Smith College Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Perri

There are so many different kinds of students at Smith. We have students of all religions, races, and economic backgrounds, students who play sports and wear sweatpants to class, students who dress up for class and are in student government, and everyone in between. Any group you're looking for, you can probably find. However, it is important to be LGBT friendly because many students at Smith are very open about their sexuality, and expect their peers to be accepting. There are also many Democrats, and a lot of students come from wealthy families.

Eve

Smith students are for the most part liberal, and extremely "LGBTQIA" friendly. That's the biggest issue on our campus, it is a safe haven for people questioning their identity so anti-gay marriage supporters might feel uncomfortable. I think what's great about Smith is that we are all different. There aren't a whole lot of pressures on students to dress or act a certain way. Whether you want to wear Prada or sweatpants to class you will be treated the same. Furthermore, the housing system ensures that you are meeting all kinds of people and becoming friends with them because you live with them. As with anywhere though, people who are similar tend to hang out with each other. Financial backgrounds are very widely ranged and we are working on addressing issues of awareness around class equity. Overall we are incredibly diverse. We are also more focused on our own personal development than a lot of other schools I think. Though we have an excellent Career Development Office, students really feel free to pursue their passions, not just what will make them the most money.

Indigo

Hardworking

Liliana

talkative, open, liberal, smart, hard-workers, women of the highest caliber.

Jennifer

They are smart, accomplished, competitive, and eager to learn.

Lucy

Academic, intelligent, inquisitive, open, cultured, and friendly.

Tess

Eager learners who want to acheive but some want to get there the easiest way possible

Lisa

Focused, talented, ambitious ladies.

Eve

My classmates are intelligent, passionate, and articulate.

Delia

Pseudo intellectuals who tried to hard.

Rachel

Smith students are driven, academically-focused, liberal, and involved in the world around them. On weekends, students generally have movie parties with their friends, explore Northampton, do homework, hang out with friends, and go to the local colleges. It is not a commuter college where people go home on weekends. While some students can be described as intense, generally students worry about doing well and completing their homework without going overboard and are not competitive (only with themselves).

Kai

The majority of my classmates come from all walks of life in terms of race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and political views.

Parker

I didn't think Smith was as racially diverse as it could be, although I went to a very diverse high school so I had high expectations. There is better socio-economic diversity, but a lot of students are reluctant to talk about it. Religious diversity is pretty good, although I would say the majority of students are not from a fundamental or evangelical religion; maybe about 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body would consider themselves VERY religious. Students are very politically aware and active and sometimes skip classes for protests, etc. Most Smithies are from the Northeast, but there's a pretty big international crowd and enough from the rest of the country to have a presence on campus. It's a very progressive/left campus, and although the Smith Republicans are very vocal, they are also very few in number. Students usually eat with their housemates, so there really isn't a lot of dining hall table separation. Most students wear jeans to class, occasionally pajamas if it's an early class, and sometimes a skirt or a nicer outfit if you feel like it. Lots of eclectic clothing. Because of the housing system, you definitely meet people from different departments, with different interests and with different backgrounds.

Anna

The Portrait of a "Smithie" is diversifying as we speak. Though one will encounter any type from the socioeconomic scale, the middle ground of Smithie is usually a concerned, liberal-minded, clever young woman.

amsilina

There are lots of international students, as well as lots of northeasterners, but I know people from all over the country. Mostly people lean to the left, are gay-friendly and fairly open-minded. There are the well-dressed, the pj wearers, the hipsters, the cape-wearers, the jocks, but that is just putting labels where pretty much everyone meshes together.

rachel

This place feels very accepting and safe for anyone who is questioning or exploring their identity in any way possible. The student body is fairly diverse and definitely liberal.

Alex

It is not as diverse as I would like it to be but most people are warm and welcoming. Everyone is really laid back. We go to class in our PJs!

Lauren

Everyone is accepted at Smith. There are not a lot of cliches and groups.

Emmerson

The student body is diverse in terms of race, class and socioeconomics. Students are predominantly left, politically speaking. Students do tend to interact with people different from them, personally I find it impossible not to. There are so many interesting people from a variety of backgrounds so there is someone new and interesting to talk to everyday.

Erin

Smith has a very politically active liberal student body. There is also a large lesbian population. Sexual orientation is strongly emphasized. Evangelicals at Smith are few and far between. There aren't really any cliques or economic divides. Smith has a very diverse group of students as far as race and ethniticity.

