Smith College

<p>Pretty much the only parent events are the first day of orientation and then you are expected to leave. I dropped my D off and she went on a preorientation trip, during which time I went to visit a childhood friend. We met up again the day between preorientation and orientation, and did waayyy too much shopping (I hate shopping). In theory, I was going to go to some of the events for parents during the first day of orientation, but I never made it cause there were a few things we still needed to get.
Ellen</p>

<p>[We met up again the day between preorientation and orientation, and did waayyy too much shopping]</p>

<p>Ellen brought up a great point, shopping. If you’re traveling by plane or don’t want to bring two cars :) it’s much easier and less hassle to buy many of the necessities and bedding locally than transporting them </p>

<p>The Friday after preorienation and before oriantation is a prefect time to shop. There’s a Costco not far away and a Wal-Mart near the college.</p>

<p>You can store anything you need to in the basement of your house for the summer and it’s perfectly safe</p>

<p>One of the advantages of attending one the preorientation programs is you get to do the check-in with no lines, receive your room key, and move (leave your things but not unpack) into your house early. There is something to be said for /beating the rush/
The students who stay on campus for leadership are all housed together.
Saturday is the only real day that parents are involved. Sunday you can have brunch with your daughter (gratis) but they really stress, and I do mean stress, they want you <em>gone</em> soon afterward. I know of more than a few parents that stay and take their daughter out to dinner Sunday night, however..............</p>

<p>D didn't due the pre-orientation due to the fact that none of the options appealed. However, there were lots of kind people who let her into her house...and the door to her room was unlocked so that we could spec some things out before heading off to the Malls. In general, the one just north of the Pike off I-91 kinda near Mount Holyoke seemed the best for us...the place with the Walmart out towards Amherst (kinda) seemed blah. (First and only time in my life I've poked my head in a WalMar...yeah, I'm one of <em>those</em>.)</p>

<p>SC, I'm sorry I didn't think of giving you D's cell phone number & e-mail earlier...just slow on the trigger. But if you're actually going to Smith, I'll give them to you. Or if you're not sure and want to talk to her while she's home. She'll be getting back to Smith on January 15th, I think.</p>

<p>Ellen, I agree about waaay too much shopping but it was necessary for us, too. Missed some of the orientation stuff.</p>

<p>SC, maybe my memory is scrambled, but I only remember one day of orientation. We were there the two days before...iirc, we got in to the Autumn Inn on Sunday night after traveling cross-country all day and then Wednesday was the day of the orientation program.</p>

<p>BTW it is not always Sat and Sunday. Orientation for 08s started on Thursday I believe.
Ellen</p>

<p>To mini's comment about female Fulbright winners from coed LACs:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1academicnews/002738.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1academicnews/002738.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>From the front page of Bowdoin's website.</p>

<p>(You do realize she's a faculty member, not a student. There is a separate category for faculty.) (Bowdoin students did receive 4 Fulbrights in 2004-2005, including two women, all for teaching English, not a single one for doing research.) </p>

<p>Of Smith's 14 Fulbrights, 8 are doing research. Of Swarthmore's 6 Fulbrights, 1 is to a woman (she is doing research). Amherst received two, one to a woman, both for teaching English. Reed had its best year ever, with 6 Fulbrights, four to women, with two of them doing research.</p>

<p>I am pretty sure she is also an alum, but if not, my mistake.</p>

<p>.[ BTW it is not always Sat and Sunday. Orientation for 08s started on Thursday I believe.] </p>

<p>Classes start on Thursday the 7th- so I would imagine orientation is over the weekend for the 10 studends</p>

<p>RLT, I'd have to dig out my itinerary or trip report, but I distinctly recall Orientation being a weekday affair.</p>

<p>And I recall there was a "check-in" process that may have gone 2-3 days but that Orientation per se was but a single day. </p>

<p>Are my synapses not synaping quite correctly?</p>

<p>[I distinctly recall Orientation being a weekday affair.]&lt;/p>

<p>Your memeory is fine :)</p>

<p>Orientation is over a few days. I’ve been referring to the president speech etc.</p>

<p>09 was a Sat (president, deans speech greeting, tea etc.) I’ve been speaking to the class of 10. I suppose I’m guessing, but I believe (speech, party etc.) will be on a Sat again next yr due do the when Labor day is and the way the schedule works.</p>

<p>so, Im pretty sure I am going to smith! I thought it over, and the only reason I WOULDNT go is because..im scared, which isnt a good reason.
I know smith is the right choice, and Im excited! I seem to get the same reaction from everyone when I tell them I might go to smith. everyone seems to very impressed, and everyone I talked to about it who knows someone there says they love it. I hope this is the case with me.</p>

<p>about houses...anyone have anything to say? Does anyone know anything about the elm st. houses? like gillett and northrop? I heard those are the vegetarian ones? but someone said theres a waiting list to get in there??</p>

<p>Good luck at Smith, Supercow. Post here when you're "official." </p>

<p>Several of the dining rooms have vegetarian offerings, I think, but only one is vegan to my knowledge, and that one has a waiting list.</p>

