<p>Well, I got into Smith, despite the fact that they did not receive my application supplement (my guidance counselor forgot to tell me this) and my GPA is only 3.2 out of 4.0. I only applied because my guidance counselor wanted me to send an application to at least seven schools. Before I applied I took a tour of both Smith and Mt. Holyoke and since I liked Mt. Holyoke better and I thought it was easier to get into then Smith I never dreamed that I would be considering Smith to this extent. But when I was rejected from Mt. Holyoke (even though they received my whole application and I had an alumnae recommendation) I decided to give Smith another look. After all they decided to accept me even though Im less than perfect, I should at least give them a chance.</p>
<p>On the bright side, during all this I got into my dream school, College of the Atlantic, a small (less than 300 students) liberal arts college of human ecology in Maine. When I first visited the school as a sophomore I fell in love with the lets save the world attitude of the students, the individual attention, and the hands-on academics. I visited the school again when I was a junior and was all set to apply ED when my nerves got the best of me. I wasnt sure if the school was academic enough or prestigious enough. Im ashamed that I have sunken to the point where I would consider prestige when deciding on a college but I admit that deep inside I have always wanted to go to the kind of school where people would say Wow, you went there. You must be very intelligent.</p>
<p>So I was hoping that I could get your opinion. Even if it is biased I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.</p>
<p>I've always been a strong supporter of the College of the Atlantic, but only 2-3 other CC'ers have heard of it. :eek: I'm male, so I can't say much about Smith. I was very interested in marine biology when I visited COA, and I was impressed by the sheer flexibility of the curriculum (and the location, of course). I got the feel that going to COA was more of a going to summer camp experience (in a good way) than hitting the books at some stricter (but not necessarily better) colleges. Smith, of course, has <em>much</em> more of a reputation than COA, and I should think its students are no less idealistic. If you want prestige, go to Smith. You probably won't regret it, but be sure that's what you want. In the long run, your happiness will matter to you more than impressing others (except employers). COA is a great school, and it does quite well in grad/career placement (the statistics are on their website, I think). I assume you've found the forum on their website; that's another place you might get some opinions.</p>
<p>If the two schools were otherwise equal in your mind (which they may not be), I'd have one nagging question about COW: would the warm and friendly 300 feel claustrophobic by junior year? </p>
<p>Imo, that's really small. I'd want a bit more in terms of social diversity and options but that's just me.</p>
<p>Wow, Rebecca, Smith must have seen something special about you. I suspect, based on the wording of your post, that you must think that Smith must not be all that selective because they accepted you with your GPA and general lack of interest, but that's not true. A school like Smith has an extremely individualized application review. They have a high acceptance rate only because the applicant pool is self-selecting; in the case of Smith, this isn't just a way of justifying high acceptance rate. Many deserving women were waitlisted or rejected. </p>
<p>So . . . on to the real question: Which school? There's no doubt that Smith is the more prestigious, but you must ask yourself which school will be better for you both academically and socially. I echo the posts of others who suggest that you visit Smith during Open Campus later this week. You'll get a chance to sit in on some classes, see the inside of the residential houses, eat the food, and meet both current and prospective Smithies. If you cannot attend Open Campus (which is sure to be somewhat of a zoo and not entirely representative), arrange a campus visit before May 1. Do the same for COA, if you haven't already. Part of your decision will be intellectual and the other instinctive.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind: your criteria may have changed over the courses of your senior year. My daughter, who is likely to attend Smith, had a completely different take on the colleges when she applied than she does now. Once the acceptances rolled in, it was amazing to see how her impressions of each had changed. She barely glanced at a couple of the acceptances (including Mount Holyoke and some co-ed schools) even though those colleges had originally been high on her list.</p>
<p>I recommend that you take a close look at the courses offerings at both COA and Smith to make sure each has what you'd like to study. My d. discovered that a school she might have chosen over Smith was so small that it didn't offer most of listed courses in her area. (Although the courses were in the catalog, they hadn't been offered in at least two years.) Even more important than prestige is your ability to thrive in a given college. While you cannot possibly know this in advance, you can certainly gauge your own sense of whether you would fit in or not.</p>
<p>I'd recommend revisiting them both. Chances are a reason you didn't like Smith so much the first time was because you assumed you wouldn't get in. Visit both Smith and College of Atlantic and try to envision yourself there. Obviously, attend whichever one you feel more comfortable at :)</p>
<p>{When I first visited the school as a sophomore I fell in love with the lets save the world attitude of the students, the individual attention, and the hands-on academics.}</p>
<p>You may find the same things at Smith if you look into it more deeply. If you are interested in environmental work more generally, there are at least a couple of dedicated extracurricular environmental groups on the Smith campus, and the college offers an "Environmental Science and Policy" minor. I suspect, however, that you won't find the same hands-on opportunities for oceanographic study at Smith as you would at COA. </p>
<p>For what it's worth, I have a next-door neighbor who goes to COA and he seems to be doing really well there but there's no question that you would have more opportunities available to you at Smith. I guess it boils down to how much you want to specialize in oceanography/marine biology.</p>
<p>I'm actually not planning on studying enviromental science. I want to be an elementry school teacher and was thinking about focusing on Sociology or English.</p>
<p>By the way, after visiting Smith, I've decided to go to COA. I loved Smith and I'm sure I would have been happier their but in my bias oppinion COA is just better.</p>
<p>Great! We definitely need more teachers so it's awesome that you want to be one. It's also great that you're willing to look past the rankings. Be sure to check out teaching certification and see if you have reciprocity in other states.</p>