I’m super curious to know some big differences between Scripps and Smith! They’re both two of my top schools, though they’re on opposite coasts. I’m an NYC native and am looking to get out of the city. I plan on majoring in English and I’d love to know more about their respective programs/consortiums. (also interested in LGBTQ life on campus- acceptance from other students, is there a large population of LGBTQ students, etc. for both schools) Any info you can offer would be great, thanks in advance!
I was a Pomona student and did a semester at Smith College as exchange. My older daughter is a senior at CMC. I REALLY loved my time at both campuses. I would say that while it isn’t as easy to take courses at the other Claremont 5Cs as they may lead you to believe, it is far easier in Claremont to do this than from Smith. There are some incredible profs across the 5Cs. My Smith profs were pretty good too. I am not sure about LBGTQ at Scripps specifically, but to me Claremont has come a long way in this regard. I wouldn’t hesitate to send an LGBTQ child there…or to Smith for that matter. Overall, I would say that Claremont is a friendlier place in the way that it California culture dictates. If you are into quirky, Smith offers all kinds of housing and an interesting mix of architecture, some ivy, some small town. The few Scripps dorms that haven’t been renovated can feel like you have moved into 1930…and I think some of the dust is actually from then. The newer Scripps dorms are beautiful! My favorite memory from Smith semester is of taking a rowing class on Paradise Pond. Fall is so beautiful there. Spring can be muddy and dull I have heard…but then Scripps has its So Cal fires…so there is that. I think both schools are a mix of introverts and extroverts, but I would probably steer a strongly introverted child toward Claremont…Scripps is on a mission to help women find their voices while it seemed to me that Smith students were more outwardly opinionated. If you want to be able to take an outdoor swim most of the year…well Scripps. For brisk fall football days with real football teams, Smithies go to UMass games. That’s all I have for now…
I checked the common data set for both. Both have an overall acceptance rate of 32%. Scripps has an ED acceptance rate of 47% while Smith’s ED rate is 61%. I don’t know about Scripps, but Smith has ED1 and ED2, so one possibility would be to apply ED to Scripps and ED2 to Smith, or perhaps vice versa.
I don’t know anything about Scripps but Smith has a beautiful campus where most dorms are houses rather than traditional dorms. The food is apparently quite good. The campus is in the town of Northampton which offers great shopping and restaurants etc. Smith is also on my D21’s list. One way to easily narrow down your choices is to look at the course catalog for each school in the majors you’re considering. My D found huge differences and it made making her list easy. Best of luck!
5Cs was one of the first campuses we saw, and two weeks ago we came back, after seeing about 30 other colleges over the last year (including the trio of New England women’s colleges), to stroll down main passages, while the campus is mostly closed. The physical beauty of the place is overwhelming. I know that’s not all but I think it is an important factor for student’s well-being.
The visit cemented D’s long-shot decision to apply ED1 to Pomona. 15% ED acceptance rate vs. ~50% for Middlebury, ~40% for Williams. Rationally, she realizes she might be forfeiting her best chances for an excellent outcome - but emotionally, she’s all in. Should Plan A fail, Scripps is high on her RD list.
Smith appears in this article on literary colleges, as does a Scripps’ consortium mate, Pomona: https://www.flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america.