<p>It's still the shakedown period but there's some baseline on classes, EC's, House life, etc. What are the preliminary observations from the field?</p>
<p>Well, my daughter appears to be quite happy. She is in one of those new suites in Baldwin and she and all her suitemates/roommates are transfers. This seems to have made the transition fairly seamless. She loves her house and states that Baldwin was the perfect place for her. Since she was in a suite last year at her previous school, she really has something to compare it to and at Smith her living situation is so much better. </p>
<p>She is enjoying all of her classes. Seems to have gotten all her first choice classes, but she is taking intermediate level courses and they are all writing intensive. I hope that it doesn't turn out to be too much.</p>
<p>I'd say that the only problem she has even mentioned is the difficulty in getting a workstudy job. She is finding that she is unable to fit the jobs she wants within her class schedule. Of course she could easily do dining services, but she doesn't want to (deep breath here - as I did dining services all four years of college). </p>
<p>So far, so good!!!</p>
<p>Academically and extracurricularly, I'm really enjoying Smith. My classes are fabulous (my favorites being Western Classics and The Cultural History of the British Empire), and my professors seem really passionate about what they do. I pretty much leapt right in music-wise , and the offerings are wonderful: I'm going to Italy after Commencement with the Chamber Singers, am in College Chorus, taking private voice lessons, and (hopefully) singing with the Smiffenpoofs. Chapin is beautiful and centrally located, and I lucked out with a great roommate and a huge double with a view of the pond and the mountains in the distance. It feels so idyllically New England here, and I'm really loving it. Socially it's tough... I'm a city person, and adjusting to the relatively quiet campus and town is proving to be difficult. I thought I'd come and naturally find a group of friends, but it's turning out to be a little harder than that. I'm hoping that with the multitudes of EC's I've joined I'll find my niche... it'll come with time, I hope. Oh, and the food (especially in Gillett) is delicious : )</p>
<p>My D loves Smith and all it has to offer. Her classes and profs are great, and she starts her research next week. She has mixed reviews on the food, particularly the Asian house. She says the food tastes great, but then makes her sick afterwards. This has happened twice, so she's staying away from there. She came home for weekend and was anxious to get back. Good sign! She loves her house (Jordan), and wants to become a student academic advisor next year, as well as a gold key tour guide. Has made many friends in a short time; many upper classwomen (juniors and seniors). Her roommate is great and they get along wonderfully. Plans on taking ballet IV next semester. She will be doing swing dance this semester, and was thinking of trying out for crapapella (she can't sing a lick!) All in all, a great start!</p>
<p>BJM8,
i'll be applying to smith next fall and am always looking for more information about dance programs as im a student of a professional ballet school (not looking to be a dancer by profession though). what is the quality of the ballet classes? do you know how advanced they are and how often classes are held?
thank you!</p>
<p>Hey socks...I can only tell you what my D has said. (you really don't want to see me in tights.) ;) </p>
<p>She has danced for about ten years at a semi-professional dance company and is pretty good. She also has no plans to dance professionally, but loves the dance. She talked to a prof in the area and watched a few classes and will start with ballet IV. According to her, Ballet I-III really are more for beginners. She could have started with Ballet V but justs wants to ease herself back into it. Hasn't been en pointe in a few months now! She is thinking about dancing with the five-college dance program; they put on some really wonderful performances.</p>
<p>Socks, I'm going from memory and I'll ask D for more details the next time I talk to her but:</p>
<p>D took Ballet V/VI at Smith (she's on Away programs right now) and found them demanding enough though not as demanding as her pre-professional school which was very very good and has put several dozen alumni into pro companies. I remember that she found some of the combinations "odd" but one might run into that with any new instructor. She enjoyed a lot of the dancers in the program but was very annoyed by one clique who thought they were hot stuff. "Dad, I've danced with better."</p>
<p>i'll be applying to smith pretty soon (gulp). does anyone have any experience with the govt department, or know what gov majors go on to do? someone here told me the newest fellows at brookings were from smith, and i saw the article about the amazing person running for office while in college. so it seems that govt majors go on to do great things. i'm also really into debate, so if anyone can tell me what's it's like at smith I'd be really grateful.</p>
<p>Both International Relations and American Government is strong. After Smith, D is looking for a joint Masters in Public Policy with a Law degree. I foresee either Capitol Hill or think tanks like Brookings or RAND in her future.</p>
<p>your daughter's interests and mine match up pretty closely! i'd like to work at brookings or the carnegie endowment for international peace or something like that. would you mind telling me what rand stands for?</p>
<p>That's pretty cool that your D is looking into that...I'm thinking about a JD/MSFS after undergrad. How has her experience with the gov dept been? Is the workload more reading or more practical applications via problem sets, etc.? I'm currently taking an econ class that is more like the latter and I'm not sure if that's what I like.</p>
<p>All the first years I live with (I live on a doubles floor, so all but three of us are first-years) seem to be very happy. Very loud at times, but very happy. We also just finished big sib/little sib in my house, so they should be making better upperclasswomen friends now-ish.</p>
<p>TOM: my D gets her problem sets from Math & Econ classes. The Gov classes are lots of reading and some demanding papers but not too many of them. (Good new = not too many, bad news = large fraction of grade).</p>
<p>PF8: RAND = Research ANd Development, a major think tank here in Santa Monica. The do a lot of grant-funded public policy analyses. And employ some odd ducks. The sister of one of TheMom's best friends had a Ph.D. in pre-Dante Italian literature and spent some time at RAND translating & analyzing captured Red Brigades documents...but I'm dating myself.</p>
<p>thanks, thedad. i wish your daughter the best of luck and thank you so much for the personal experience and helpfulness you always bring to the board.</p>
<p>Coming to Smith has been one of the best, if not the best, decision I've ever made. Liberal arts colleges are smaller and specific to "types" of individuals--so they tend to be more hit or miss--but when that match is made--it opens such a wealth of phenomena. The women here are intelligent, kind, and open. You only need to see someone once for them to recognize you again and again--asking how you are and if you've read this book, etc. I've met so many different "combinations of people" here. Everyone seems to pursuing more than one interest simultaneously; there are very few people divided along math/science-humanities lines. I never thought of myself as an athlete in high school, but I joined the crew team here, and have formed some wonderful friendships with the girls on the team. I see at least one crewbie everywhere I go--at poetry readings, at Buddhist meditation classes, at habitat builds, at mealtimes. They are as likely to run four miles as they are to discuss Yeats with you (as I found out, firsthand). I saw a crewbie friend at a poetry reading once--and she exclaimed "you know...you never know what people are into when they aren't in their gym shorts." People here will make you think, make you talk, and change you. Go visit.</p>