More First Year Reports

Parents Forum
1

<p>Here's ours:</p>

<p>So, mine is now returned, and we’ve talked some, so I can now report.</p>

<p>She had a great year. Took 17 credits first term, and 19 the second (normal is 16), though next year she is planning on 21 or 22. Lots of music theory, composition seminars, intensive Italian (in planning for JYA), medieval philosophy, fencing – it sounds like she is planning for a career as a Renaissance male. A writing-intensive course on the literature of 19th century opera, taught by the world’s most famous expert on Hector Berlioz, with (at the end of term) 3 students. Also, serendipitously, a geology class on natural disasters, with two weeks on tsunamis, which was later to stand her in good stead. Class sizes ranged from small to tiny. The Italian is apparently very intense, and the profs regularly cook Italian dinners for the students. Declared her major (music) in March.</p>

<p>Music virtually every day of the week. Medieval and Renaissance vocal group which met the first term at Mt. Holyoke, second term on her own campus. She was elected secretary of the orchestra, and they played their 100th anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall, and had a paid gig playing the Verdi Requiem. Was part of a 5-College baroque music chamber ensemble. Her paid research assistantship was under the tutelage of the founder of the Folger Consort, preparing a singable publication edition of the first opera ever written by a woman (in 1626), and which will be performed by the 5-College Opera Consortium next year. She is also the assistant attached to the Consortium, which means she gets to meet regularly with faculty from each of the five colleges, and will manage the performances next winter. She also had one of her own pieces, a movement of a string quartet, performed in concert.</p>

<p>She regularly attends Northampton Friends Meeting. A surprise was she discovered the kosher kitchen is across the street from her house, and she sometimes goes in on Friday afternoons to help cook dinner, and stays around to eat and sing on Friday evening. She is relatively indifferent toward the food overall, though seems to have taken a liking to the dining room that serves “Mediterranean options”. She also lives next door to a bakery! And her own house has an equipped kitchen that she sometimes makes use of. She has done a little travel during the year – to Washington, DC over Thanksgiving, to Philadelphia (for my younger d.’s benefit recital), and to Boston/Cambridge. Did some hiking, and bought a bike.</p>

<p>With assistance from one of the deans, she got the college to fund her travels to Cambodia, Thailand, and India this summer (where she will continue work begun over winter break, will build houses, learn Tamil, and act as a “foreign correspondent” for the development organization.) Leaves in about a week (sniff, sniff.) She did several tsunami presentations following her return in January. She fully expects to spend her junior year in Florence. </p>

<p>Her roommate was a complete mismatch (though no enemies created, just different lifestyles), which turned out absolutely great for her, as she ended up with a huge single corner room with windows on two sides. Next year she has a smaller single. Her house is definitely not party central, though there are plenty of parties to attend when she chooses. Was snow-delayed on every trip to and from school except the last.</p>

<p>I guess that pretty much covers what I know.</p>

2

<p>Mini's daughter is a hard act to follow but here goes. Mine (at the same college) also had an excellent first year. Exposed herself to new ideas on many fronts through her classes, her conversations with fellow students, and the innumerable extracurricular events she attended over the course of the year. Tested her political wings by becoming something of an eco-activist. Explored new spiritual areas by attending Friends Meetings. Will probably declare a major next semester but the jury is still out as to her exact subject of concentration. She smashed athletic PRs right and left, thanks to the support and knowledge of superb coaches. She made numerous good friends. </p>

<p>She couldn't be happier with her choice of college. </p>

<p>At the same time, much to my delight, she is happy to be home for the summer -- at least for this one year.</p>

<p>Now it's time to hear from TheDad.</p>

3

<p>Oh my goodness, mini could just print that out and send it with christmas card for one of those holiday letters. Bravo!</p>

4

<p>mini: just a suggestion when your D visits India. The monsoon will have started and may bring lots of musqitos. One suggestion we follow is to take qunine (maleria medicine) one per week as a precaution. You start a week before and end a week after you come back. Wife just visited India and have plenty left over. I can mail them if you wish.</p>

5

<p>We use doxycycline, taken daily (which also has the side effect of preventing stomach problems.). Chloroquine is relatively ineffective in India these days; mefloquine, recommended by the CDC, is known to cause psychotic responses in almost 1 out of 100 users (and wild dreams!) - it isn't used at all by Europeans. The English have a new, and very expensive, prophylaxis.</p>

<p>(I'm an old India hand. Two Indian docs as adopted brother and sister - she is in good hands.)</p>

6

<p>Hey, Pesto. I've just gotten back from being out of town for 12 days, part of which was visiting the Holy Land, aka Smith College. :)</p>

<p>D's experience has been very positive but more conventional. She took 20 units both semesters, though the two 2's (ballet and French horn) were "soft" [though the second semester performance project in lieu of paper consumed a tremendous amount of time]. Stretched herself second semester by taking two advanced courses, one on each side of her Math/Government double major, which she declared second semester. Both department chairs agreed to be her respective major advisors. </p>

<p>She likes her House very much though is fairly sad that a couple of her best friends she will never see again while enrolled on campus: they're sophomores who will be Away next year and she will be Away the following year.</p>

<p>She's assumed modest leadership positions in both the Winds and the Smith Newman group...the kind of thing she never did much of in high school.</p>

<p>What she's really taken advantage of is the on-campus research opportunities. Oddly enough, they're outside her majors but at least the Math his helpful. She's spending seven weeks there this summer working on one of the projects and so won't be home until July. But it's good stuff, not only for the research itself but because the pay is good enough that she take an unpaid internship with another organization when she gets home.</p>

<p>I continue to be impressed with how good a "value" Smith is on the admissions scale. There's no college I can think of that would be clearly a better fit for her and at this point, from what I know and from what I have read, only a small handful that would be in the as-good-but-different category.</p>