Sophie

There was a blackface incident on campus earlier this year. I think that because we do have a really diverse population, people need to be better informed. LGBT is the strongest in the country, and we have a lot of very active religious groups, including bhuddist talks and meditations and an active hillel. It's impossible to describe the tables of people at the dining halls. They're all very mixed. Usually someone will have a shaved head. The students are from all over, dress all differently... everyone really has their own personality which stands out here. I love that. Smithies don't seem to preoccupied with money, and come from a full range of backgrounds.

Julia

Smith is mostly middle or upper-middle class white people, like most other small liberal-arts East-coast colleges. There have been recent controversies over race; a student went to a party in black face and sparked an angry and racially-charged exchange over a Smith online forum, and the administration is planning to make the African American studies and Latin American studies departments smaller. I've never seen racism on campus aside from the comments posted on the forum, but then, I'm white. There are plenty of Asians, too, and some international students from places like India and Middle Eastern countries. Almost everyone here is liberal; there are some Republicans and people who don't care about politics, but they're a definite minority. Students tend to be aware of social issues. Fashion is really diverse--you have a lot of straight girls who don't care what they look like, preppy girls, nerds, hipsters, transgender guys in men's clothing, girls who wear men's clothing because they like it, etc.

Leigh

Smith is VERY LGBTQQ friendly. I've heard Republicans and conservatives sometimes feel out of place.

Ryan

I myself haven't encountered any issues. Smith is very welcoming but some things effect people more than others. Pajamas are the clothing of choice here. Yes friendships here are very diverse. The Smith community is very diverse. I live in Scales so many girls are very wealthy here, but they're still very nice people. Students are very politically aware and active. We just had a protest about Tibet and then we had a dialogue about the presidential campaign that's going on right now. Yes students usually talk about how much they'll earn. Some need financial motivation.

Petunia Bee

They're ladies who like to learn and pay large amounts of money.

Nina

Smith is very liberal and very queer-friendly. It makes for a great community, as long as you're accepting of people. Four tables in a dining hall: hipsters, jocks, geeks and some melange of people who are friends because they live in the same house. Unless you're in the vegetarian/vegan dining hall. Then it's just hipsters. Very conservative Republicans might feel out of place or ostracized at Smith. I have heard of people who get a really hard time for being Republican, but the Smith Republican club is just as active as the Smith Democrats. The student body truly is very diverse, with people from all kinds of ethnic and financial backgrounds, as well as a lot of international students.

Emmerson

The student body at Smith is incredibly diverse. There are people from all sorts of different geographical, religious, socio-economic, political, and academic backgrounds. Smith is very accepting of all kinds of people and there is a place for everyone. Cliques don't exist here like they did in high school and most of the campus is pretty well blended. Students are very politically aware and are strong activists, supporting a multitude of causes and really trying to make a difference. There is a definite left lean to the campus.

Bryce

Everyone is very diverse and interesting.

Jennifer

Smith has a habit of talking around racial issues. If a racial charged event happens, students stage a protest, the college hosts a forum, a committee is formed to look at the issue, and then it's forgotten until the next time something happens, then the cycle repeats, with everyone complaining about how everything was forgotten last time. Class is still not something we can really talk about at Smith. There is always someone with a petition about something on campus. I am always ashamed by how the Republican students get treated on campus. My first-year, someone put a 'hit list' on the Daily Jolt. I may not agree with their stance, but some people on this campus take things too far. The Daily Jolt is an awful place because people will post anonymous comments that start all sorts of trouble just because some want to hide behind anonymity instead of being open with their racist, sexist, prejudice remarks.

Andy

The Smith student body is the most characterizable group of people I have ever met. So for lack of better labels I label them all as "Smithies" This may be obvious but to a Smithie the word Smithie encompasses so many things. The main thing that it encompasses to me is purpose. I truly believe that everyone who ended up at Smith has a purpose or will have a purpose after they leave. A Smithie is a unique, dedicated, complex, strong, woman who is ready to change the world.

Maggie

Smithies are extremely diverse, yet united by the institution they comprise. There is no typical Smith student. She could be rich/poor, black/white, American/international, gay/straight, political/artistic/book-worm/fashionista/athlete, she/he, and-or a thousand other things.

Charlie

Smith has opened my eyes to so many different worlds/lifestyles/experiences. One thing that I like is that there isn't just one "smith girl". There are all kinds of people from all over the world from so many different backgrounds. Social tensions are still present, yet they are slim compared to other places i've experienced. One more thing--the vast majority of people here are liberal democrats. In fact, people come here from all across the country to be in that kind of environment.

