<p>My d wants to go to college in Boston. I don't think there is a school that fits her well there--she's an activist, high achiever, etc., very unconventional. We visited Smith over the summer and she liked it but..it's not in Boston and would prefer a co-ed school, but is still planning on applying to Smith. She liked the 5- college consortium because she really likes some of the courses listed for Hampshire, but is leery of their loosey-goosey structure. She's interested in cognitive science, psych, sociology and gender studies. There really isn't any school that fits this bill in Boston (believe it or not!). She really likes the co-op program at Northeastern but is concerned that NU is too conventional. Advice please! How can I sell Smith to D? It's a kind of age-old question--LAC vs a practical school (NU) that will prepare her for a profession.</p>
<p>I think you have to let Smith sell itself to your D. Graduating from Smith can be just as “practical” as graduating from NU and my own snotty perspective is that you’ll have a much broader education if you do so. </p>
<p>My own take is that cognitive science/psych are stronger for job prospect than sociology/gender studies…nothing wrong with classes in the latter but major? Mmm. </p>
<p>But regardless of major I would do my best to do research projects (theses) that demonstrate the ability to sustain a high level of writing and to throw some solid quantitative courses in with that.
The more pitches you can hit, the better you fit in someone’s batting order. Whups…it’s not baseball season anymore, is it?</p>
<p>I’ll give you a little push. My daughter majored in neuroscience and was offered admission to PhD programs right out of Smith. She is a first year graduate student in a neuroscience program and also is enrolled in a special certification program in cognitive science. (Note: although she studies cognitive neuroscience, she is coming from more from the hard sciences and less from psychology, although obviously she had to take courses in psychology for her major.) My daughter loved her professors. She loved, loved, loved Smith. </p>
<p>Tell your daughter this if she already loves Smith but wishes it were in Boston: for graduate school, research, and/or jobs after Smith, she could easily end up in Boston. Smith will prepare her for a wide range of opportunities that a less rigorous college might not. This is not just about four years, but about her life.</p>
<p>I’m not really seeing what the problem is, to be honest. She liked Smith enough to agree to apply, right? So for now she has to focus on nothing but finishing applications, and once she hears back from everywhere and you can see the big picture, including financial aid if it’s relevant to you, you can just push her a little to revisit Smith and stay overnight.</p>
<p>From personal experience, I would say that you really can’t sell a college to anyone, not even someone you know as well as you know your own child. I saw choosing my college as my own decision, and when I noticed my parents pushing me towards schools I began to resist those schools. If Smith is as right for her as you believe, all it’ll take is another visit and talking to some current students for her to realize that.</p>
<p>Well, I agree with TD, going to an LAC is by no means impractical. And going to Smith will certainly help a lot in preparing her for a career. </p>
<p>A good question to ask her might be “Why Boston?” Is it the allure of a big city or the proximity to specific points of interest? If she really wants an urban setting, then there might not be a lot you can do to dissuade her. But maybe she has some reasons that can also be found at Smith or a similar school. My mom convinced me not to go to school in New York, though I was dead set on it. Smith ended up having everything I wanted, minus the noise/traffic/hectic distractions of NYC. I’m glad I listened to her, because as fun and exciting as New York was, living my life at that tempo would have definitely gotten wearing after a while, and made it really hard to focus on school and friends and general relaxation. </p>
<p>You can remind her that she can always spend summers and breaks in Boston (like Thanksgiving break or Fall break or Spring break), it’s just a short bus ride from Northampton. She can intern there and a lot of people move there after graduation. Northampton has a lot going for it. It’s small, certainly, but being a city girl myself with zero interest in rural life, I thought that Noho was basically like a cool hip city neighborhood that’s been transplanted to the Berkshires. </p>
<p>Also, I find that city schools often lack the close-knit campus feel that I wanted in a college. With so many other things to do and see, students usually don’t spend as much time on campus connecting with each other. This I think was for me a major reason why I decided to not go to NYC. I wanted a campus where people considered the school to be “home” and they spent a lot of time there or in the nearby area even when they weren’t in class.</p>
<p>Great advice all! Thanks so much. The bottom line is that D is planning on applying to a variety of schools (8-9). She doesn’t have a favorite (the only favorite is city of Boston), and I told her that whichever one gives her the most aid will help make the decision. She has good stats and her father just lost his job (which she doesn’t know about yet).</p>
