<p>As I was posting on the "downsides to Smith" thread, it occurred to me that some aspects of Smith are well-known: the quality of the academics, the all-women's environment, the openly gay segment of the community. These issues continue to be discussed every year -- and even then, several times a year. I thought that, since the fall is fast approaching when students must decide where to apply, it might be instructive to supply some details about Smith that perhaps are not as well known as the above broad topics.</p>
<p>Just off the top of my head:</p>
<p>-- A "green" environment. Smith was named one of the top "green universities" a few years ago and may still top that list, for its approach to recycling, energy usage, and general environmental consciousness.</p>
<p>-- Strong support for women in the sciences. </p>
<p>-- Commitment to creating an economically diverse campus. Smith has a comparatively large number of Pell Grant students. The result seems to be less frequent flaunting of wealth from those who have it. </p>
<p>-- Smith consistently ranks high in the number of Fulbright Scholars awarded each year, outstripping and competing with much larger universities.</p>
<p>Great idea for a thead! Iām sure weāll have a lot more once D is actually on campus, but some of the things that struck me are:</p>
<p>āStipends for students doing summer internships. As MWFN said, itās an economically diverse population and opportunities like this make a big impact. </p>
<p>āI think that the 5 college consortium gets a lot of attention, but not enough people know that Smith has no distribution requirements.</p>
<p>Highest percentage among LACs of students majoring in languages/area studies (slightly higher than Middlebury). As I remember, highest percentage of students spending a full year abroad. Largest LAC library (in number of volumes). Probably largest LAC music library (along with Vassar). Oldest established study abroad programs among the LACs (I think).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, merit aid doesnāt necessarily equate to a better aid package, as Cygne et al. have discovered. Although she received a STRIDE, her financial aid from Amherst was more substantial.</p>
<p>MHC and Colgate, despite offering non-need based aid awards, also have been bested by other top colleges.
It can be frustrating.</p>
<p>I can do a āthree best/worst thingsā sorta thing, which helped me a lot when I applied to college since they were solid summaries:</p>
<p>Three Best Things (in no particular order)
The housing system
Not only does Smith have so many enriching academic opportunities avaliable, but thereās also the Five College Consortium & all its opportunities to take advantage of as well if one so chooses.
The student population is hardly homogenous: thereās a niche for everyone.</p>
<p>Three Worst Things (again, in no particular order)
There are considerable differences between the sizes of different depts & the extent of support they get from the school. Including a small handful you think would be stronger for a LAC.
Registered house parties/the āofficial Smith partiesā are heavily regulated in terms of capacity & alcohol use compared to other schools.
It can be easy to stay within āthe Smith bubbleā & not venture out if you seek to & donāt make an effort to do so.</p>
<p>@Crewdad, youāre right. The aid package seems to vary greatly from individual to individual, despite the āmeeting needā part of the equation.</p>
<p>MeredithBelle, maybe you could supply a list of the departments you think are the strongest/weakest. Iām sure others will refute it, but the info may be helpful to prospective students. </p>
<p>The strangest field at Smith is the multidisciplinary Landscape Studies.</p>
<p>I completely agree with Meredithās list, and I would add one upside: </p>
<p>The amazing network of alums and the Career Development Office that helps you get started when itās time for your āfreshman year of life.ā</p>
<p>One thing I would add to the aid picture: Although Smith ultimately didnāt give me as much aid as Amherst, they were much more flexible in terms of allowing me to bring in outside scholarships without reducing my aid.</p>
<p>Amherst College only allows outside scholarships to replace self-help. The policy could not be more draconian.</p>
<p>Smithās policy is a bit more complicated, requires a CPA to compute, but is fairer in many respects.</p>
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<p>Aside from outside scholarships, my point was; a college with no merit aid will sometimes offer a more beneficial aid package than one with $80,000 (in Smithās case) in merit money included as part of the financial aid. Your experience isnāt isolated. </p>
<p>String Theory and how anyone could enjoy pink Zinfandel is easier to understand than how aid is calculated.</p>
<p>Hello. Iāve been at Smith for two years now (Iām going abroad next year). </p>
<p>Pros:
Iāve had a great experience with most of my professors. They care about their students, passionate about their subjects, and are terrific teachers. Iāve taken a wide range of classes in both the hard sciences and the humanities, and I think Smith is academically strong in both areas. As a hard science major with interests in the humanities, I LOVE this aspect of Smith.
