<p>Well, D has been home on Spring break and one might imagine, talking about Smith happens a lot.</p>
<p>A word that comes up a lot is "intense," whether applied to academics, EC's, or the social scene. In academics, it manifests as a drive that the vast majority of students seem to have, an intellectual atmosphere that I find satisfying to behold. In EC's, it manifests in commitment and not being satisfied with "good enough." In relationships...well, as D said, "just because it's a womens college doesn't mean there's not a lot of relationship drama." And apparently the lesbian/bi women yield nothing to their straight sisters in that regard.</p>
<p>A second applicable word that I've seen come up in some discussions is "quirky." D used it to describe her friends (and herself) and she's very very happy with the group of friends she's made at Smith. Watching her grow--I've had some "eek!" moments as I realize that she has a few short months left of being a teen--I would say that after nearly two years at Smith she is now like herself but more so.</p>
<p>D says that the intensity of the Smith is one reason that so many students take advantage of the various junior year off-campus programs...they provide a bit of a break. Which is not to say that the JYA programs aren't rigorous--I hear that Paris, in particular, is very demanding--but that it's <em>different</em>.</p>
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A word that comes up a lot is "intense," whether applied to academics, EC's, or the social scene. In academics, it manifests as a drive that the vast majority of students seem to have, an intellectual atmosphere that I find satisfying to behold. In EC's, it manifests in commitment and not being satisfied with "good enough.
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TD, granted, you have lots more experiences with Smith then we do, but that "intensity" is exactly what our D found when visiting. That is one of the reasons that she wanted to apply ED. Our D is rather laid back on the outside, but intellectually, she wants a challenge. She saw that in herself, and decided Smith was a good fit. Same as your D with ballet and dance. Our D had no intentions of giving up something she loved just because of attending college. Her commitment to many hours per week doing just that is a tribute to her work ethic and desire to succeed. She even talking about joing "crapapella" (our D can't sing to save her life) but wants to do it for the fun and the opportunity to make friends. <em>LOL</em> You should hear her sing, it really is quite bad!</p>
<p>Enough said. I can describe all of my Smith friends with that. That's why I still look up to them so much. My roommate here said that I'm one of the most "intense"/"driven" people she's ever met and it drives her nuts! LOL but I enjoy that feeling :) That's why I loved the academic side of Smith.</p>