Someone wanna defend Smith?

<p>I'm really perplexed how it is Smith has the reputation it does, as being in the top-20 LACs. My best guess is that it is because Smith was historically a top college for women, but since now colleges are coed that's irrelevant and the best students tend to go to the best coed schools. I guess Smith still has deep pockets... </p>

<p>I mean, there are also things I love about Smith. So please don't think I am bashing Smith for the sake of bashing Smith, without real, genuine concerns. But Smith is barely harder to get into than Dickinson or the University of IL. So HOW does Smith have this reputation for being in the top-20? I feel like it should just have the reputation of a college like Dickinson, except richer. That would make more sense to me based on my experiences there. Even my friends, who are not as good students as me and very sweet people, will say there are a lot of idiots at Smith. Like less than one-half of the student pop usually does readings. I feel like those people wouldn't be able to hold an above-average job in the real world. Maybe my expectations are what are off-base. But I have this idea that almost all students at a top-20 LAC should be above the average student at a state U.</p>

<p>This dog don't hunt! Nice try!</p>

<p>How did you come to the conclusion that less than half of the student body does the readings? I think that's a really presumptuous assertion to make especially without any supporting information. There are students that don't do readings at every college, including Harvard, but that doesn't make them any less "prestigious." There are also "idiots" (I use this word with a grain of salt...there have been numerous times in the past when I've thought someone was an idiot and it turned out he or she was a fantastic athlete/musician/artist/whatever) at every school, but that's life. </p>

<p>Selectivity also doesn't really matter. I'm a reasonably intelligent person but with my stats, I'm really glad that there are good colleges that will consider me, even if I don't have a super duper high SAT score or whatnot.</p>

<p>Alright...I'm hunting. By Elizabeth22:</p>

<p>{Honestly, I'm just blown away by the arrogance of calling a school as good as Smith "not academically challenging" when one's GPA is far from perfect. Take a fifth class, take advanced classes outside your major, pick up Chinese, go pre-med, self-study ancient Greek- there are any number of things you can do to create an academically challenging environment for yourself. You're at a great school with dedicated professors and intelligent classmates- instead of feeling above it all, try appreciating it.}</p>

<p>Says what I'm thinking alright! Ecape, you seem to have some maturity issues going on. If you're not happy at Smith, if it is beneath you, if you are better than Smith...GET OUT OF SMITH!! For God's sake, if you're surrounded by idiots, and bad profs, and non-readers...leave! </p>

<p>Smith is where it is in the standings because it deserves to be there. A great women's school for bright, young women who belong there. Obviously, they made a mistake by accepting you! If your h.s. GPA wasn't that good, or your SAT's weren't that good, then you' should feel lucky Smith took you. I guess Chicago wasn't that challenging either, heh?</p>

<p>Are you serious? Smith has the reputation it deserve. Maybe it's not the most famous, but it's an excellent school, though the acceptance rate is quite high (57% from Collegeboard.com)</p>

<p>{57% from Collegeboard.com)}</p>

<p>That was an aberration and is for the class of 08. The admission rate last year (class of 09) was 47% --
CollegeBoard and USNews are a year behind in the stats. </p>

<p>Lest anyone believe Smith is easy to be admitted to, think again. :)</p>

<p>Smith is similar to the UChicago (admit rate 46%) in that they have a self-selecting application pool.</p>

<p>Could "escape" be a CC troll ... or could she possibly be for real? I think she's exists merely to torment loyal students and alumni of several elite LACs. At this point, better to ignore than get all riled up ...</p>

<p>{Could "escape" be a CC troll }</p>

<p>Maybe a spurned Amherst guy. No offense intended toward Amherst :)</p>

<p>I’ve been reading his/her posts for months. They’re an amusing diversion.</p>

<p>I didn't pay full tuition anywhere and drop out. It's really p****** me off that people who don't know me are misrepresenting my situation, and then turning around and hijacking my posts.</p>

<p>So stop plz, those of you who didn't address the topic of the post. I don't think it reflects that greatly on YOU.</p>

<p>This post is not about me, it is about Smith. It is not about saying you can't find a way to challenge yourself at Smith (for me it would be taking 20+ credits and making 3.7+ GPA). It is CERTAINLY not saying I am the smartest person at Smith (I am top 5-10% academically). It is asking whether Smith deserves the reputation it has in comparison to schools like Dickinson (which is ranked way below, but is similar for acceptance), and schools like Grinnell (which is significantly harder to get into, but ranked similarly).</p>

<p>Why do I say more than half of Smith students don't do readings? Because I have informally polled many of my good Smith friends and ALL of them say that it has been true for their classes.</p>