I have found that the academic rigor and overall amount of work at Smith is about right. Iām sure this varies between people depending on their majors and high school backgrounds.
Thereās a very interesting mix of people. As Meredith has said, youāll find your niche. Iāve also learned quite a bit from talking to students from so many different backgrounds/locations ā thereās a lot of geographic diversity.
Related to the above, Iāve had so many interesting conversations with people here. Deep, intelligent conversations with other people my age. Itās great.
Easy to navigate campus. You can easily walk anywhere, and it wonāt take more than 10 minutes or so.
Beautiful location and campus.
A relatively safe campus.
great JYA program. I didnāt think I would do JYA when I originally came, but Iāve since changed my mind. The JYA office is very helpful and the professors are very willing to accept abroad credits. This is a huge contrast to many other schools, where only a few percent of students travel abroad and must navigate a much thicker and less friendly web of bureaucracy to do so.<br>
Extremely gay friendly.
Itās very easy to get involved in student government. </p>
<p>Cons:
I think the social options can be rather lacking at times. Much of the social scene involves quad parties, which arenāt usually that amusing. I also sometimes feel trapped in a rather isolated pioneer valley bubble. You just have to keep in mind before you come here that A) Smith is NOT a party school and B) Smith is NOT convenient to a big city. Itās pleasant to be in a semi-rural, small town setting for a while, but it can get boring after some time for many. This is my biggest complaint about the school, and itās one reason why Iām going abroad to a big city next year.
Iāve noticed that the school can be rather cliquy; this may vary from house to house. My house has definitely become cliquy.
Speaking of houses, some of them are in dire need of renovations, and I donāt see that happening with the budget situation.
Budget cuts due to the financial crisis have caused some tension between the students and the administration. This is probably (hopefully) temporary. However, Iām sure most other schools are facing similar issues, possible even to a greater extent than Smith.
Employment options are extremely limited if youāre not on financial aid.
A bit too PC. Related to that, I think most students donāt have their liberal political viewpoints challenged enough.</p>
<p>In terms of strong vs. week departments, hereās what I can say:
Iām a neuroscience major. I think this is a very strong department. I think psyc is strong, too, as is bio.
Chemistry is very much a weeder major. By that, I mean that many initial chem majors switch out somewhere along the chem sequence. Orgo chem 2 kicked a lot of peoplesā butts when I took it (including my own!). Many switched out after general chem 2. Chemistry is not for the faint-hearted.<br>
Iāve heard that art history is very good, but that studio art is somewhat lacking. Apparently itās very difficult to get into required studio art classes. I know one studio art major who was complaining that she needed to take summer classes to get the necessary credits to graduate.
I havenāt taken any languages, but Iāve heard that they are very good. JYA helps tremendously on this point, too.
Iāve taken some classes at the religion department; Iām rather under the impression that Smith is strong in Judaic studies, but there appears to be a big hole for Christianity (I think they get their Christian studies professors from the 5 colleges).<br>
Iāve heard that English is quite good and quite rigorous.
However, thereās really no creative writing department to speak of; the creative writing options are quite poor.
