<p>Let's hear it from all of the first year students and their parents. How was you first year at Smith College? My D had a great year, and loves the school now more than she did back in September. It has already opened up many doors in the area of research for this summer.</p>
<p>Anyone????</p>
<p>My daughter also had a great first year. She loves Smith and Northampton and thinks the professors are great. I</p>
<p>My daughter had a great first year as well. Smith met her expectations in every way. Smith is an intellectual environment with fabulous extra-curricular opportunities. My D made some wonderful friends who are a diverse group of women, and she loved her professors and her house.<br>
All in all, a terrific start.</p>
<p>Here's another vote for a terrific start!</p>
<p>Ha! Not I. I just completed my first year and had somewhat different feelings. Granted I wasn't psyched to go there to begin with. I had a lot of problems with the general atmosphere of the school and found the all-women's element a little detrimental to the classroom experience (taking out a whole viewpoint of half the population). Anyway, there are still a lot of really great things about Smith, but I'm trying to decide if I want to transfer back home to Macalester for next year. Good to hear, it was great for others though!</p>
<p>As many of us have said "ad infinitum" it's all about "fit." Why did you attend if you weren't crazy about Smith in the first place? Granted, sometimes the "love" of a particular place doesn't occur until after you've experienced it; but four years of your life is too long and precious to waste if you don't fit in.</p>
<p>I agree with BJM8. My D has no idea if she will "fit" or not. I made her promise to tell me truthfully if she is happy there. I'd rather "waste" a year's tuition than 4 years of her life (transfer is out of the question for her, as her SATs are probably the lowest in the history of CC). Everything I have read here leads me to believe that she will thrive, but it's a whole new culture, and it may or may not click. I'm praying that in a year's time, my posts will be similar to MoS N!!!!</p>
<p>To all of you who are there now loving it, I'm jealous, and to those of you about to experience Smith, I hope you will love it too! I am an alum who returned for reunion last week. Being back on campus made me grateful all over again for the incredible education, and for the friendships of the many incredible people I met there. Much has changed, but much remains the same, and the campus looked gorgeous. We stayed in Tyler, my old house, which made it especially nice for me. Our Friday night dinner was graced by the presence of Professor Pat Skarda, who started at Smith with our class, and is therefore an honorary member. On Saturday, President Christ stopped by. She gave an amazing State of the College address on Saturday morning. The accomplishments of alums and undergrads in just a single year are staggering. (And the Sunday morning coffee cake is still delicious....)</p>
<p>So enjoy your years there -- they go all too fast! (If anyone wants to see my photos, just PM me.)</p>
<p>Undergraduate years always go too fast. Good ones (that is, intellectually stimulating ones at the "right" school) last for a lifetime of memories. </p>
<p>At someone said at another university's reunion this past week, "You are an undergraduate for only four years, but you are an alum for the rest of your life."</p>
<p>To Kelsey-</p>
<p>Give it another year. If schools want you now, they will want you then as well. You don't sound deadset on getting out of Smith and you still have time to transfer if you truly want to. </p>
<p>Just my two cents,
Dr. Scott</p>
<p>"Give it another year. If schools want you now, they will want you then as well"</p>
<p>Kelsey has been accepted to Macalester twice, as a freshman, and now as a 1st yr. transfer. If she turns down their offer of admission again, I doubt the college will take the chance of being left at the alter for a third time. At least it's not a chance I would be willing to take if I was seriously unhappy at Smith.</p>
<p>She would also have to maintain excellent grades her sophmore yr to qualify to be accepted again. Financial aid is another consideration.</p>