<p>So back to the people harassing me for bringing up this question: my personal life really has nothing to do with the topic of this post. And if it does, then unless YOU're a 4.0 student and have never changed your mind about what you wanted to do with your life, you've got no business posting either. And to the person who brought up counseling, I HAVE talked to counselors and they did not think anything was terribly wrong with my decision-making, or my ability to self-analyze. I also don't know how the fact I was only accepted to my safety school out of high school works to discredit my commentary on that school. I ENJOY Smith, I only question how well the academics prepare students for postgraduate study and the real world. I'm not one of those people who are offended by a debate. To the contrary, I think something could be learned from exploring this issue, as I know a number of my friends with very different academic interests and levels of proficiency have questioned whether Smith deserves its reputation.</p>

<p>What is it exactly that you want somebody to say? That Smith has double the number of Fulbrights, all screened by graduate school faculty, and triple the number of research Fulbrights as UChicago? More per capita than Harvard, Yale, and Princeton? More than all the females at Williams, Swarthmore, Amherst, Pomona combined? And they did it without doing the readings because they're all so smart?</p>

<p>I don't think there's anything to defend, but since you've already experienced Smith and the University of Chicago, I urge you sincerely to go to UICU for something a bit more challenging. Counseling might be a wise investment.</p>

<p>Why do I say more than half of Smith students don't do readings?}</p>

<p>On the Wellesley thread you said it was ¾ who don’t their homework--reading
You keep changing your facts.
You honestly want anyone to believe ¾ of the students don’t do their homework but manage to graduate from Smith? Plus the fact 85-90% of applicants are accepted to med school. Smith had the largest number of Fulbrights. How does that correlate with a lazy student body?</p>

<p>{I also don't know how the fact I was only accepted to my safety school out of high school works to discredit my commentary on that school}</p>

<p>If Smith was the only top 20 LAC you were accepted to it doesn’t make it your safety, it makes Smith a match, or even a reach for all we know.
If you weren’t accepted to numerous other colleges have ever asked yourself the question ---why?</p>

<p>{I ENJOY Smith, I only question how well the academics prepare students for postgraduate study and the real world.}</p>

<p>85-90% admit rate to med school. Good nuf for ya?</p>

<p>{as I know a number of my friends with very different academic interests and levels of proficiency have questioned whether Smith deserves its reputation.}</p>

<p>A number of Harvard students and alums have made the same point about their college.
The Boston Globe wrote an article regarding that fact.
There are always those that are never pleased.</p>

<p>{It is CERTAINLY not saying I am the smartest person at Smith (I am top 5-10% academically).}</p>

<p>How do you know that? Smith doesn't release ranks. And a 3.7 in what courses? </p>

<p>From Wellesley board
{Because I suppose that's one of my major frustrations with Smith, is that in all my classes maybe 1/4 of the class actually participates in-class regularly and does all the homework, so it slows down the pace of the class}
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=135386%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=135386&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Mini: Once again, for the umpteenth time, Fulbright reflects quirkiness and creativity, not rigor -the Fulbright people say so themselves.</p>

<p>To theroadlesstraveled:
I said MORE THAN half don't do most of the readings. On the Wellesley board I said 3/4. I'd guess between 1/2-3/4, okay? 3/4 IS more than 1/2.</p>

<p>Actually, I got a 3.6 in 5 courses: they were Advanced Gen Chem (for which I didn't have all the prereqs, but talked my way into), Intro to Swahili, French 220, Intro to Gov with intensive writing option, and a 200-level Gov class. Second semester I was terribly sick with mono, so I wasn't really able to study for about a month and my GPA dropped, although I felt I would have done similarly in classes (200-level Bio, Intro Stat, Orgo Chem I, Swahili II) had I not been sick. I'd like to try 300-level courses, but normally you can't until junior year. I wish Smith had honors classes, b/c my classmates in my one "honors" type course, Adv Chem, seemed in general much more dedicated students.
5-10% was just sort of guestimation from my experience in my classes, which curiously aligns pretty much with where my SAT score would fall in the Smith student body. I'll admit I am much better at the liberal arts than at math and sciences.</p>

<p>I know UChi is tougher than Smith. Like WAY tougher. Like I very strongly suspected my 21 hours with 3.6 GPA at Smith would translate into 3.2-3.3 with regular courseload at UChi. I think what I wanted was a nice medium between two schools like that, where I could work around 40 hours a week to make a 3.5 in a regular courseload. Maybe that was being too picky of me. Mainly, after learning a lot about how much schools can differ, I'd just prefer a LAC that offers strong environmental studies. </p>

