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What truly makes a school "best" or even "better" than another? It is not found in the rankings. It is finding that place where your mind and spirit are at home.
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<p>Damn, but that's a "Best of CC" quote.</p>
<p>JNSQ, I'm glad that things worked out so well for both your daughter and you.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, my d. turned down schools which were much more selective because the quality of the academics at Smith were HIGHER.</p>
<p>When looking at selectivity, one needs to remember that single gender schools eliminate half the applicant pool from day one, and then probably another half of the applicant pool of women who won't apply to a single gender school.</p>
<p>Language Programs - a story: upon graduation from Smith, my d has taken up a 5/6 fellowship at Princeton in musicology/Italian Renaissance studies. She took two language exams - Italian (in which she is fluent, so no surprise, and she'll probably end up tutoring undergrads - the prof who interviewed her to pass on her credit, found out that she had learned Italian at Smith and finished the interview in 3 minutes, noting that all the Smith students came in incredibly well prepared.), and in German. She took one year of German at Smith (which is not considered a particularly difficult course), and was graded at the equivalent of two years of German at Princeton. Quality of academics? Selectivity?</p>
<p>My d had a Zollman/STRIDE. She became the research assistant attached to the Five College Opera Consortium, and ended up producing the score used in the production of the first opera ever writting by a woman (Francesca Caccini, 1626). Her mentor was a Five-College Professor of Early Music, with offices at Mt. Holyoke, but who taught most of his courses at Smith and UMass - and was the founder of the Folger Consort. She parlayed that - and the extraordinary preparation she received in Italian at Smith - into her graduate fellowship. In her field, at Princeton, they chose ONE student from among all the applicants.</p>
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Without elaborating her stats, suffice it to say my daughter was top-tier in just about every way you can imagine: academics, athletics, music, service, etc. And I think she is a very fine person, to boot. Smith was not my first choice for her for reasons similar to those of your mother. Today I cannot tell you how glad I am that I let her make this intensely personal decision for herself. She made the right one and I would not have done so. It was folks here on College Confidential that encouraged me to trust my daughter, and believe me, it was an incredibly huge leap of faith.
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WOW! what a great outcome ... I only hope for outcomes anything near this for my kids!</p>
<p>... This is so amazing! I love hearing all of these stories about women who have succeeded at Smith!</p>
<p>@mini: Thank you so much for telling me that about the language program. One of my other choices is Middlebury, which is renowned for its language programs, so it's very comforting to hear about Smith excelling in languages as well.</p>
<p>@je<em>ne</em>sais_quoi: I'm glad that things are working out well for your daughter and that you let her make the choice, ultimately. I believe that my parents will allow me to choose, but I'd really like them to be on board. Can you think of any way that your daughter could have helped you to feel better about Smith before actually going there?</p>
<p>I've visted 10+ schools with my daughter and ironically the two that stood out the most, by far, to me were Smith and Barnard ... then again maybe it is not ironic they are both women's schools.</p>
<p>Dear telianathegreat:
I think the one thing my daughter said to me, repeatedly, was that Smith was right for her. It might not have been right for me, but it was right for her. I had attended a college ranked higher than Smith, and it was difficult for me to feel that she was going to an "inferior" school. It wasn't until I suspended my ridiculous attachment to those impersonal -- and therefore, artificial -- measures that I realized how one should best choose a college. It is a highly individual and, in large part, subjective decision. </p>
<p>Something else I did that also helped was to read all I could about Smith: its programs, its history, its successful and enthusiastic alumnae, etc. I couldn't help but be impressed by what I learned. Corresponding with Smith parents on CC was invaluable. </p>
<p>In the final analysis, my daughter knew what was right for her; I had to trust her decision. It was with great trepidation and lots of encouragement from CC friends that I was able to do this. </p>
<p>I hear what you are saying: I think you want your parents to want Smith (or whatever school you choose) as much as you do, or at least to feel you are making a wise choice. I hope they will give your choice a chance, but don't expect full-blown excitement about it. They may be like me -- feigning enthusiasm a bit of the time -- but eventually coming to see the wisdom of their brilliant daughter who they raised to know best where she will soar the highest and farthest! </p>
<p>Bottom line, though, seeing is believing. It wasn't until she was there and I knew it was all she had known it would be that I could completely feel at peace. I don't think there was anything else she could have said or done. </p>
<p>I hope this helps. If I think of anything else, I will write to you again. Feel free to write to me, too!</p>
<p>jnsq, I came over to the Smith forum in hopes of seeing an update from you. I'm so happy for you and your daughter!</p>
<p>Thanks, 2blue. I am so glad, and relieved, that I have only good news to report! I can finally exhale.</p>