<p>Yeah, it seemed like alot of first years in my house experimented with the whole lesbian thing to fulfill a want for intimacy. Oh LUGS!</p>
<p>And yes transferring seems like a good option for me. I'm focusing on Bates, but any suggestions? (I know this isnt the right thread for it, but PM me if you have any ideas based on what Ive written and from experiences youve had with schools, it would be really helpful!!) Thanks!</p>
<p>informed me that thats why they never come to Smith parties or make that many smithie friends.] </p>
<p>It was much easier in the <em>good ol days</em> when Amherst and Williams were male. They had to come to Smith or Holyoke if they wanted to see a woman or wait for them to visit on weekends.
When youre lonely, hard up, or buzzed, suddenly Smith women dont seem so intimidating. :)</p>
<p>[But Mount Holyoke girls....a whole other breed let me tell } </p>
<p>LOL--Youre bad. Im from that culture. Some things never change. Poor Holyoke. They never get a break. I have two aunts who are Holyoke alumnae. You should hear one talk about the fraternity parties at Amherst, Wesleyan etc. And that was in the 40s
I wont comment on my generation.
Otoh- Julia Child was notorious for her drinking and smoking while at Smith. That was in the 30s </p>
<p>[I had graduated in the top of my class, taken 6 APs, debate champ, tons of community service--and well you know the rest of the story] </p>
<p>Its not your fault. Last year was the most competitive in history, before this year. If you are from the Northeast, it was even more competitive than if you were from the Midwest or West. </p>
<p>Sara, now is a prefect time to change houses due to students not returning or studying abroad. You can do the paperwork before the break. Check into the quad. They have the traditions youre seeking. Ask about the Medieval Night at Emerson, I believe. All the houses are connected and each has its own dinning room. You can eat, sleep, visit and study and never have to get out of your Pjs .... What more could you ask for?
Most students who are like you, and were in the <em>know</em>, (the quad has been infamous for generations) requested the quad as their housing when they filled out their original housing form. </p>
<p>[I'm focusing on Bates,] </p>
<p>Have you visited? My daughter was accepted there and wouldnt consider it after a second visit. . Im not trying to malign Lewiston, but the town was just short of horrible in her eyes. I didnt see it that way, but Lewiston is far different than Northampton-both in ascetics and safety Its a great college, however; and almost without exception the students are very happy.
Colby is rural but gorgeous. Although they have cracked down on underage drinking because of the many problems. They arrested 5 members of the womens lacrosse team (one was the captain, oopps) a couple of weeks ago for serving underage friends.
Why not go try again at camp Bo Bo, he says affectionately? :) I love Bowdoin and the entire area. Where did you apply and why?</p>
<p>Oh I love Bowdoin too. Half of me wants to apply as a transfer, but half of me is terrified that I'll get a rejection, yet again. But you never know unless you try right? I'll probably send a transfer app their way and I'm in touch with a current smithie who transferred there. So we'll see, I think I pulled a 3.4 maybe 3.5 this semester with mostly 200 level classes as a firstie.</p>
<p>I was thinking of applying to a larger school like Northwestern like thedad suggested, but I like small classes.</p>
<p>When I originally applied to schools heres the list: Hamilton, Conn, Bates, Bowdoin (ED), Gettysburg, Skidmore, Smith, Wheaton, Brandeis, MCLA (a state school safety I forgot about...I got a full ride there, but Smith was still a better choice) and....I think there was one more...but I forget. Oh and I applied to these schools because I liked all of them after visits and such, I felt like I wanted a smaller school in New England and supposedly they were all in reach in terms of admissions. Bowdoin I just fell in love with though on my visit, it just felt right. Alot of the schools I applied to were alot like Bo Bo in terms of students and campus so that was another consideration.</p>
<p>And in terms of housing I do live in the quad. Trust me I made sure I was where there was some semblance of social life. My house just doesnt have dining, and the house is huge so we dont do much together.</p>
<p>Which shows why there are choice for different people: based on all input, my D put down the Quad for last on her list. Her attitude is, she can go to parties if she wants and then go home and leave the noise & mess behind. Green Street rules!!!! (sorry...I get a little carried away.)
