Is Smith right for her?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
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<p>I have been reading posts in this discussion forum, and seeing a lot of support here. But, I guess everyone has different questions/problems/concerns, so I did not find an answer for my own. :] I decided to ask my problems.</p>

<p>We are from Asian Family. We saved money for children's education, and we see education is important. My daughter is shy, nice, diligent... she spent her time to study, study, study and volunteer. She is down 2-3 schools right now: UCLA and Berkeley. She has not seen Smith Campus ( I booked tickets so we can visit it soon). She is going to have a science major regardless which school she is attending.</p>

<p>In UCLA, we will spend 30K for her education. In Smith, we need to pay for 56K. She did not get any money scholarship. With same major, is it really worth to go that far away from home?</p>

<p>When she applied, I suggested her to apply Smith (and other female colleges). I see it is important to empower woman, and I like the idea to have close long-term friends from sister hood. I wish she can find some long-term and supportive friends from Smith and become more confident in her future.</p>

<p>But, education is so expensive. 4 years cost in Smith will be aeound 200K.</p>

<p>I myself went to school in New England area, I visited UMass and Boston area long time back. So I know what the area looked like and feel.</p>

<p>Is Asian minor in that area? Can she get used to?</p>

<p>It is far away from our home state, can she get support when she needs?</p>

<p>Will UCLA not be able to provide similar education?</p>

<p>I see some Smith students later attend Berkeley. Since she has admissions from these schools, why not attending one of them now?</p>

<p>Can we afford four years at Smith?</p>

<p>It is so close to make a final decision now. :-(</p>

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<p>Many questions. Can you afford four years at Smith? Only you can answer that.</p>

<p>There is a large group of Asian students at Smith, your daughter won’t feel isolated.</p>

<p>My wife, a director-level administrator, has worked on the administrative side at UCLA for more than 30 years. We believe our daughter got a much better education at Smith than she would have at UCLA (or Berkeley). Smaller classes, great counseling, individual attention from the professors, undergraduate research opportunities, year abroad & Washington opportunities that are fantastic (Washington program = 10 weeks for UCLA vs. five months for Smith).</p>

<p>UCLA is very easy to stay anonymous, low key, and blend into the background.</p>

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<p>I am so thrilled for the opportunities science majors have at Smith. A good number of my daughter’s immediate friends are in the sciences, and the experiences they are having/will have with research, internships and study abroad take my breath away. You may have seen my recent post about my daughter’s marine biology friend; her advisor has just taken her under his wing and is guiding her through the steps as he knows what she needs to do to accomplish her goals. For the summer between her junior and senior year, she will be able to find a real paying research job because she will have experienced three different marine climes: Antarctic, tropical and mid-Northern Hemisphere. With all that experience, I would think grad school acceptance would be straightforward. Now I’m not saying that a student shouldn’t be assertive in looking for opportunities, I think students should always be on the lookout. What I am saying is that professors will actively help you once they know who you are and your level of dedication. I do not believe that level of undergraduate academic support is possible in a large university, no matter how excellent the reputation is; their reputations are built on the research done on the graduate level which the undergrads do not see.</p>

<p>You ask if your daughter would get support with her being so far away. We live only 1-1/2 hours away, but if we lived across the country, I would still feel extremely comfortable about my daughter attending Smith. There is tremendous support from friends, professors, tutors, the Jacobson writing center (for writing papers), her advisor, health services, the administration. Smith wants your daughter to succeed.</p>

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<p>Because undergraduate education is different from graduate education.</p>

<p>I can’t say whether Smith is right for your daughter. I can’t say whether your family can afford it or if the Asian population is large enough for her comfort. But I can say that my daughter could have attended a well-regarded research university in the Northeast for free (well, at least tuition would have been free) or Smith. We gladly paid full freight at Smith because we felt that, as good as the other education would have been, a Smith education and the kind of academic/social environment it offered was more suited for her. We know she would have done well at the other university, but we also know that Smith changed her life.</p>

<p>My husband and I know higher education quite well. We think Smith gave our daughter a top-notch education and experience. If she wants to go to Smith and if your family can afford it, it’s well worth the cost.</p>

