<p>Hey so REVIVING this thread, I’ve recently decided to become a Smithie next year, but even when I visited it was difficult to determine any type of characterization of the houses. Albeit, some comments were made/slipped out that helped, but in general people were really reluctant to make judgemental statements (perhaps afraid of scaring me off??) in all actuality, this type of “protective” behavior is what most deterrs me, because it makes it seem like something is being hidden. Can ANYONE give like one or two words to describe each house? Such as, “such and such house are a lot of people who play sports” or, “such and such house plays a lot of board games” or anythinglike that. Thanks!!</p>
<p>The flavor and chemistry of each House changes from year to year as people graduate and new people come in. A generalization that’s true one year will be totally obsolete two years later.</p>
<p>You can come up with some slight generalizations by area, but not by House. Green Street probably has a higher proportion of both jocks and those in the performing arts. It also had a moderately higher percentage of those earning Latin Honors in the year my D graduated though I wouldn’t make a determination on that.</p>
<p>Hubbard is the one house that doesn’t have a TV in their living room. They could get one any time they wanted but have never voted to do so and I think it’s a perverse point of pride with them at this point…they all watch TV in each other’s rooms.</p>
<p>Once upon a someone, it was said of Sessions that “not even the walls are straight,” which I thought was pretty funny, but that’s almost certainly outdated.</p>
<p>TD, who is not particularly averse to being judgmental and not at all inclined to be protective</p>
<p>Honestly, even after spending 4 years at Smith I find it hard to make good, somewhat accurate generalizations about different areas of campus. I knew athletes who lived everywhere, science majors who lived everywhere, and had friends all over campus.</p>
<p>Borgin, that’s why I said “slight,” as in a very mild correlation. The premise of the question is misplaced. Given the nearly random nature of assignments, it couldn’t be much else. Mmm…one possible exception, I think there are a higher percentage of internationals in Cutter-Ziskind, yes? I forget why but that datum is lodged in what passes for my memory.</p>
<p>Hmm. I remember that Lamont had a lot of international students as well. And Nothrop and Gillette tend to have a lot of vegetarian/vegans.</p>
<p>But things change from year to year, and no one was being protective when they couldn’t come up with two sentence descriptions of each house. Although Smith’s house system has been compared to sorority houses, they are not self-selecting in the same manner. Much depends on the first-years assigned to each house, and how many stay. Green Street is supposed to attract the quiet, serious students, but that doesn’t mean that everyone fits that mold. The Quad is supposed to house the party girls, and again, that doesn’t mean that everyone is a partier. Stereotypes do perpetuate themselves, however, to some degree.</p>
<p>I do know that my Green Street daughter, as a science major with some very early classes, loves that she can get to class in mere minutes. I would imagine that it’s tough to get to an 8 am class from the Quad. Of course, it’s tough to get to an 8 am class, period. The downside of Green Street? I get the impression that the food isn’t as good or as interesting in Tyler as elsewhere, and there’s only one dining choice in that area. My D and friends make the trek to other houses for dinner once or twice a week.</p>
<p>First, Veggiegirl007, congratulations on your decision to attend Smith! I’m so happy for you! And I’m sure you’re both happy and relieved to have that process behind you, and now you have the delightful task of orienting yourself to Smith!</p>
<p>My first-year daughter considered the supposed stereotypes of the Quad and Green Street and felt she was somewhere in the middle. But more importantly she looked at where she’d most likely take the majority of her courses which was Seeleye. On that basis, she decided she wanted the Lower Elm area, which is what she got–Baldwin House–and she loves it. So now she crosses Elm Street, goes through the Art Museum cafe and she’s right at Seeleye. There are three dining halls, one vegetarian, nearby so she has choices. If you want to live in the Quad, you’ll get your exercise in, especially if you want to major in engineering or any other major at the other end of the campus. That’s one way to keep the Freshman 15 off your hips! If you want to take all kinds of courses in various buildings on campus, then it may not matter all that much.</p>
<p>Just last week all twelve first-years at Baldwin sat down together to decide how to manage the doubles and singles available to them next year. They thought they were all going to have singles, but for some reason, I don’t know why, they aren’t (it may be the number of upperclass students not doing JYA, but I’m not sure). So they needed to work it out. They looked at their lifestyles, desire for privacy, and level of neatness/messiness and (I’m so proud of them!) they came up with satisfactory doubles/singles arrangements for all of them! The upperclassmen in Baldwin were very impressed with the first-years’ ability to work through any issues to include all in the solution; I’m not sure this kind of “delicate diplomacy” has even been attempted in recent history. So you see, every house will have its own dynamics which change from year to year. I guess occasionally house dynamics are less than ideal, but I think for the most part wherever you live, you will establish a close network of friends and if you stay in that house all four years, they become your family.</p>
<p>MWFN, there are two dining options on Green Street: Tyler and Hubbard. </p>
<p>CB: And it’s 30 seconds from Hubbard to Seelye. :)</p>
<p>TD, yes, there are shorter distances to Seelye, but my daughter decided what she decided! :)</p>
<p>Oops. I don’t think my D has ever mentioned eating at Hubbard – not that she hasn’t eaten there.</p>
<p>My D is also a science student but really wanted the Quad based on her own assumptions about the various parts of campus - She seems happy with the social scene there but feels it is easy to opt out and does a lot of studying due to pretty tough courses and has many equally studious friends. Humorously though living on an upper floor and having to walk across the length of campus several times a day she actually lost weight this year (avoiding the “freshman 15” and despite not having time to fit in an exercise class feels like she is in good shape so there is something to be said for distance as well.</p>
<p>@VeggieGirl - People aren’t neccessarily trying to hide anything, it’s just that since the houses are mixed year, they change a LOT from year to year. Whatever anyone on these boards would tell you would probably be out of date. Also, speaking from experience, it’s hard to “keep up” on the characters of all the houses in any reliable way even as a student because you’re usually just invested in your house and the houses of your friends, so you don’t get a good picture of every house (I think there were houses I had never set foot inside after four years). </p>
<p>The best way to decide on a house is to just pick based on location and size. That’s how current students do it, to be honest with you, they don’t think too much about the character of a house they’re moving in to, just if it has the location/size/features they want and if their friends live there or nearby, if it has dining or not. You won’t be able to determine personality ahead of time, and the personalities they have this year won’t really be the personalities they have next year.</p>
<p>Ok. I suppose I just get too worried about things. 
Thanks to all, your consolations and comments were very helpful, if most of all to adjust the way I was thinking. haha.</p>
<p>i believe that i am your roommate rocket6louise!! lucky mee!!</p>
<p>Anyone know which housing areas on campus tend to get the most requests?</p>
<p>im not sure if you poseted about best biology programs at csu and the discussion went on about chico and humboldt but if this is you i wanted to point you to: [Outside</a> University: The Top 25 Colleges for Outside Readers: California State University, Humboldt | Adventure Travel Guide | OutsideOnline.com](<a href=“http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/Outside-University-14-California-State-University-Humboldt.html]Outside”>http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/Outside-University-14-California-State-University-Humboldt.html)</p>
<p>I think you’re in the wrong forum. :D</p>