Admissions

This is my short summary of Smith -- the best way to get to know about Smith is to visit and talk to students!

Academics: Excellent, plenty of options. The open-curriculum is the best part with no core classes.
Academic Support: Excellent. There’s a resource for every class and subject, be it a tutor or a professor or both.
Career Development: Very good. Plenty of opportunities provided for even first-years to start thinking about life after college. Very strong alumnae network.
Aaaah, it’s an all girl’s school!: First off, it’s a women’s college. Second, don’t let that scare you. Smith’s academic reputation far outweighs the lack of the male gender, and there are plenty of guys to be found in the five college area.
Food: Good, lots of options. Dining staff is very helpful.
Housing: Smith boasts strong house communities and a strong history on Princeton Review’s Dorms Like Palaces list.
Extracurricular Activities: Many and varied at Smith, with tons of options at the other five colleges as well.
Diversity: Very much harped on by the school, but unfortunately there is a lot of separation among the students simply in the form of who people hang out with.
Social Scene: Fair. If you’re not interested in the parties on campus, you can go off campus.
Facilities: Fair. Libraries are great, campus center a good place to hang out, gym is nice, features a pool and a climbing wall, sometimes crowded. Art museum and plant house great places to visit on campus.
Internet: Fair. Slow but usually reliable.
Professors: Excellent. Second-rate teachers are the exception to the rule at Smith.
Location: Northampton is a fun town to be in and the other four colleges nearby are great.
Campus: Gorgeous. Enough said.
Sports: Not much school spirit, but a fair variety of club and varsity sports.

-Visit if you can. You'll learn a lot about the campus if you can just walk around by yourself, away from tour groups.
-Talk to current students. Most Smithies will tell you everything they like and don't like about the school--we're very opinionated.
-Smith has a fairly sizeable and visible LGBTQ population. Sometimes the school does not emphasize this in their admissions propaganda, but it's definitely true and something to be aware of. We take treating everyone with respect very seriously here.
-Smith also has a lot of liberals and moderates-- but that doesn't mean that conservatives aren't welcome. Some of us like having someone to argue with. ;)
-Some Smith students are men. We have transpeople on campus, and graduate students who are men.
-Just because you go to a women's school does NOT mean you won't ever see men. Guys from other schools take classes here, people from town are on campus, there are male teachers, etc.
-Some Smithies are non-traditional aged students called Ada Comstock Scholars. They're pretty cool, and bring a unique perspective to whatever they do. Some of them live on campus, and some life off-campus.
-Explore NoHo. It's pretty cool.
-If you go to Herrell's Ice Cream in NoHo on your birthday, and show them valid ID to prove it really is your birthday, you can get a free sundae. I highly recommend doing this.
-There are four housing areas on campus: the Quad, Elm Street, Center Campus, and Green Street. Each has it's own advantages and drawbacks, and certain stereotypes. However, stereotypes are not that accurate, and all of them are nice places to live. Also, housing will probably place you somewhere you'll like, 9 times out of 10.
-If you like Smith, apply! We're now test-optional in our admissions policy, so even if your test scores aren't great, if you're a motivated student, go for it!

If you work hard and take time to get to know your professors you will find that they are willing to do just about anything to see you succeed.

What tipped the scale for me was something as simple as spending time around students and seeing how they interact. My one big tip is to visit. If it's not for you, you'll know.

1. A general college app tip...don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Even if you think Smith or some other school is for you, make sure you keep yourself open!
2. VISIT. I recommend Discovery Weekend...get to be someone's prospie and get to know the girl you shadow.
3. Take advantage of the 5 college area!
4. Smith cares about who you are overall -- not just your grades. Show them you're passionate about something because that will really make the difference.
5. You will hear that Smith is full of lesbians...truth: it's only HALF full of lesbians.

Smith doesn't care that much about SAT or even GPA. Just (as cliched as it sounds) be honest and genuine on your essay and really highlight extracurriculars.

If you don't know who you are, and you don't know who you want to be, and you cannot see how you can become anything in the clouded future, go to Smith. Soon you will know yourself, know your passion, and know your path. If you do know who you are, what you want to be and do, go to Smith. Soon you will know a completely new, deeper, more passionate, more successful you than you could ever have imagined.

-Request for an interview with an alumni through the Smith.edu site. It was eye-opening and very worth my time.
-Come to Discovery Weekend! It is a great time to make friends and also figure out whether or not Smith is for you! I think Discovery Weekend won me over. My host was also amazing and so kind! The people at Smith are generally helpful and very nice.
-Don't get tricked by the food they offer you at Discovery Weekend. Most of the food is not as good as what they serve during Discovery Weekend.
-APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID!
-Request for a tour around the school
-Sit in one or two of the classes at Smith!
-Figure out which area you want to live in and where you want to stay away from
-Go to Club Fair/Rush where all the clubs come out and advertise for you to join their club. Try to join a smaller club so you can run for a position
-Don't forget to hit the gym once in a while because Freshman 15 comes fast!
-Do not ignore the great resources you have such as the Career Development Office! They even offer to skype with you to discuss your plans!
-If you're pre-med we have a pre-health lunchbag every Friday. Be sure to contact the pre-health advisor to be added on Moodle to this lunchbag group!

Come here if you want to work hard and be in an academic environment but also an accepting one.

It is important not to overwhelm yourself by taking too many classes or involving yourself in too many extracurricular activities. You will feel a lot of pressure to get involved in as many things as possible, but seriously, don't do it. Pick one or two things that you really are super passionate about and stick to them. Also, double majoring is a bad idea, no matter how many other people are doing it.