<p>I did not know the med school statistic for Smith. That is interesting. It still doesn't tell us anything about what med schools they're going to, or how Smith grads do at competitive grad programs.</p>

<p>I'll repeat again: I know Smith is a good school compared to colleges at large, I'm just trying to objectively evaluate it.</p>

<p>Also, I say Smith was my safety out of high school because my academic counselor said so. Students have safeties, because students sometimes get rejected from schools other than their safety. If I'd attended my home high school instead of my charter high school, I would have easily been top-2% in class-rank, on top of good SATs. Neither here nor there though, really. I did a ****-poor job putting together college applications in high school, if I may say so. The fact I got into such competitive schools as a sophomore transfer, even though I didn't actually transfer, shows that a more competitive school would not be out-of-reach for me. I'll also repeat that what I'm now mainly looking for is a good LAC that is especially strong in environmental studies, because I've realized realistically I think that's where I'll do best, and I do not think anyone needs to take offense at that.</p>

<p>{I know Smith is a good school compared to colleges at large, I'm just trying to objectively evaluate it.}</p>

<p>There’s your problem, you’re trying to evaluate a college when there are so many variables depending on your major, professors, which grad school you’re applying to etc., etc.
You know as well as I, Smith alumnae are admitted to the top grad schools each year.
If you’re going to go through the rest of your college career at Smith expecting /Smith/ or any college on name alone to give you a privilege to a top grad school, you’re mistaken. I have a friend who was accepted to Wharton from a 3rd tier U. </p>

<p>{I'd just prefer a LAC that offers strong environmental studies.}</p>

<p>Then find one and transfer. I don’t know where to tell you to go. Smith is too easy. UChicago is too hard. I suspect no college will be just right You're not doing yourself or anyone around you any favors by staying at Smith. It’s time to leave Smith ecape. Be woman enough to do so.</p>

<p>haha... yes, actually my plan is to do sophomore year at Smith, enjoying my friends and community activities immensely and trying to further up my GPA, and then to apply to transfer to appropriate schools. That is why I am on this site asking about Wellesley, Bowdoin, etc. I hope this means we've reached a peace of sorts.</p>

<p>If I'd attended my home high school instead of my charter high school, I would have easily been top-2% }</p>

<p>So what are you saying; because you went to high school with many other bright students your class rank wasn’t great because you had to compete with other intelligent students?</p>

<p>{The fact I got into such competitive schools as a sophomore transfer}</p>

<p>You weren’t asking for aid either I bet. That certainly helps a great deal with getting admitted :)
And we only have your word you were admitted to Swath or UChicago. I'm still trying to figure out how you went to UC for two months but your parents didn't loose a dime.</p>

<p>{up my GPA, and then to apply to transfer to appropriate schools.}</p>

<p>But Smith is easy. You should have a 4.0 this year, correct? </p>

<p>{That is why I am on this site asking about Wellesley, Bowdoin, etc&lt;/p>

<p>Then why do you keep making posts on the Smith board questioning the college and spewing your discontent on other boards if all you want to do is transfer? You have more of an agenda than simply looking to transfer. You’ve been at this for months.</p>

<p>UChicago and Swarthmore are both need-blind in transfer admissions. Eat it. And the reason I need to up my GPA is because of that horrible semester with mono. And I expect to be able to make 3.7+ in my second year with a heavy courseload. 4.0 would be lovely of course, but only like 5 people/class year do that, and I'm not claiming to be in the top-5. Finally, I realize that the post on the Smith thread was an unnecessary post. I apologize if it was offensive; I was really just curious to debate Smith's position among elite colleges, not to offend anyone or to debate my personal situation. I believe correctly identifying Smith's position could even help other students, because I myself was very surprised at how different UChicago and Smith turned out to be. I'd expected some difference of course, but not to that extent, and I wish I had better-known my place among elite college students at large before I started thinking about transferring.</p>

<p>{I know you withdrew your post}}</p>

<p>What post? I didn't withdraw a post</p>

<p>{UChicago and Swarthmore are both need blind in transfer admissions}</p>

<p>LOL-- no they aren’t. They would like you to believe that however. So, you didn’t ask for aid?</p>

<p>They say on their websites they are need blind -and I know students accepted to those schools who had need -what is your proof/reason for believing that they are not need-blind in transfer admissions? Now I just think you're blowing hot-air out your butt. No I did not ask for aid, to answer your question. I was very active in the Smith community, had solid grades, good test scores, recommendations, and I write very well, so I think that's why I was a strong candidate. I thought you withdrew your post b/c when I clicked on the link in my e-mail I didn't see your post. I refreshed and now I do though.</p>