<p>Prerequisites: I will have no romantic social life at either school, due to my non-partying inclinations and the composition of the student body. This is a negative, but a negative in both columns so it balances out. Academically, both have open curriculums; Smith has distribution requirements for Latin honors, but no lab requirement so I'm fine with it. Fields of interest include English, creative writing, computer science, linguistics, and French. Pretty much equal for both schools, with slight edge to Smith for ling (a strong department at UMass, but I hate commuting; OTOH, Vassar linguistics is essentially nonexistent). Both schools are also on the large size for LACs. I visited Vassar and found it gorgeous, very artsy (plus or minus, haven't decided yet); let's assume that I won't be able to visit Smith, since the last time I was in New England my mother vetoed the suggestion. Parents think my personality--see above about non-partying--is not "suited" to a women's college.</p>
<p>Inquiry: Significant difference in students, atmosphere? I really have no opinion on the women's college thing except for the social factor, which is balanced in this case.</p>