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<p>dincollege, </p>

<p>I’m a current Smith student from SoutherN California. I didn’t apply to UCLA when I was in high school (with only a ten minute drive from my front door to the campus, it was too close to home for me) but Berkeley was one of the schools I ultimately chose Smith in favor of. As the daughter of two UCLA alums, and a friend of quite a few current Bruins, I also feel I have some familiarity both campuses. While both UCs are excellent schools, I have to agree with TheDad that the individual attention afforded to students at Smith makes for an exceptional educational experience. When I’ve spoken to friends attending both UCLA and Berkeley I consistently see a “gap” between the relationships I’m able to cultivate with my professors here, and their own experiences in the classroom. I’m a humanities major, but I’ve found the research opportunities here across the board to be wonderful. Since Smith is entirely focused on undergrads, I think that really allows for a unique experience; you’re not competing with graduate students for projects,or for lab space (as was the the case of one Psy major friend at Berkeley).
Although I can’t speak to your family’s particular financial situation, I can tell you I know no current students who don’t feel it has been worth the investment. As another student from across the country with no family in the area, while there’s definitely something of an “adjustment period” Smith works hard to foster an immediate sense of community for first years when they arrive on campus, and there are many other students from across the US, so your daughter will be in good company. </p>

<p>I noticed in your post you said you saw that “some Smith students later attend Berkeley, etc. Since she has admissions from these schools, why not attend one of them now?” I would expect you’re referring to graduate school programs. Very rarely (if ever) does undergraduate attendance at a school (particularly one so large as a UC) correlate with acceptance for graduate school. At a university such as Berkeley with so many prestigious graduate offerings, Smith’s students’ attendance would signify not only that Berkeley looked favorably their undergraduate school, but that those students received an undergraduate education rigorous enough to prepare them for placement within a top graduate program. </p>

<p>Good luck to you and your family with the decisions ahead of you, and congratulations to your daughter for having three great choices for college!</p>

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<p>Being Asian myself, and coming from even further away (Bangkok, Thailand), I still think that Smith provides a more than adequate level of support for students from far away. From things on a purely logistical level - summer storage, etc - to a more personal level, I’ve never felt like I’ve been left alone to cope with things. </p>

<p>I’m very involved with the International Student Organization which has been a fantastic level of support outside of my house community, which I also love, but the cultural organizations here at Smith tend to be tight knit and family like, if your daughter is interested in joining any. There’s CISCO (Chinese students), KASS (Korean American Students), VSA (Vietnamese), Sazanami (Japanese students’ cultural organization), SEAA (South East Asian Alliance), and probably a few more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. We all work pretty closely and I can definitely say that there are plenty of warm, caring people in all of those orgs who would take people under their wings if needed.</p>

<p>Being assigned a premajor advisor also really helps- they truly are meant to not only help you with classes but also with the adjustment to college. I absolutely adored my premajor advisor - it was never just ‘what classes are you planning on taking?’ but always ‘are you eating? are you sleeping enough? are you going to the gym? do you have enough warm clothes?’, and I would stop by every couple of weeks just to chat with her. My newly declared major advisor is much the same and they have consistently been around to look out for my wellbeing both academically and personally, and I’m really grateful to have that.</p>

<p>I have to run to a review session so I can’t go into depth about the level of support given in houses, but it has been one of the best parts of my Smith education, and I’m sure many others would agree that the house really helps with the transition away from home.</p>

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<p>Dincollege, make sure you visit the new Ford Hall when you visit. Smith has pumped a lot of money into this science and engineering building, and it shows.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the all the messages that I received. It is always very supportive in Smith discussion forum. Thank you!
@Momwaitingfornew, I will make sure to mention Ford Hall in Campus tour.
I called the school early today, someone was saying the last week this month is the last week in Spring semester. I hope that we can get a chance to sample classes.</p>

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<p>Might current students comment on the last week of classes perhaps not being indicative of a typical week at Smith? Those still studying will be the ones looking sleepless, those who have completed their work will be looking sleepless…but with smiles.</p>

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<p>I went to Vassar for my undergraduate work and to UCLA for graduate degree. I sat in on one undergrad class at UCLA–for one day. There were at least 200 students in there. At Vassar I had small classes where I knew my professors. My daughter is at Smith and having a very similar experience. I think that the experience at small LACs for undergrad is unsurpassed for individual attention (from professors) and research opportunities. If you can afford Smith, and your daughter wants to go, I think that it would be very worthwhile for her.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate.</p>

<p>I wonder if there is a link to photos of Open House or Discovery event last weekend.</p>

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<p>Any update on this one? FYI I am posting an article regarding a panel conducted last year by a number of Smith alums from Asia and others working in Asia.</p>

<p>[Smith</a> College: Office of the President: Smith in Asia 2010](<a href=“http://www.smith.edu/president/asia/panelists.php]Smith”>http://www.smith.edu/president/asia/panelists.php)</p>