An Inside View: Smith College

Smith College, in Northampton, Massachussetts, has been attracting smart women since 1899. With just over 2,100 students, Smith is one of the larger liberal arts colleges in the country. Smith gives its students unusual academic freedom. With the exception of a mandatory writing course, there are no required courses or distribution requirements. Although nearly all departments are strong at Smith, the social sciences, psychology, and visual and performing arts attract the most majors. Smith is also the only all-female college with an undergraduate engineering major. Stacy Braverman, who graduated last May, volunteered to share her Smith experiences for AdmissionsAdvice.com readers. Stacy majored in government with a self-designed minor in Social Science Methodology. She is now enrolled in a joint JD/MUP (law/master of urban planning) program at the University of Michigan.


When you were looking at colleges, what were the three most important things you were looking for?

1. A “full life”—balanced academics, social life, surrounding neighborhood, and extracurricular activities.

2. Size—I wanted bigger than my high school (which had 1800 students at the time) but smaller than about 5-6,000 undergrads.

3. Affordability—specifically with merit aid.

What other schools did you consider or apply to?

Rejected: Princeton (ED—deferred first), Stanford, Oxford
Accepted: Smith, Emory, Northwestern (Medill journalism school), George Washington, SUNY Albany, University of Denver

What were the main reasons you decided on Smith?

It was the “middle ground” in the prestige/affordability tradeoff. It’s beautiful, and a perfect distance from home (about three hours by car and a bit longer by public transportation) And I got a strong feeling that I’d be happy and make friends there.

What was your biggest surprise about Smith?

I had no idea that Smith had a J-term, where the campus is open for three weeks for optional classes (some for credit, some not) and just general hanging out. I was there for two whole and one partial J-term, and over those three years (I traveled overseas during the other one) I: TA’ed a class at Smith, took a course for credit at Hampshire, took non-credit classes in cooking on a budget (SO HELPFUL for the real world) and massage, worked in the dining halls and as a babysitter, and did a lot of just relaxing with friends and playing in the snow.

Another pleasant surprise was that Smith alumnae have endowed scholarships for Smith seniors to use for graduate school!

How would you describe the "typical" Smith student? How does that compare to the stereotypes people might have about Smith students?

It’s so trite to say “there is no typical ‘X College’ student,” but it’s pretty true about Smith. We’re biologically female, and we’re passionate about learning. Most Smithies are liberal, but definitely not all. Most Smithies are straight, but definitely not all (a recent study done by students in a survey research class reported about 10% of students identify as lesbian and 20% as bisexual). Beyond that? There are students of many ethnicities, religions, hobbies, approaches to schoolwork, etc. I definitely didn’t find it hard to find a niche.

Many people wonder what it is like to be a student at an all-female school. Could you tell us a bit about the ways that a single-sex school affected your life, both inside and outside of the classroom?

Now that I’m at a grad school with slightly more men than women, I’ve been thinking a lot about how Smith shaped me. I don’t know how much this is attributable to the single-sex versus co-ed thing and how much to the difference between liberal arts colleges and law school, but I was much more confident about sharing my ideas at Smith.

Also, at Smith I feel a tremendous connection to the women who came before me. I worked with the 60th-80th (!) reunion classes for three years, and it was one of the best experiences I had in college—simply awe-inspiring to see what alums had done with their lives, and how the world has changed since they were in college. In fact, my current roommates are both women’s college grads (one from Smith, one from Mt. Holyoke). Although we didn’t know each other during undergrad, there’s still a strong tie between us.

One last thing—I think the living environment at Smith is much calmer (and definitely cleaner!) without guys around. My sister attends a co-ed school, as did my parents, and they couldn't get over the lack of spilled beer, intentionally pulled fire alarms, and damaged furniture that they were used to seeing on a college campus.

How would you describe the academic climate at Smith? How accessible were the professors and how intense was the workload? What unique academic opportunities does Smith offer that prospective students should know about?

Perceptions of the academic climate at Smith are based on your major, your attitudes, and your prior preparation. My major (government) required a lot of reading, which I can do rather quickly, and no labs. So I had more free time than my science-major friends, who were simply in class for more hours each week than I was. I also attended a good public school and was used to working hard in college-level classes—a huge benefit that I took for granted til I met Smithies who didn’t have that preparation.

Most people care a lot about learning, and while there’s plenty of procrastination and grumbling, people generally show up to class on time, are engaged while there, and put in hard work on their assignments. Professors also work hard—they’re definitely willing to meet with students outside of class and to give advice about other classes to take, careers and grad school, etc.

A great but little-known program at Smith is the Kahn Institute, which gives grants to students and faculty to do self-designed projects on a given theme. I was part of the “City Lives and City Life” project, and actually got paid to eat lunch with the other faculty and students each week and discuss our research. My project was a comparison of urban housing policy in postcolonial Iceland and Singapore—something that I never would have learned about in a regular class.

