Smith College Top Questions

It's a beautiful campus with a welcoming feeling and an immense amount of opportunities for students.

The best thing about Smith is that everyone can feel free to be WHOMEVER they want to be. There are so many opportunities available for us to explore who we are, and everyone in our community is so supportive of each person finding their individual path. That is the best aspect of it, I think, for students. When I tell people I go to Smith they are generally impressed. Not only are our academics excellent, but the fact that Smith is a women's college also impresses on people how seriously you take your education. The town of Northampton is wonderful. It is cute, and very welcoming. The variety of restaurants for such a small town is astounding. My complaint about Smith is the liberal bias. I wish that Republicans, and conservative people had more of a presence on campus so we could have substantial debates. The other issue is that we are not trained to interact with men. There just arent' that many men around, I have had to make a special effort to take classes at Amherst and UMass (another perk!) to make sure that I am getting a well-rounded social experience as well. I will say that there is so much value in a women's college - particularly because at co-ed schools leadership roles are male-dominated. At Smith everyone can be, and in fact IS a leader on campus.

Smith was absolutely perfect for me. I loved the academics and I felt like my college experience really prepared me for my career instead of just being something I did because it was expected of me. I met wonderful people there and the campus was beautiful. I thought it was a good size; the first year or two when I wasn't used to living away from home it wasn't too big and overwhelming, but then as I got more confident I spent more time at the neighboring colleges and universities and in the town. Northampton has an amazing music scene and some good cafes, and even a couple of fun, cheap bars. Town-gown relationships are good and a lot of Smithies work in town. The administration is very focused on students and student-life; if the student body speaks up about something, it is usually heard and taken care of. There is a LOT of Smith Love and pride. Even after graduating, if I meet a fellow Smithie there's an instant bond. In fact, once my car broke down in a far-away state, and a woman stopped to help me. She said she saw the Smith sticker on my car, and she stopped because she was an alum too. There's a very very big sense of comraderie and once you graduate there's a big "Old Girl Network" of people willing to help you find a job and get on your feet.

As a young woman from a small midwestern town who always thought she was a city girl, I felt trepidatious attending college in a smaller city. But Smith's small-community atmosphere combined with Northampton's abundance of youth and nightlife made it perfect. In addition, if one goes stir crazy, Boston and New York City are within a short ride on the bus.

I think one of the major issues that people have with Smith is that it is all women. For me, it was definitely an issue when deciding where to go. I have come to really appreciate the environment that it cultivates, even though I, too, am a fan of men. For me, not having men around does not create a deficit--it allows for something entirely different, wonderful and indescribable to take its place.

Smith has a great sense of community. The campus center and the quad are the social hubs. People also spend a lot of time in Northampton, which is a great college town. Saying you go to Smith might inspire questions as to what it's like going to a women's college. The experience is different for everyone but I think overall positive.

People are usually impressed and/or excited when they find out you go to Smith. It has a great reputation as a prestigious and respectable institution. Northampton is a fun town with cool shops and a culture that intertwines with the college in some ways, but is very independent in other ways. I suppose the worst thing about Smith - and basically any college or university - is that it is a business and they do want to make money. Thus, students can get screwed over in financial aid or by the bureaucratic tools that run the place.

Smith is a great place but at times it can be a bubble. In that bubble "nothing bad" ever happens and when it does Smith sometimes sucks at dealing with such an issue.

Social: I like Smith because I really fit in here. If you want good academics and socially liberal people, then I recommend looking at Smith. Some people are hesitant to apply to Smith because it is single sex. I will admit that I was hesitant about this too, but once I got here it was fine, and actually good. As horrible as it sounds (it really is unfortunate :/), the campus is really safe because of the lack of men, there are hardly any assault incidents on campus. In addition, I think the single sex setting helps women here academically. Anyway though, one last point about this is: If you need to hang out with men to socially survive or if you need to date men, then you should think very carefully about choosing Smith because despite what Smith advertises, it is difficult to meet guys and the four surrounding colleges are actually kind of far away. A lot of my friends complain about this and it's hard for them sometimes. Size/Location: I think Smith is a nicely sized school. Perhaps it could be a little bit bigger, it's about 2600 students. You see a lot of people that you know all the time, but you don't actually know them personally, so it's nice. The location of Smith is pretty nice. Some people call Northampton the San Francisco of the East Coast, but my friends who are actually from SF strongly disagree with that statement. Northampton is chill, it's a hippie/liberal/upper class type of town. However, it is small and there is not much to do except go shopping, get ice cream, or go to the movies. There really is not much night life in town, you have to make your own fun. Administration: Although Smith is down sizing its professors, for whatever reasons, I think that the administration is great. All of my professors, with an exception of a few (who were actually visiting professors mostly), have been great and very engaging. They are interested in what the students have to say and they encourage you to come up with your own ideas and to think critically. The classes are really good in my opinion.

Smith is the perfect size. It takes about ten minutes to get to everything on campus. Employers love when you tell them you go to Smith because they know it is a very tough school academically and challenges the students. I spend most of my time on the soccer fields, in my house or at house parties. The athletic community is very close on campus. If your an athlete you know all the other athletes because you party with them every weekend.