<p>My D. loves Smith, but we have to come up with other choices! Just curious - which other schools (women's or co-ed) did you apply to that you might have liked as well as Smith?</p>
<p>Here's a list of the top women's LACs (alphabetical order):
Barnard
Bryn Mawr
MHC
Smith
Wellesley</p>
<p>In addition to some of the above, my daughter also liked Vassar. Some of her h.s. friends who applied to Smith also liked Brown, Wesleyan,and Univ. Chicago which are in urban environments but also provide a similar mix of strong academics, liberal arts, liberal viewpoints on social issues (at least in the cases of Brown and Wesleyan), and social activism on campus. Among the Seven Sisters, I would say that Bryn Mawr is closest in terms of culture, environment, politics, and activism, and she had a hard time deciding which one was her favorite.</p>
<p>Wesleyan and Brown are similar I believe. I had friends tell me so too.</p>
<p>i appreciate the feedback from both of you - pmyen, your detailed comments were very helpful. thanks! anyone else?</p>
<p>My list which has me applying ED to smith also includes Brown, UChicago, Hamilton, and Colorado College. These aren't completely similar, I just like them. The others on the list aren't very similar at all.</p>
<p>That would be for Class of 2012?</p>
<p>Cousin had a very difficult time deciding between Smith, MHC, and Brandeis.</p>
<p>My D was applied to and was accepted to both Wellesley & Barnard. She didn't like them "as well" or she wouldn't have chosen Smith. W was her #2, B her #3. She has a good friend at Chicago and has visited there...she didn't apply there but thinks there's a lot to like there, even if it's not for her. Brown was dropped from her list for they very idiosyncratic reason of not liking the local ballet opportunities. I would have encouraged her to give Tufts a look had they had <em>any</em> ballet opportunities of note.</p>
<p><em>Her</em> negatives about W and B: At W, performing arts was an afterthought, nowhere near as central a part of curriculum and campus life as Smith, which has absolutely gorgeous performing facilities. She also preferred the social vibe at Smith over that of Wellesley. Barnard, she liked NYC but didn't love it, did not like the dorms (I agree), and--due to the presence of NYC as a playground, didn't feel a cohesive school spirit; she also thought the campus was a bit claustrophobic.</p>
<p>She wound up not applying to Columbia after talking to several current students while we were visiting. She said when she asked them what they liked about the school, <em>none</em> of them mentioned academics.</p>
<p>The school for which she had the most curious disconnect was Stanford. A great school but just didn't really "click" in any dimension.</p>
<p>She loved Yale, though she was ultimately turned down there. Of the Ivies, it seemed to have the best focus on undergrad.</p>
<p>Heh, Yale is not only the great Academic ground but I hear it's small, very pretty and intimate like you'd expect with many LACs.</p>
<p>Chicago seems to be a popular option with those looking at academically intense women's colleges-- my best friend (who was considering Smith, MHC, Bryn Mawr, and Wellesley very carefully before deciding on Oberlin) has also briefly considered Chicago, and if I were to apply to colleges all over again, I wish I had applied to Smith et. al.</p>
<p>A friend at Smith now also applied to Mount Holyoke, Haverford, Wesleyan, and another I've now forgotten. Haverford was her other top choice.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, the College Board's list of other schools people looked at when looking up Smith is:</p>
<p>Amherst College
Boston College
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brown University
Columbia University: Columbia College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Harvard College
Mount Holyoke College
New York University
Northeastern University
Tufts University
Vassar College
Wellesley College</p>
<p>Tsubie-chan: Yale's campus is definitely beautiful, but I wouldn't consider it "small." The entire complex is actually quite spread out. Old Campus may be what you're thinking of when you're imagining a smaller campus.</p>
<p>Oh I meant student-body size not campus size. Well not THAT small, just say smaller than Harvard for example. I tend to prefer a small body as well as I don't like crowds. Funny, no one looked up Bryn Mawr or Barnard. Actually not many people here apply to those either. Wellesley, Smith and MHC are the only famous ones here as far as women's college is concerned.</p>
<p>Unalove, I asking D last night about social fit vs. academic fit and she said that for her the two are intertwined. One of the most important things she did, for her, during campus visits was to just listen to what people talked about. Academic intensity, and respect for it, are very important to her.</p>
<p>op- I'm class of '12. I just finished my last final for junior year 2 hours ago and I couldn't be happier. </p>
<p>Now I can't wait until the common app comes out in July so I can get that over with too!</p>
<p>Karen, good luck :) It seems like just yesterday that I was in your shoes.</p>
<p>I also think that some of the smaller midwest LACs are really similar (Beloit, Earlham, etc.).</p>
<p>I always thought Brown was the most similar school, although (I am told, pure hearsay) that fewish females there major in the sciences.</p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>THANKS.</p>
<p>It was very hard for me to choose between Barnard and Smith, I think they're similar in character.</p>