge in her room was very useful especially when she was sick or dining halls were closed.
Her first year they filled all the extra common rooms that closed with first years and they didn’t get official rooms for quite some time which was a bit frustrating all around.
I know as The Dad said that they can’t predict how many accept and I wonder if the fact that they were eliminating a couple of housing options makes it tougher.</p>
<p>Personally, I found a fridge unnecessary unless you want to cook regularly (for baking, you can find a friend who works in the dining hall to get you 2 eggs and milk).</p>
<p>But I found a printer really helpful. I am not someone who prints out readings for class, but if you are then don’t use your own printer, use the ones in the library because it’ll be cheaper. But if you only print out your own papers, I think it’ll be worth it to bring your own printer from home. If you’re flying, though, don’t bother buying one just for Smith.</p>
<p>If you know what you want, you can buy the stuff online and have it delivered to your Smith box. Many offer free shipping beyond a certain dollar amount. Check out Amazon’s free Prime shipping for college students; I don’t know what the details are, but that may be an option for ordering. All the major bricks-and-mortar stories have online presences as well.</p>
<p>Yes, you’ll have to carry package across campus to your room, but it may be worth it.</p>