As a liberal arts women’s college with a reputation for turning out smart, passionate, outspoken and ambitious women, it comes as no surprise that Smith is often (wrongly) stereotyped as a haven for man-hating feminists and lesbians. “
There is certainly a vibe of girl-power on the campus, but it's not full of bitter ‘femi-nazis,’" writes one sophomore. “
There is also a large group of Smithies who prefer women, are proud of it, don't attempt to hide it, and even flaunt it. But they are still a minority. I think Smith is just a safer place to be proud of whoever you are, or to figure it out, than many other colleges and universities.” Smith has a long history of empowering its students and creating a sense of sisterhood and community on campus that simply can’t be found at a co-ed institution. “
We have a very special and very unique tradition that has celebrated women for over a century. Our house teas, our Ivy Day celebrations, our convocation, our Mountain Day, all these elements make Smith stand out as a special institution,” writes a senior majoring in political science and government. “
Our pride is not defined through our sports teams (although we certainly are proud of them). Our pride is in our tradition, in the success of our alumni, in the brilliance of our professors, in our unity as women.”
Located in the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts in the liberal, artsy town of Northampton, Smith’s campus provides a gorgeous, landscaped sanctuary for its students. “
The campus is beautiful; it was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the same guy who designed Central Park in New York City. The campus is also an officially recognized botanical garden, so all of the plants on campus are incredibly well-selected and many are remarkably old and/or rare,” writes a sophomore mathematics student. The town of Northampton is the perfect setting for a liberal, progressive school such as Smith and boasts a high gay population itself, including a lesbian mayor, as well as many independent cafes, quirky shops and acclaimed restaurants. “
The town of Northampton has much to offer students, including award-winning ice cream shoppe Herrell's. Students can shop at the semi-underground complex Thornes, grab a smoothie at Haymarket with friends, and go to a fantastic concert at the Iron Horse,” writes a freshman English major. “
Northampton's restaurant scene is excellent, with a wide array of styles and prices for each student. Hampshire Mall and Amherst are just a free bus ride away as well, making it easy to get off campus if you need a break.”
Smith attracts a broad array of women, all of whom are seemingly different but unified by their intelligence and drive. “
Each person has a fire to them, whether it be their volunteer work in Africa, expression through art, vocal political opinions, or insightful interpretations of literature. It may not be immediately apparent what is Smithie about each Smithie, but the admissions people know what to look for and sooner or later you see a glimmer about what makes each student special,” writes one senior. Smith’s administration does its best to craft a racially and socio-economically diverse student body by offering a substantial amount of scholarships and financial aid. The school also attracts a considerable number of international students. “
There are a lot of diverse people here in terms of ethnicity and who are from different regions of the world that have a lot to share about where they come from and their views on things,” writes a sophomore majoring in psychology. “
This is a great place to gain perspective about how complicated the world is and that there isn't always one right answer to a problem because the problem is generally multidimensional.”
Discussions and debates are always taking place on campus as Smithies tend to be very vocal about their beliefs and are never ones to back down from a good challenge. While most students agree that Smith is a very tolerant and accepting campus, especially in regards to gender and sexual preference, race seems to perpetually be a hot topic. “
As a woman of color, I find this place to be incredibly unsupportive of its students. Especially, after racial incidents occur,” writes one political science and government major. On the other hand, one sophomore feels that students are always walking on eggshells around the issue of race and what constitutes as PC. “
The issue of race is dealt with so poorly it is terrifying-- you cannot have a genuine academic, intellectual discussion about anything without being called racist if you are white or Middle Eastern. (I once tried to have a discussion about the Today Show and from that it was turned into an accusation of racism...living at Smith is like being in the middle of a witch hunt.)" In general, however, students maintain that those with an open mind will fare well here. “
Closed-minded people will probably feel out of place. You don't have to change, but you have to be open to accept other people's personal decisions, which are frequently very different from what you would encounter anywhere else,” writes a senior majoring in economics.
One thing that all students can agree on is the quality of academics. Smithies rave about their classes, professors, and the flexibility of the open curriculum. “
Smith's academics [are] an infinite life resource for each of its students. Not only is the classroom comfortable, friendly, stimulating, and engaging but professors are extremely approachable and accommodating for help outside of the classroom. The education does not stop there however, some of the best conversations of my life have happened outside of the class room,” writes a sophomore engineering major. Smith students benefit from having an open curriculum which allows them to take classes in any area they choose without the constraints of general education requirements. One senior writes that the open curriculum “
encourages you to try things you wouldn't normally sign up for. It really expanded my horizons and I was able to maximize my education.” At Smith, classes tend to be focused more on teaching students new ways of thinking and broadening their range of perspectives than learning a trade per se. “
Smith is good for cultivating ‘ways’ of thinking. We learn how to communicate (relatively) effectively, research, think ‘outside the box,’ but not a ton of specific job skills,” writes a senior anthropology major. “
Although, by the time you're ready to graduate you have a ton of experience that you should be able to put on your resume, especially if you go abroad or do a Praxis internship.”
Smithies work hard to keep up with their rigorous workload and, during the week, any of the four libraries on campus is typically full. They are, however, an involved bunch and tend to participate in student organizations, sports teams, and any number of the various activities typically taking place at any given moment. “
Smith offers a lot of activities on campus. Sometimes they can be silly, like arts and crafts, but there are a lot of interesting speakers that come every week and some cool concerts as well…During the week though, most people study study study! There's significantly less drinking than on other campuses, and potheads are practically shunned!” writes a sophomore Japanese studies major. The dynamics of Smith social life owe a lot to its unique housing system wherein students live in houses of anywhere from 15 to 100 students representing all four class years in place of the traditional dorms. “
House life is awesome--there is really strong house community, people leave their doors unlocked (I would feel comfortable leaving my door completely open for several hours),” writes a sophomore. “
There are living rooms where people hang out together and most of the rooms are pretty nice, or at least unique. There is variation in house culture--some houses are really tight-knit and others are less community oriented, but if you don't like your house it is not too hard to move.”
As an all female school, dating can be kind of difficult for straight students. Though Smith is part of the five colleges consortium with nearby Amherst, Hampshire, UMass, and Mount Holyoke, allowing Smithies to take classes at any of the other campuses and bringing students from the other school’s to Smith campus, each school has its own social network which takes a lot of time and effort to penetrate. Smithies do often travel to the other campuses on the weekends, however, to partake in their co-ed party environment. “
There are lots of parties on and off campus on weekends, especially in the 5-college area. People often go to Amherst or Umass parties to meet guys and the guys come to our parties to meet us. If you want to drink, there are bars, the pub on campus, and parties with free beer,” writes a senior majoring in natural science and mathematics. But in the end, it’s not about the party atmosphere. Smithies are here for the stellar education, the supportive network of strong-minded women, and to discover something about their fellow peers and about themselves. “
One thing about any smithie is that you should never make any assumptions about her(/him if applicable, you shouldn't even assume a gender). Everyone will surprise you in one way or another,” writes a freshman art and art history major.