I was also incredibly grateful for Smith’s fellowship support program—I applied for a Truman fellowship and felt very well prepared for the panel interview it required. Smith is excellent at helping students get fellowships; many of my friends are doing Fulbrights this year, and I know that if I want to apply for one after grad school I can still have help from Smith.

How are the dorms at Smith? What was your dorm like in freshman year?
How did you find the food?

The dorms at Smith are called houses, and nearly all students live in them (it can be hard to get permission to live off-campus). My house as a first year was in the quad, a 10 minute or so walk to class, and it had about 80 students over 4 floors, with 3 showers and sinks and toilets per floor. Most of the rooms were singles, but I had a double and I loved my room and my roommate. The rooms vary a lot among houses—mine was a bit larger than the average double and had wood floors and window seats which provided extra storage, but it was also on the 4th floor of a walkup, and had one closet for us to share. It worked out fine though.

After first year, I moved to a co-op on campus. It was a beautifully refurbished Victorian, and we saved a lot of money by cooking for ourselves. But I liked the food on the regular meal plan too. There’s a lot more choice now than there was when I first came to Smith. Now one house is strictly vegetarian/vegan, another has a kosher/halal kitchen, one serves Asian food each night for dinner, and more. I’m not a particularly picky eater, but I found there to be a decent variety of food and I could always find something I liked.

What was your favorite place on campus? What's the worst part of campus? How would you describe the surrounding community?

I really liked the Palm Room in the botanic gardens, where it’s warm even in the winter, and I also spent a lot of time at the Kosher Kitchen, where students cook dinner each Friday night. I don’t really dislike any part of campus—everything’s maintained very well and most of it is pretty. I’d like more lights along the paths at night, and Public Safety is working on this.

Northampton has lots of restaurants and shops, places to volunteer, artsy movie theaters, houses of worship, etc. A ton of bands come through each year. There are also free buses to Amherst and other colleges, so you can easily check out what’s going on there. The Pioneer Valley is a great place for outdoor sports—hiking, skiing, kayaking, rock climbing, etc. are all easily accessible by car, and Smith Outdoors runs organized trips, too. It’s a great small town—but it’s definitely not a city. Luckily, if you get desperate for more urban stuff, it’s only about a 2-hr drive or slightly longer bus ride to Boston, so you could go for a weekend.

What do people do at Smith for fun on the weekends? Where do people hang out, both on and off campus?

People go to movies or concerts or sporting events, parties at Smith or one of the other colleges nearby, take road trips to Boston or New York or camping/skiing throughout New England, or just relax with friends and catch up on work and sleep. There are lots of guest speakers and club events on weekends, too.

On campus, people hang out a lot in the campus center, which has the bookstore, mailroom, meeting space, and a café. Lots of people also go to the gym, which is only a few years old and is very beautiful. I especially like the rock climbing wall—or the boathouse, where you can borrow kayaks and canoes and paddle around the pond on campus.

Off campus, there are lots of nice cafes, like the Haymarket and the Woodstar. Northampton has two small movie theaters, and there’s a bigger one at a mall only a few miles away (on a bus line). There’s also a gigantic mall a half-hour drive away (also on a bus line). A lot of people also head over to Amherst—it has a good downtown, and it’s a good way to meet new people.

What did you like best about Smith? What would you have changed?

I wish there were a quantitative skills requirement. Too many Smith students graduate unable to do the math they need for jobs and graduate school, and worse, they’re afraid to learn math. I also wish there were more emphasis on constructive discourse — of really questioning one’s positions and the assumptions that underlie them, and of respectfully advocating one’s positions and discovering inconsistencies in opposing ones. Too often at Smith, people get intellectually lazy, either never having to defend their ideas because most people agree with them, or using personal anecdotes instead of logic and facts to back up their positions.

However, the best part of Smith for me was my friends, who I hope to be close to for the rest of my life. They have shaped me in so many ways, and are talented, diverse, and abundantly kind. Being in a place where I got to interact with so many great people, and where everything was set up to help students succeed, gave me the ability to discern what kind of person I want to be and to start moving towards that.

Do you have any advice for high school seniors trying to decide where to apply?

My brother is actually applying to college right now (ironically, the one school that has absolutely everything he wants is Smith, but that’s not gonna happen!) so here are some things I’ve suggested to him and my parents:

• Make sure you choose safety schools—but only ones you’d be happy going to. If you don’t get in anywhere you’d be willing to attend, it’s not the end of the world—you can take time off and re-apply next year. On a related note, if you’re not ready for college yet, don’t bother going yet! It’s a lot of time and effort and money, and it’s not worth it until you’re going to really work hard.

• A good school for you is one that allows you to be your whole self: the bio major side, sure, but also the tuba playing and the Christian and the cold-weather-hating sides, too.

• Even if you don’t end up at your dream school, you can make a college work for you by being open to new experiences and working to start the activities that matter to you. (Plus, no decision’s final—you can always transfer if you realize you’ve made a horrible mistake!)

• The application process will be over soon. Then things will get easier—I’ve NEVER (and I’m counting law school here) had such a stressful semester as I did first half of senior year of high school. So good luck!