<p>Just wanted to see someone post on this site... the applicaton is submitted and now the wait begins. Not too sure why St. Mary's gets overlooked. Everyone I have talked to says it is a great school and it also has access to ND. Smaller classes, more personal attention, good core curriculum. Hope to get some good news soon.</p>
<p>Agree. But many people don’t see it that way.</p>
<p>Good luck to you, I hope you get in, and hear soon!!!</p>
<p>I am a SMC alum, and loved, loved, loved it there. such a great school!!! Think it gets overlooked for 2 reasons - it is pretty small, and it is all women. a lot of gals won’t even consider that small of a school, and/or one that is all women. Even my own daughters would not consider Saint Mary’s…sad, but true. But, then again, we live in California, and my girls do not want to leave our wonderful weather, so that was another huge factor.</p>
<p>but to me, SMC is the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!!! all the benefits of a small school (nurturing, engaging, intimate, know your profs and classmates) and all the benefits of an all women’s school (make great friendships, don’t worry about guys in classes and looking grungey or saying the wrong thing - it is very liberating, and empowering not having them interfere!!!) but you have a major university right there…so it is not like being at a small school. I went to the cafeteria for dinner at ND, studied in the library over there, went to mass in our friends’ dorms at ND, went to dances over there, all your social life is over there, and of course went to every football and basketball game. Then, was able to head back to my wonderful “retreat” and cozy life at Saint Mary’s. So, it really doesn’t feel small or all female, at all!!!</p>
<p>Our family loved Saint Mary’s!!! Two recent SMC grads in our house and it was truly four wonderful years for each daughter.</p>
<p>I am collegeorbust’s mom… We received the acceptance letter Christmas Eve. She was blown away… they gave a very generous scholarship and sent her the most personal letter of acceptance I have ever seen. We will be visiting campus again soon to finalize decision making. She is course says she is not going to an all womens college… we say best of both worlds. Hopefully another visit will help. However, we do live in Florida… Christmas Eve I was bitten by a mosquito… She wants the cold and snow. I so hope she goes… will know in a few months…after she hears from ND.</p>
<p>Coming from Florida, your daughter will hate South Bend’s weather…Here is a local tv station’s website you might be interested in: [WNDU</a> - Home](<a href=“http://www.wndu.com/]WNDU”>http://www.wndu.com/). It will give you an idea about where St. Mary’s is.</p>
<p>We visited St. Mary’s last summer… We have family in the area and I grew up there. D has been up to visit in the winter. She loves the snow and cold as she goes to visit every year. A cold weather school is to her liking. We will be visiting sometime in January or February to give her another taste. Will definitely post final decision. Thank you everyone for your support. She has read every post and is definitely considering SMC as her school</p>
<p>Congratulations on the acceptance and scholarship! In regards to her statement that she will not go to a women’s college; my two daughters were NOT searching for a women’s college either. What they were searching for was challenging academics, emphasis on interaction with professors, and a good all around college experience. With the larger school across the street - it really is the whole package. </p>
<p>Saint Mary’s is not for everyone, but I can tell you that it is a very special place. Please feel free to message if you have any questions we can help you with and best wishes on your daughter’s decision. No matter where she chooses, it’s a very special time and she’ll do great!</p>
<p>Good luck on your decision! SMC IS a very special place, I totally concur! You might want to call the Admissions office and ask them if there are some current SMC students from Florida, or even your local area there, that your daughter could email or facebook with questions about smc. sometimes it really helps the kids to talk to current students.</p>
<p>Great suggestion BayAreaCAMom, we will follow up.<br>
We are going to the Spring Preview February 15… Anyone else going?
We truly feel that D only needs to speak to current students in that setting to see the true potential of SMC.
SMC is truly the only smaller college that D is able to go across the “street” and be able to fulfill her true love of Latin. She wants to be a Secondary Education Latin teacher but will go the Math track for a major at SMC. We hope to speak to the right people about her education track when at the “preview”</p>
<p>If she attends her other favorite, she will have to give up her career goal of teaching secondary school Latin.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted. Heard via phone first. That was a nice touch. Have not received anything in writing yet. Financial aid will be a very big factor. My wife went there and enjoyed it as well.<br>
Any current SMCers or recent grads out there that could chime in on pros and cons of SMC?</p>
<p>Would really like to hear from others out there. My daughter received her written acceptance today. A personalized letter that referenced her essay and her application. What a differnce from the other acceptances. The others so far have been nice but have been form letters. Also very pleased with the financial aid. St Mary’s just jumped into the lead as the parents’ favorite. Just don’t know if it is our daughter’s #1.