Her house also still has afternoon tea...no white gloves and pearls but it is socializing, not grab & go.</p>
<p>Sara, I'm sorry that you didn't get into a college that you loved on the first go around...I think it would tend to make any other experience drap in hypothetical comparison, true or not.</p>
<p>Pesto, D's comment about visiting Amherst: stay away from the guys on the rugby team. </p>
<p>Funny, she hasn't said anything about people practicing their switch-hitting but then I don't know if it would have evoked comment.</p>
<p>My topic has been hijacked ._.</p>
<p>Sorry Chibifry, we're still here to answer questions! What more do you want to know about?</p>
<p>Wasnt hijacked. Just borrowed. Sorry!</p>
<p>Happy Holidays :))</p>
<p>Sometimes we get off on another tangent! :(</p>
<p>To answer your questions, I should give you a little background info on myself and my interests. Perhaps then you can say something like "then WHY would you want to come here?" or "Smith is great for you!" or "your should join _<strong><em>club or _</em></strong>team!"</p>
<p>I was originally a psychology major, looking to become a child psychologist since I love working with children. I recently became "undecided" (due to an error on my advisors part) and am now more interested in sociology and anthropology. Im not sure what to do with an anth/soc degree and I still LOVE child psych, so I'm not sure where this is headed. Does anyone know what these classes are like? psych, soc, anth? alot of reading? writing? etc?</p>
<p>I am a vegan, and I am told there is a vegan house with a vegan dining room. Gillett I think? does anyone know anything about this? I also like running, and participated in cross country and track in high school. (I injured my knees and am "not allowed" to run competitivly, so..im not sure if the smith XC team would be a good idea)</p>
<p>Growing up, I lived in a single parent headed household. My mother never went to college, nor did her 7 siblings (seven! i know!). My older brother dropped out and my older sister went to a state school for a fine arts degree that she still cant figure out what to do with. My father was never a part of my life, but he never went to college either, nor did any of his family memebers. Needless to say, I will be the first in my family to REALLY go to college and make the best of it. When I was little, I dreamed of having some great career and being successful and independent. Since my mom was walked all over by men all her life, I vowed at a young age NEVER to be a passive, weak woman. Which is why I was interested in Smith.</p>
<p>Also, im sure everyone will they that their house is best, but...what is the whole housing situation? How would you describe that all? are some more social than others? what would you recomend for a transfer who will probably be homesick should she decide to go?</p>
<p>PS...I am also a "city person" since I live in CT and go to NYC on a regular basis. Honestly, the thought of being so far away from nyc is hard to deal with. I applied to NYU as well, (and got rejected) because I wanted to be in the city, but now realize NYU would never have been a good school for me anyway (spoken like a true reject, I know). </p>
<p>Barnard was NOT as academically challenging as smith? WHAT? I thought barnard was ALOT harder??</p>
<p>Just got back from Smith...and boy, are my arms tired.. (bad joke, i know). Daughter had a very good interview, had breakfast at Sylester's. Very good. Going to Narragansett, RI for a 2nd interview in an hour. I know, she doesn't need a 2nd interview, but, she's going anyway. She's a bit anal about these things. Five hours driving for an hour interview in total seems wrong!</p>
<p>Anyone want to talk about sciences at Smith...particularly Biology.</p>
<p>BJM8, if nothing else, the second interview will demonstrate interest. </p>
<p>SC, some of the Smith students have compared notes with their friends who go to Barnard...they're flying circles around the Barnard students, across several majors. I'm not trying to represent Smith as the most grueling place in the universe, either...places like Swat, U/Chicago, Reed, etc. all come to mind in that category. In contrast, Smith vs. Wellesley would give a good but pointless argument.</p>
<p>I think there's a waiting list for the Vegan House but their are vegan/vegetarian options at many of the dining rooms. The Quad has a well deserved reputation for being the most social of the housing options, also with the highest probability of getting a single; I'd avoid the Quad like the plague but that's just <em>me</em>. As D says, you can go to the parties and then leave the noise & mess behind when you go home. I like Green St. for location, architecture of Houses, and some of the self-selection that goes on. You're closest to the Performing Arts locales, close to NoHo, and D can walk from the front door of her House to Seelye Hall (classrooms) in 30 seconds. The other end of Green Street, e.g., Tyler, is closer to the Science Building but it's all potluck as to which House you get. Green St. also has a rep for being more studious. I honestly don't think being homesick would cut better or worse of where you are as much as who you were with. There seems to be a fair amount of camaraderie among the Houses with around 50-70 students. Fwiw, D loves her first-year "little sister"....there are always people looking to "make it work" or "make it better" for you.</p>
<p>The fourth paragaraph of your post makes me think emphatically that Smith is a good fit for you. Unfortuantely, I have to meet with a client in 20 minutes and have to take a shower first. Anon.</p>