<p>Another option could be Wheaton College in Norton, MA. May have a few hipsters there! and they offer very good merit aid. Not sure about their cognitive science, psych, sociology and gender studies programs…another thougth would be Brown. Providence is a great town and she will find many like minded students there. Not sure why she is so stuck on Boston but that is a different story! Good luck!</p>
<p>Btw, my D was definite about going to college “in a city.” Columbia was her #1 on paper. (After visiting, didn’t even apply, though she did apply to Barnard.) One of her two questions to explore about Smith was, “Is Northampton big enough?” </p>
<p>The result was that it may be a town of only 30,000 people, but it’s got music, art, theater, restaurants, etc., with a hip vibe. Other towns of 30,000 might be bucolic, Northampton isn’t.</p>
<p>Boston is still there for the occasional weekend trip, it’s only 2 hours or a little longer, speed on the Pike permitting. Time pressure of studies will be more of a limiting factor than geographic distance.</p>
<p>We are actually going to visit Brown soon. RE: Wheaton-- someone told me about it and her guidance counselor said it was “a very conservative college” but I know of some not-so-conservative kids going there. I think it is in a very rural setting. Will have her look into it.</p>
<p>I will second that Northampton feels a lot bigger than it is. I’m from New York City, and I don’t feel that there are too few pizza places/concerts/stores/whatever else a college student might want. Plus, it feels a lot safer than most big cities. This weekend I was wandering around town at 2-3 AM in a group of about 5 girls and we didn’t feel unsafe and no sketchy guys tried to approach us, which was really nice.</p>
<p>The guidance counselor may have confused Wheaton (Illinois, very conservative) with Wheaton (Massachusetts).</p>
<p>Yes, true. Wheaton is not at all conservative…give it a look!</p>
<p>But Wheaton will feel very rural compared even to Smith. I get the Boston issue - it is almost all Universities and I would say that Smith will be more challenging for an undergrad then North Eastern. BU might be more of a challenge - any Univ in Boston is going to have a wide range of personalities though - she would find her group. Best LAC in Boston area is probably Boston College but that will be much more conservative. My D went to Smith despite it being a womens college - she still misses having more guys in classes but she really loves her house, and has made great friends and probably has the biggest social group she has had in school Next Semester she is planning on taking a class at UMass which will mix things up. She took a J-term class at Amherst that had more men than women so there are a lot of chances to mix things up and there are always people going to Boston over the break- believe it or not Boston can seem small too depending on where you are from and with the amount of free time she has in actuality she can barely take advantage of all Northampton has to offer.
My advice is if she gets in have her do an overnight to get a better feel of the shcool before she decides.</p>
<p>D did two over nights, one junior year and one senior year after acceptance and they helped make and seal the deal respectively. Dad was sold early but then again it wasn’t going to be four years of Dad’s life.</p>
<p>“Dad was sold early but then again it wasn’t going to be four years of Dad’s life.”</p>
<p>TheDad–lol my husband and I visited Smith without D on a second trip (for me) and he really liked it for D also. Another issue—D is g and I am concerned she will get caught up in a gay “ghetto” at Smith (even though I like the school and think she will get a superior education there). As I said before, even D would prefer a co-ed school.</p>
<p>I’ve visited about 50 schools at this point and Smith would probably be in my top 5 list among the 50 … loved the campus vibe and the collegetown! This would be especially true for a hipster. Not sure which of the schools in Boston would be the best fit for a hipster … I’m actually tempted to say MIT.</p>
<p>I don’t know where this gay ghetto exists, but it doesn’t exist at Smith (or at least that was not the case for my gay friends). Gay students at Smith come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and persuasions and they hardly live a sectioned off life.</p>
<p>Definitely not a “gay ghetto” at Smith or in NoHo. I think I really get it re gays at Smith: it’s a place they can be out and comfortable without looking over their shoulders or watching their words, etc. In that sense, Smith is like integration in all the best senses, so thoroughly blended that it’s not cause for comment, though it may be a kick in the head when you first experience it and then another kick in the head when you leave, the latter being something that I’ve heard words to the effect of several times.</p>
<p>====</p>
<p>Slightly on-topic joke: the traveling salesman from Wyoming walks into the gay bar, looks around, and says, “Holy !@#$, I’m in the wrong joke!”</p>
<p>Hmm I’m not sure I would call MIT hipster… My D is straight and has a very integrated group of straight and gay friends at Smith. If anything I think the divide often comes between in friends who are in couples and friends who aren’t gay or straight and has more to do with accessability and that was true in my college days as well - if I can remember back that far</p>
<p>Wellesley might be a better choice if it’s location she’s looking for. I thought it was a tad stuck up, but it’s like 12 miles away from Boston. </p>
<p>What do you mean by “gay ghetto”?</p>