This is a thread I started in the “college admissions” forum. I’m hoping I can get additional insight by moving it to this forum. In particular, I’d like to hear more from current students of Smith about the perceived bullying and isolation of straight students from the responses written and your first-hand experiences. D is not politically active nor does she enjoy debating moral opinions. I would not consider her particularly liberal, although at 17 she hasn’t found her voice just yet so who knows how she’ll lean.
"We are impatiently awaiting the finaid package from Smith due to lost documents via IDOC. But, all things being equal financially, how to choose? The most likely major/minor combinations will be biochemistry/computer science/Spanish and or Latin American studies. Biochemistry will be the major, possibly a double major, maybe two minors?
They both seem to have nice adjacent towns. They both have good study abroad from what I can tell, both allowing finaid to follow the program. Smith has great “houses”, Skidmore freshman dorms are average but upperclass housing is fantastic. Both are driving distance from us, one 3 1/2 hours the other 4 1/2 hours and easily accessible.
Smith has the five school consortium (and D has alot of friends attending the nearby schools).
Smith is all-girls, Skidmore is co-ed. All things being equal again, Skidmore would win on this point. Then again, D’s boyfriend will be going to school 15 minutes from Smith.
Skidmore acceptance is 37%, Smith 43%. But…Smith is ranked #19 and Skidmore #37 in the LAC category. How does this matter in the end? Doesn’t really make sense to me.
Are we comparing apples to apples except the all-girls vs. co-ed or is there a significant difference?"
there is no bullying against straight students but i have heard of some isolation. i dont think it’s big though. the only times ive heard it have been for little things and then people get over it. it’s not a big deal. yes it can feel like it’s majority queer and that’s awesome for people like me who are indeed queer, but there are also a LOT of straight people, so i wouldnt worry about it
i was choosing between smith and skidmore and i liked smith’s location better, the five college consortium, and ultimately yeah the lack of guys does create a different environment, i believe, and i like it because girls are more willing to be outspoken and take up more space at a place where there are no guys, since patriarchy has taught us to quiet down with guys around (or get shit for not quieting down). but i know people who regularly go meet guys at parties or date guys from their five college classes, so you’re not completely isolated from guys our age. (i say “our age” because a lot of the professors are men)
“I’d like to hear more from current students of Smith about the perceived bullying and isolation of straight students from the responses written and your first-hand experiences.”
This is a major LOL point for me. These complaints originate from people who feel they should be universally accommodated by all crowds.
“Skidmore acceptance is 37%, Smith 43%. But…Smith is ranked #19 and Skidmore #37 in the LAC category. How does this matter in the end? Doesn’t really make sense to me.”
Smith is now ranked #14, actually. 
Acceptance rate doesn’t work as well when assessing women’s colleges because fewer students can apply, and even of the students who can, fewer will out of preference for a co-ed environment. Both schools are regarded as academically excellent. IDK much about Skidmore, but from working in an environment where I frequently contact alumnae, I can say with certainty that Smith boasts an incredible network of high achieving scholars, engineers and businesswomen that love to help out current students.
Socially, I’ve found Smith to be welcoming and yet isolating at the same time. Some say it’s easy to come into contact with boys, I say it’s not that easy. If your D already has friends in the area, I reckon it will be a smooth transition and that she won’t encounter too many problems.
Your D can go to accepted student visits to get a better feeling. Has she considered Mount Holyoke? More middle of the road politically and solid academically.
This thread was from last April. My D chose Skidmore or lets say Skidmore chose her via the package they offered. D was accepted “early-write” to Smith but they just could not get to our budget and with substantial increases each year would have been far more than we could afford by year 3 or 4. Skidmore in the end was 1/3 the price.
For future prospective students trying to chose, I preferred MoHo to Smith but Northampton is a big plus between the two as is the housing.