<p>I don't know why I bother to click on Smith threads when they come up in "Barnard" searches, since about 90% of the time it's just TheDad...</p>
<p>"Relatively speaking, the Barnard dorms were the pits...don't say that in a Barnard thread or they'll leap to it's defense, 'Hey, for NYC they're pretty nice.'"</p>
<p>See referenced Barnard threads for accuracy in interpretation.</p>
<p>Re: the Barnard dorms...I rest my case. Anyone is free to visit both sets and draw their own conclusions. I have. </p>
<p>Fwiw, if you look in the Princeton Review book's ratings on "Dorms Like Palaces," you will usually see Smith listed in the top three, Wellesley sometimes in the top ten-twenty, Mount Holyoke sometimes in the top twenty...Barnard never. </p>
<p>Barnard dorms may be "good for what you get in NYC" but on an absolute scale they're mediocre at best.</p>
<p>Wellesley dorms were nice but more conventional. Smith has an eclectic variety that most people...save for those in C-Z...like very much. I'd be surprised if anyone who has seen all three would put Barnard dorms in even the same league.</p>
<p>Barnard has a lot of plusses, among them being a women's college with NYC at hand and a more co-ed feel due to Columbia across the street. Dorms ain't one of their strengths.</p>
<p>The Quad has a well deserved reputation for being the most social of the housing options, also with the highest probability of getting a single; I'd avoid the Quad like the plague but that's just <em>me</em>]</p>
<p>If you think the quad is bad, although, as usual, the reputation is worse than fact, you would have loathed living in a frat house. They make the quad look like the convent at St Marys :)</p>
<p>Yes, the transfer stats were for 04</p>
<p>That's not the argument's that made, though, and I just don't like being mischaracterized. It's not- "The dorms are the pits, but it's not bad for NYC." It's- "the dorms are small, but nice and reasonablely priced for NYC." Two very different sentiments and attitudes.</p>
<p>i need to correct some misinformation in a post i saw here.</p>
<p>"First let me address the gay issue. Smith took the word women out of the constitution and substituted it with student, so as not to offend the transgender students who dont associate themselves with being a female"</p>
<p>-smith didn't do it. the student government association, with a vote of the student body, made this decision. </p>
<p>"Smith also just spent 30k to build a special club for transgender students and now have coed bathrooms --not because they are to be shared by men but because, again, transgender students dont consider themselves female"</p>
<p>-it is not a "special club for transgender students." i frankly don't know where you're getting this. it's an LGBT resource center. smith also does not have "coed bathrooms." there is one bathroom, a single-stall, in the campus center, that is a unisex bathroom. </p>
<p>"Alumnae are also beginning to get upset with the course Smith pursues, at times. This is coming from a Smith alumna board member I visited with last month while in Northampton"</p>
<p>-and the alumnae grow every year with each new class of graduates.</p>
<p>"Smith has always large gay contingency but only recently has a certain portion of that population effected the entire campus."</p>
<p>-i'm sorry, what? affected the entire campus? this is ludicrous.</p>
<p>"Let me be clear, Im not in any way expressing agreement with the aforementioned sentiments. Im simply relaying comments from conversations Ive had with students, alumnae and relatives."</p>
<p>-and you're giving a pretty narrow picture riddled with misinformation. please don't share incorrect information. it only adds to the stereotypes that you're describing.</p>
<p>smith didn't do it. the student government association, with a vote of the student body, made this decision. }</p>
<p>The student government is Smith. </p>
<p>{it's an LGBT resource center}</p>
<p>Semantics. The fact 10,000 was given to the resource center and only 800.00 to the Republican club tells you were the priorities are. And I havent even touched all the money given to all the other gay organizations, when other organizations had their funds reduced. Read the friggin budget.</p>
<p>{and the alumnae grow every year with each new class of graduates] </p>
<p>What does the addition of alumnae have to do in the remotest with how board members feel? Ive had conversations with board members and I know what was said. I was there. Where you? I also have talked to many more alumnae over 20 years than I believe you have. I know their sentiments regarding how Smith has changed over the years.
Sorry, Smith has to decide what it wants to be and where it is headed. As the demographics start to change in the next few years, fewer highschool students will be applying to college. What is Smith going to do to attract the students who are extremely bright but feel Amherst, Bowdoin, Yale etc, etc., are more inline with expectations of what a college should be? Im ALL FOR the LGBT organizations, but not when they can dominate the culture of a campus in numerous aspects</p>
<p>[i'm sorry, what? affected the entire campus?]</p>
<p>Bad phraseology. I should have said, effected many of the <em>straight women</em> Read Saras post. She's a <em>smithie</em> She stated it perfectly when she said she felt like a minority even though straight women are in fact the majority of the campus. I have heard this FIRST HAND from other Smithies currently enrolled.</p>
<p>Smith's an incredable college. I wouldn't be paying a fortune to the college if I didn't believe that. But facts are facts. :)</p>