St Marys admission office doing a great job.</p>
<p>I agree that SMC Admissions is doing a great job. My D’s acceptance letter referenced every essay she wrote and wove her experiences throughout the letter. The letter is a keeper no matter what.<br>
She and her D are going to local SMC reception this weekend and the 14th of February she is spending the night and going to Spring Preview on Monday. We have family in South Bend so she just has to get there. SMC to her parents is a perfect fit. We are pulling out all stops to let her experience the full campus experience to possibly sway her to put SMC in the final 2.</p>
<p>sixmcc - see my above post. Two daughters graduated from SMC in the last two years. Unfortunately, both are too busy to post just now! The four years were wonderful for both. Between the two of them, they were involved in many aspects of campus life and their lives are much richer for spending four years at Saint Mary’s. Campus ministry, peer ministry, Notre Dame Marching Band, both had study abroad and lived in the heart of Rome, Italy for a semester, RA’s, tour guides, yearbook editor, dual degree (in four years), I can’t even remember everything. There’s great value in a smaller college - many of the above experiences would not have been doable in a large university. </p>
<p>On the parent side - financial aid package was consistent all four years for each one, slight increases each year. I was very happy with the merit scholarships, financial aid, and both were RA’s to help keep costs in line with State U. Our girls were happy, we LOVED visiting and it was always hard to leave. It’s difficult to put into words, but Saint Mary’s is a feeling and for our family - it felt like home. So much so that one daughter is getting married there this summer! (yaaaaaaaaaay!) </p>
<p>For anyone considering this school, it’s a compelling option. Maybe not well known or popular…but challenging academics, professors all four years, leadership opportunities, small classes, and large school activities across the way. We’re Saint Mary’s and we loved it!</p>
<p>Any St. Mary’s math majors out there? D wants be a high school math teacher and therefore major in math with secondary education being the goal. Looking for someone who maybe went through SMC concentrating in Math or even Italian or Latin (have to take at ND). </p>
<p>She is trying very hard to make her final decision of whether SMC is right for her.</p>
<p>SMC has awarded her a very generous merit scholarship, which is amazing.</p>
<p>I am going to completely date myself by saying I graduated in the 80’s. I loved it there. And everyone I graduated with loved it there. I was not a math major but for about a year and a half I toyed with the 3-2 engineering program with ND. The Math teachers I had at SMC were terrific and I am happy to report that both that I had are still there. Mary Connelly and Joanne Snow were incredibly smart and dedicated – and I see Ms. Snow is now the Math chair. I think it speaks volumes that many of the faculty stay for 20+ years instead of jumping to bigger institutions. It truly shows their commitment to Saint Mary’s.</p>
<p>My daughter is a chem major and loved her calc classes she took as a freshman. (My daughter had a 3.993 high school gpa and scored 32 on her ACT.) One drawback of the school is a policy that a student cannot take more than 2 lab classes per semester. I guess the school feels that girls can’t handle all that science.</p>
<p>Spring Preview tomorrow February 15. </p>
<p>My H and D flew up to South Bend on Saturday and will return on Monday. This is the best time to visit the area because it is COLD and our Florida weather makes us shiver at 50 degrees.</p>
<p>D is really impressed in SMC and how they are going out of their way to make her feel welcome. She is spending the night on the 14th with a student and they are trying to make arrangements at ND for her to speak to someone in the Classics Department as her first love is Latin and she wants to teach. The Education major is why she is looking at Saint Mary’s. </p>
<p>The unfortunate thing about all this is that our financial situation keeps changing. Both my H and myself have seen our incomes decline by 50% and they have not recovered for the last 2 years. That Roth IRA for D is almost gone to living expenses. We (this is a collective family endeavor) are searching and applying for qualifying scholarships but many see our current income as too high. It will be a roller coaster ride to the finish.
We have committed to our D that she will be able to go to the school of her choice.</p>
<p>I know this is rambling, but I am cold, lonely (it’s valentines day), my family is in South Bend and I have to go to work</p>
<p>Good luck!! I will think positve thoughts for all of you as you work your way through all of this!!! :)</p>