Iāve heard lots of good things about the math department. My only experience with math at Smith was quite positive. </p>
<p>I really could say more, but I think my post is long enough for now. Feel free to ask me any questions.</p>
<p>āChemistry is very much a weeder major.ā Are the Chem requirements for a Biochem major subject to the āweederā strategy? Did you consider a biochem major?</p>
<p>Upbeat, Iām not sure chemistry is really a āweeder major.ā Last year, organic chem 2 was taught by a new professor, and, for various reasons, the course became one of the most difficult courses to do well in. That will most likely change as the prof gets more experience, although, of course, the material will always be difficult. Cell bio (not to be confused with Intro to Bio) is another tough course in the sciences.</p>
<p>Organic chemistry and cell bio are traditionally the courses (in all colleges) that weed out weaker pre-med students, just as physics and certain math classes do the same for engineers. Unfortunately, the students with other goals in mind have to take those classes as well.</p>
<p>Smith is MUCH better than other schools when it comes to āweederā courses. Iāve known bright students at other universities who are lucky to get Cs in organic chem, intro to bio, calculus, and physics even though they will get much higher grades in advanced courses. That says a lot that the intro courses are tougher than the upper level ones. In general, Smith professors do not intentionally beat the students down or make the exams impossibly difficult just to make a point or to separate the girls from the women. Most difficult courses at Smith are difficult because the material is demanding, not because the professor makes it harder than it should be.</p>
<p>Muff, I wouldnāt say that itās hard to get a job if youāre not on financial aid. I didnāt have work study, but I worked every semester. It is annoying (and true) that you have to wait until October 1st to apply for on-campus jobs if you do NOT have workstudy, and then spring semester you have to wait until after the first week of the semester, but in my experience work is pretty readily available. I also had a few jobs in town during my time. </p>
<p>Studio art is a great major, but it can be oversubscribed and hard to get into. Still, everyone I know who was a studio art major/minor had a positive experience. </p>
<p>As for English, i wouldnāt say that the creative writing courses are poor. I would say however that the English department at Smith is a straight English department, and not everyone is prepared for that when they come in. Itās English literature and theory, and if you want to major in creative writing, youāve come to the wrong college. But the creative writing courses that are offered are of pretty good caliber, and many of the English teachers are themselves published novelists. The problem is that there are 300-level creative writing seminars that arenāt easy to get into, and there are 200 level creative writing colloquia that arenāt always that challenging (they contain people at varying levels of ability. Very varying.). </p>
<p>I agree though when you say that Smith is NOT convenient to a big city. Students should NOT come thinking theyāre going to get to go to Boston or New York every week or even every month. If you get to Boston once or twice a semester, I would consider that a triumph of timing.</p>
<p>Yes, I did take orgo 2, which demoralized a lot of people. This was mostly due to having a new professor. However, I have also talked to people who have taken other chemistry courses who have had similar harsh experiences. I think a lot of it depends on the particular professor; I liked my first 2 semesters of chem and the professors who taught them, so much so that I considered majoring in chem. Furthermore, Iām rather under the impression that peoplesā experiences with general chem 2 (4th part of the chem sequence) largely based on their professor and whether they liked the professorās teaching style. Lab courses can be rather hit-or-miss, as well. The bottom line of what Iām trying to say is that chem is a very difficult major at Smith, and itās not uncommon to hear about ppl taking chem at another college over the summer because itās easier (same with cell bio). Itās not an especially large major either, so those who do choose it Iām sure are quite dedicated to it. However, If you love chem, and you want a more intimate experience learning it, then Smith is a good place to study it. And take advantage of the chem tudors! Theyāre a god-send. </p>
<p>Yeah, the biggest complaint I hear about studio art is that some classes (e.g. drawing) are overenrolled and that itās very hard to take any other studio art classes without these overenrolled prerequisite classes. Iāve also heard that the studio art major has been hurt hard by the faculty non-rehirings and cutbacks, which may explain why some of the classes are overenrolled. </p>
<p>I couldnāt find a job without financial aid, at least not one that I was eligible for. It seemed like there was hardly anything available after the necessary date, but maybe I havenāt been looking at the right places. Actually, my friend, who is on financial aid, struggled to find a job, too. I think it can be a hit-or-miss thing, depending on your schedule and resume. SmithieAndProud, I think itās awesome that you found jobs. </p>
<p>I havenāt taken a creative writing course, so it could very well be that the classes that are offered are quite good. The problem is that many people think that Smith should have a strong selection of CW classes, considering that itās a LAC. If CW is youāre number one priority in college, you shouldnāt come to Smith. If you want to take one or two CW classes on the side, Smith has them, but they may be hard to get into. Itās just something to be aware of when you come here.</p>
<p>If you want to major/minor in creative writing, do not attend Smith. My D almost decided not to go there because of the relative weakness in this area. She did end up taking two writing courses and enjoyed them both. They are competitive to get into, however; you must be chosen based on submitted writing samples. </p>
<p>Both Amherst and UMass offer writing courses, and Iām sure Hampshire must as well. UMass has a good MFA program in creative writing, which means that they have offerings for undergrads.</p>