<p>I'm trying to decide berween Smith and Barnard. I lean towards BArnard because I'm a city girl but I'm concerned about the difference in their endowments. Is Barnard "poor". How does this affect one's experience going there?</p>
<p>I don't know that the differential in endowments would be enough to swing me one way or the other.</p>
<p>My D was a city kid (Los Angeles) and one of her major concerns was whether Northampton was big enough. By virtue of art, music, restaurants, shops, book stores, etc., NoHo has been more than sufficiently big enough, and hip enough, a sense she got while visiting.</p>
<p>A couple of pro-Smith points to consider: Smith is much more of a community; Barnard empties out into NYC.</p>
<p>The Barnard campus itself is almost claustrophobically small; Smith, while fairly compact, is gorgeous.</p>
<p>Barnard partisans may try to dispute it but in comparison the Barnard dorms are the pits.</p>
<p>There will probably be many times in your life when NYC is an option; NoHo is a great college experience.</p>
<p>Note: Barnard was D's #3 choice after Smith & Wellesley.</p>
<p>Smith's "Abroad" programs are institutionalized and terrific...this is one place that the endowment may make itself felt. <em>Every</em> Smith student is provided with $2,000 for use in an internship. </p>
<p>Finally, I really like the academic "spark" I get from the Smith community; I didn't pick up on the same when visiting Barnard.</p>
<p>You can get arguments the other way on the Barnard forum, I'm sure.</p>
<p>I visited both and have friends at Barnard and Columbia... TheDad is right in that Barnard is very claustrophobic. When I visited, I couldn't shake the sense that Barnard was second-fiddle to Columbia. Even the campus feels like an afterthought. After returning from prefosh weekend at Columbia (ED), my friend said how Barnard-bashing across the street is rampant. Don't get me wrong, Barnard is an amazing school... the people I know there are as intelligent and passionate as at any top LAC. But a big benefit I saw of Smith is that it's its own institution and it feels that way. You can't go wrong either way... hopefully I'll see you at Smith this fall : )</p>
<p>Congrats ladylazarus! (It always seemed to me to be the obvious choice.)</p>
<p>lazerus, are you in high school?</p>
<p>LL, you committed to Smith?</p>
<p>Yes I did : ) After being at Open Campus, it was pretty obvious to me that this was the right place all along.</p>
<p>Yahooo!!!!! Congratulations, LL. You worked hard. I was hoping that you wind up at Smith all along.</p>
<p>Hey, Supercow...how's it going?</p>
<p>LL, congratulations! Welcome to Smith! Of course, we on this thread are a little biased, but we really believe you made the right choice.</p>
<p>LL, I had the exact same decision to make! I'm a city girl, and I was torn between a NYC college experience that I had dreamed about and the New England college that just felt right. I eventually decided to go with Smith because I realized that if I was in NY I would be way too distracted by the city and besides that, when I came to visit Smith, it felt pretty clear that this was the right place for me. I went to visit NYC for Thanksgiving and stayed wiht some high school buds at NYU, and had lots of fun, but I was happy to get home to Smith. I'm glad that you're coming here and I'm fairly certain you won't regret it. Northampton, after all, is like the coolest neighborhood in a big city, shrunk down to town size. You'll be plenty busy. If you ever want to talk about the transition from city to town, IM me: americanmutt16</p>