<p>I'm a graduating senior who is trying to decide between Wellesley and Smith. I plan on being a Classics major, although I am also interested in art and theater. I also plan on studying Italian and studying abroad in Italy sometime during college. I was accepted into the Smith STRIDE program, which is certainly a strong selling point. However, I would love to hear from any current or past alumna from either college to help me decide which school has the most to offer me. </p>
<p>How do the schools differ, both academically and socially? How would you describe the typical student at each school? One of my friends described Smith as the '70s and Wellesley as the '80s- do you think this is accurate? </p>
<p>I'll let current students or alums comment on the schools. One thing you should know is that Smith's Study Abroad Program in Florence is (at least on paper) a lot more rigorous than Wellesley's. Smith's requires a minimum of four semesters of college Italian (plus a prep course) to be allowed to even apply; Wellesley's requires two. What this means is that Smith students generally speaking (of course there will be Wellesley students who do have four semesters) will be better equipped to deal with living, studying, writing, and speaking once they arrive. (All classes in Smith's program are conducted in Italian, and all papers written in Italian - I don't know if that is true at Wellesley's). Another difference is that in the Wellesley program, you will be housed with other American students, or in university residences where they "try to ensure there is at least one Italian student residing." In the Smith program, you will live with a family - in my d's case, they spoke no English, so she was required to use her "household Italian" really quickly.</p>
<p>My d. is a dual music/Italian studies major and has just received a prestigious fellowship to continue graduate study in both, and is fluent.</p>
<p>Though for classics majors there is a special study abroad program in classical archaeology in Rome which does not require the same kind of language standards as the florence program. If you are thinking of classics major, that is probably the one you should consider.</p>
<p>From your high school, do you like the girls that went to Wellesley before you or the girls that went to Smith before you?<br>
In my case, I detest the girl that went to Wellesley so between W and S, it's S for me.</p>
<p>I think that the old stereotypes about the "70's" (hippie?) and "80's" (Wall Street?) are not true at all. Smith has the advantage of Northampton, and Wellesley has the advantage of a gorgeous campus that's a bit more secluded.</p>
<p>Sarahhs, I've never taken a class at Wellesley but my guess is that the schools are about the same academically. Smith is certainly quite challenging!</p>
<p>I am in the exact same situation as maggie_magpie! The STRIDE program at Smith is definitely alluring and I love the idea of an open curriculum as opposed to Wellesley's distribution requirements. However, Wellesley does have a stronger reputation and I love Boston. I can't decide!</p>
<p>Wellesley over sells the proximity to Boston. There's a 90-minute round-trip time penalty to take the shuttle bus in...if you're really serious about academics and you're involved in EC's at all, you don't have the time to go into Boston all that often. Whereas the town of Northampton absolutely kills the town of Wellesley.</p>
<p>I wouldn't concede anything about Smith academics vs. Wellesley. </p>
<p>As for Classics, one of D's best friends is a classics major and spent her junior year abroad split: Rome and Oxford. She was in heaven.</p>
<p>One of the biggest problems about Smith is that they shovel more opportunities in your direction than you can possibly take advantage of.</p>
<p>I'm a sophomore at Wellesley. I'm guessing you've made your decision already, but I thought I'd weigh in.</p>
<p>I visited Smith and I thought it was adorable and considered going after I was accepted. However, I felt Wellesley had a reputation for graduating women who really grabbed the world by the horns and succeeded in the highest of stereotypically make positions (i.e. Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Diane Sawyer). Of course I love Gloria Steinem and Sylvia Plath. Smith has a reputation for people who are more free-spirited artistic types, and I really love politics and wanted a school with a really great political science program. </p>
<p>The saying I've heard is that Smithies are likely to become the head of UNICEF whereas Wellesley women are likely to become the CEO of Goldman Sachs. That's not to say that Wellesley doesn't have artistic, creative people, we do. We also have a very strong Classics department with famous scholars. The classics majors I know are basically drinking buddies with the classics professors.</p>
<p>As far as the proximity to Boston, it's not as close as I thought it would be, but it's a lot closer to Boston than Northampton. By car, you can be in Boston in 15-20 minutes and by commuter rail in 30 minutes. We have a free bus that goes into Boston and Cambridge every single hour (until 3 am), seven days a week for people who wish to take classes at MIT or hang out on weekends. The proximity to Boston means that students at Wellesley can get jobs and internships in Boston and meet students from the dozens of universities (MIT, BU, Harvard) in the area. The closeness to Boston means that you can hop on the $15 bus to NYC or a train to Providence whenever you want. The town of Wellesley is definitely full of suburban rich people, but there are cute shops and restaurants. As a girl from New York City who doesn't have a drivers license and needs easy access to an urban environment, Wellesley was a no brainer.</p>
<p>P.S. The distribution requirements suck a little bit, but there really are no more than at most liberal arts schools.</p>
<p>Well, while I think this discussion is kind of pointless, I would point out that Smith DOES have an excellent political science program, with a strong reputation in graduating women who do extremely well in politics. </p>
<p>And we are also just as likely as Wellesley girls to become CEOs. You'll note that the CEO of Ogilvy and Mather is a Smith alum, and Ogilvy and Mather is the world's largest advertising firm. </p>
<p>Of course, our reputation for writers and intellectuals is quite strong, but we're also the only women's college to offer a bachelor's degree in engineering. </p>
<p>See, it's comments like that that make me know that this conversation is pointless. </p>
<p>Listen, if you want to ask about Wellesley, post on the Wellesley board. If you want to know about Smith, post on the Smith board, but don't think that the students, parents, or alums of either school are experts on the other. </p>
<p>And it's a little irksome when they pretend to be so.</p>
<p>Pick one or more of the following:
1- Read the Smith home page
2- Read about famous Smith Alumnae
3- Read Smithieand proud's posts and others
4-Do an overnight and make up your own mind</p>
<p>We are doing all of the above except for spending the night. Reading marketing brochures etc are great but are meant to sell. I am looking for the real Smith.</p>
<p>Smith women are intelligent and confident as well. Our catchphrase is "heady, nervy, and intellectually exciting" or something like that, but really, you're not going to get the real Smith until you visit.</p>