The insider's guide to Smith? Ups and downs

<p>My daughter is also a rising sophomore and has had no problem avoiding alcohol or drugs. Her house is not substance-free, but she has very rarely seen anything in her house. She was quite easily able to make a fairly large number of like-minded friends. Although there are parties on campus, she reports that students in search of serious parties head off-campus to one of the other five colleges (and can get there and back via free buses).</p>

<p>Other things to check out in addition to Bossf51ā€™s list:</p>

<p>If interested in science and engineering, check out the science buildings (Ford Hall is the newest and coolest, but there are several others across Green St in the science quad).</p>

<p>Check out Northampton. There are a number of interesting shops, restaurants (the Tibetan restaurant is one of my favorites), and ice cream / yogurt shops (especially Herrellā€™s Ice Cream).</p>

<p>Visit the plant conservatory (glass building neat the pond).</p>

<p>Hey guys,
just found this thread. Iā€™m considering Smith and Iā€™m wondering about the quality of the physics department and the physics research opportunities available. Anyone have any experience in physics at Smith?</p>

<p>Thanks Muff for all the helpful information. Can you tell me how is the pre-med program at Smith? You mentioned that Neuroscience is a strong department at Smith. My D is interested in Neuroscience major and would like to do undergraduate research preferably from freshman year. I would like to know how are the undergraduate research opportunities, the faculty and the average class size in this department. Also, how is the pre-med advising and support (opportunities for hospital volunteering, shadowing, internship etc.) at Smith? Thanks in advance for your reponses.</p>

<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>Iā€™m applying to Smith as a transfer for next fall, and I was wondering if there was anyone around who could share any transfer-related experiences theyā€™ve had? Thanks!</p>

<p>^^ I am a transfer student applying as well & wanted to know the same exact thing !!
Also, if someone did an interview, what did they ask and what is some good information to share ? </p>

<p>I went to a Smith ā€œmeet & greetā€ w/ current students and they said that transfers fit right in ! One girl told me that she did not even know the girl was a transfer until she shared the info !!</p>

<p>Hey wildchild, thanks for sharing! I actually had an interview last Wednesday with an alumna and it was wonderful! It was really casual, we just hung out in a coffee shop and talked for a few hours. She just asked me how I found out about Smith and why I was interested. We kind of just let the conversation go in whatever direction it wanted to, so while we did discuss academics, it was in a really informal way. I asked her questions about her time at Smith and how it influenced the way her life is today, and I brought up my personal achievements whenever it felt right. I also gave her a copy of my resume as we were leaving. Good luck!</p>

<p>Hereā€™s a question: any unexpected gaps in Smithā€™s academics, either quality or quantity? For example, I was poking through the catalogue and had trouble seeing how anyone could put together in US history. Does the consortium fill in all gaps?</p>

<p>I think youā€™ll find that since Smith is on the larger end of LACs, it will have more areas of study (and majors) than many other LACs, and will also have more depth. In the larger majors, such as biology, students may end up not taking any consortium courses. In the smaller majors, such as film studies, students will take advantage of consortium courses. Almost half of the students study abroad, so they have access to another set of courses while away. My daughter has been very happy with the quality and quantity of courses in the areas sheā€™s been studying.</p>

<p>In your example of history, itā€™s such a broad field that students may well be taking consortium courses. Itā€™s also possible that courses and seminars are not repeated every year, so you may not be seeing the full range of courses. Thereā€™s also a breadth requirement, so a student concentrating in American history will be taking almost half her history courses in areas outside the US.</p>

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<p>There was a poster a number of years ago who, although she loved Smith, transferred to another top 20 LAC because the history department was so lacking. She went on the receive a masters in history from a top university. I donā€™t know if the department has gotten any better, but I would diligently research your concerns. Taking courses at the consortium colleges is more difficult than most realize. It can be done, but only with very careful planning.</p>

Any insights on food allergies at Smith? Particularly peanut/tree nut and gluten. Is there a better place to post this question?

Does anyone have some insight on the book studies program?

regarding food allergies, smith is actually really accommodating. there is a dining hall that is completely nut-free, one that is vegetarian/vegan, and a new dedicated gluten-free hall (which has restricted access due to concerns about cross contamination, since students with severe cases of celiac disease eat there). to access the gf dining hall, students need to register a documented intolerance/allergy with the office of disability services. all the other dining halls are open to the whole campus. also ā€“ and this applies mostly if you live in a house with a dining hall ā€“ you can discuss your individual needs with the dining staff and they can prepare you food separately so you can eat meals without having to leave the house.

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I would agree with your statement. If anything, I think Smith isnā€™t known well enough for its strength in the natural sciences. I think the average ā€œlazyā€ assumption about Smith is that itā€™s a humanities school. Nothing wrong with that either, but Smith is so much more.

Second on the GF dining hall. It served my D, who has Celiac.

Northampton, OTOH, wasnā€™t so great on this point. Middletown, CT, where D did undergrad, had more restaurants that follow protocol and donā€™t give you a blank stare when you say ā€œcross contaminationā€.