<p>From D: Gillette-Northrop has the vegan dining facility this semester but it has been moving around. "Nobody chooses House based on dining facility." There are vegetarian offerings in virtually every dining hall.</p>

<p>We were talking about Houses with other people last night. Cutter-Ziskind were built in the 1950's and are large but boring. But there are several other Houses on Elm Street. But you generally don't get to choose your House.</p>

<p>The two houses with the waiting lists are Tenney and Hopkins, the coops (Tenney is vegan; Hopkins is vegetarian.) Northrop-Gillette has vegan dining, but the house is not chosen on that basis. (My d. says the food there is good; though she eats at Lamont the most.) However, if you want the largest array of food choices, Elm is a really good area: veg/vegan at Northrup-Gillette; Kosher/Hallal at Cutter-Ziskind; Mediterranean at Lamont; Chase-Duckett has standard fare - all within 150 feet of each other. </p>

<p>Housing availability for spring transfers is mostly a matter of who went abroad that semester, and who came back.</p>

<p>soo...can you eat at any dining hall you want?</p>

<p>You tend to eat where it's convenient apropos of your schedule, where your friends are eating, etc. D tends to eat in her own House but as near as I can tell, some students eat in as many as six different dining halls in a given week.</p>

<p>I would imagine that is a great way to meet new friends. I remember TD saying something about the houses on Green Street being nice, and the houses in the quad being the party houses. Can someone be more precise about housing and options available to first year students? I believe when y D interviewed last week, they told her that she could pick her house. Is that true?</p>

<p>Yes it's true to an extent, you number the section of campus you'd like to live in 1-4 (one being first choice) and Randy Shannon and his housing people will try to put you where you want. Also, differences between green street and quad. Quad is considered the more "rowdy" "party" area...but take into account that it's "rowdy" for Smith College. Green street culture is just really subdued and more laid back while the quad is a little more social. So, if you are looking for a more typical college feel the quad is the way to go. But overnight to get the feel...but don't worry the quad kids dont have raves and massive amounts of drinking or anything, we just like to have a little fun once and a while.</p>

<p>WOW...you just made the heart of a dad of a potential first year student very happy. I did notice that there were far fewer, if any, alcohol bottles when we visited, in comparaion to other schools. Now let's talk a lirttle more about the housing. Names of some of the houses on green st. and capacities, and same for quad. There are others, correct? Where would they be?</p>

<p>Green St.: Hubbard, Washburn, Morris, Lawrence, Tyler.
I think most of these are in the 50-80 range. D wanted a house large enough to have social options, small enough to know most people...and she wrote that on her housing form. I think her house has something like 53.</p>

<p>Wait...I found that housing chart.</p>

<p>Houses (capacity) [Houses exclusively for Ada's, co-ops, restricted to non-first years, etc., excluded...most are fairly small]</p>

<p>Green St./Central Campus: Chapin (70) , Haven (54), Hubbard (53), Lawrence (67), Morris (68), Park (52), Park Annex (14), Tyler (69), Washburn (43), Wesley (17).</p>

<p>Quad: Comstock (81), Cushing (79), Emerson (87), Gardiner (83) Jordan (84), King (78), Morrow (84), Scales (74), Wilder (82), Wilson (102).</p>

<p>Upper Elm: Capen (73), Cutter (81), Lamont (83), Parsons (46), Parsons Annex (18), Talbot (50), Sessions (35), Sessions Annex (17), Ziskind (81).</p>

<p>Lower Elm: Albright (73), Baldwin (77), Chase (57), Dawes (18), Duckett (37), Gillett (80), Norhtrop (80).</p>

<p>Some of the Quad houses connect to each other, making for an even larger physical structure.</p>

<p>D would agree with Sara306 about the relative socialness of the Quad and Green St., only she would deny that Green St. was "subdued." I think this is one of those "tastes great!" "less filling!" arguments on campus.</p>

<p>Applicants are asked nine questions and allowed to indicate three as being very important:</p>

<ol>
<li> Smoke? yes/no</li>
<li> I go to bed: before 11pm, 11pm to 1am, after 1am, no preference</li>
<li> I expect to regularly receive phone calls: after 11pm y/n, before 8am y/n</li>
<li> How much privacy do you need? much/some/little</li>
<li> I prefer my room to be kept: neat/messy/no preference
(D wrote "Neat on a teen scale, messy on an adult scale)</li>
<li> I: do not play music while studying, do play music while studying, no preference</li>
<li> What type of music do you prefer: (select) Country/western, folk, rap, jazz, pop, alternative, hard rock, religious, ska, classical, world beat, show tunes, no preference
8: I would mind my roommate having: friends overnight y/n, a significant other overnight y/n</li>
<li> I would prefer a single room if available.</li>
</ol>

<p>Btw, while looking for the Housing chart, I found D's original STRIDE letter: it was dated March 19, the formal admissions notice was dated March 26.</p>