Lee

I've had many experiences on campus with racial, religious and socio-economic groups on campus most were to gain or share experiences and views. Students wear an array of different things to class, but most students wear what make them comfortable and not unselfconscious. Students talk about everything from their political ideas to their social and religious ideas to share their points of view and never to discredit others points of view.

Jocelyn

I have been active in multiple orgs on campus. And I enjoyed the experience of each. I like that there are spaces for us to do the kind of social activist work on campus. However its usually the same 15 or 20 people circulating from group to group. That frustrates me. Regardless whatever you want to invest your time in you will find at least two or three other people who will do it with you.

Andy

Smith is sort of self-selecting. Strong, democratic, intelligent women are prominent on campus. There are a few republicans, but they are definitely in the minority. House community is very strong, so four tables in the dining hall would almost certainly be divided into two houses.

Nikki

Smith's student body isn't as diverse and they would like you to think. However, there are a lot of gay and trans students on campus, so the community is very welcome to gender identities of all kinds. EVERYONE is liberal.

Julie

Smith has a semi-diverse campus. There are people from all over the world and all different races, religions, sexualities, and socio-economic classes, but the majority is still white middle/upper class. It is kind of cliquey between races and other groups, but all groups still intermingle. I have close friends who can fit into almost every group on campus. Most students here are very liberal and I think it is a difficult environment for conservative students because the campus is very politically aware and active.

Scout

There are issues, just like every other college, around racial, LGBT, socio-economic, etc. groups on campus. No one is ever going to be completely happy; someone will always have a problem with something. Sometimes, it feels like "it's always something" and it can get annoying and frustrating. When people complain about Smith I often just want to tell them that if they hate it so much, they should just go to another school. For the most part though, students are smart, friendly, and wonderful people to be around.

Marissa

The Smith student body is very diverse. We tend to respond to incidents involving adversity by coming together to learn about the root of the problem.

Alina

I feel that overall Smith is very open but, we have had isolated incidents of racial or sexual orientation attacks. I also feel that there are way too many sex offenders in the local area.

Alex

The student body is diverse but there can be some tension that come with this. As well, the student body can be a bit over reactive and quick to protest for many different events.

Dawson

I think African and African-American students feel out of place since there are a lack of them on campus. The ones that are here generally friend each other. Personally, I think that group of students are friendlier than others on campus. Dining at Smith consists inside of houses. Most people eat with their housemates. Students are generally from the New England area, or the north. Most of them are financially set from their parents. Some students even brag about how much money their parents give them. It's quite obnoxious.

Harper

Racial: DENIAL about racial problems at Smith. As a woman of color, I find this place to be incredibly unsupportive of it's students. Especially, after racial incidents occur. Unity Orgs: I find they lack financial support to accommodate the needs of students from minority backgrounds. Sometimes these organizations can be exclusive to a particular ethnic group and or race. socio-economic: Class is not widely discussed, but you can definitely feel sense the economic disparities amongst students. Most students wear: It all depends, most people where jeans and something simple on top. Others decide to show their best outfits everyday. Politically active: I find that students are NOT as active as then can be. The Smith Democrats are very active and so is the Amnesty International chapter, but I still think most students seem very apathetic. Financial Background: Although the administration states that many students are on financial aid, I find there are many wealthy students on campus. Very important to note: Little is done to create awareness around students with disabilities (physical or mental). I highly suggest students to take note of this.

Alex

If you are uncomfortable with homosexuals and are uncomfortable with the human body you might have a little bit of trouble adjusting at first. People are very open here and it can get a little crazy at events such as convocation when people might go without much on in the clothing department. Smith students are from all over the world and country and off all ethnicities. There are pretty much organizations for all types of people, whether you want to be involved with groups for your ethnicity, sexual orientation, hobbies, etc.

Natalie

Smith has a very different student body, it can be frustrating trying to figure out what is PC.

Lindsey

There are a lot of different kinds of people at Smith. This is wonderful, as the town I'm from is predominantly white and Catholic. You'll meet people from many areas of the world, with different races, religions, and sexual orientations. It's so nice to have such a diverse population, and you learn a lot being friends with so many different people. Most of the time everyone gets along, and there really aren't any racial or LGBT problems on campus. Most people who come to Smith can fit in just fine, though if you're Republican, you might have a little trouble. The amount of liberals on campus is not even funny, but people generally won't get in a fight with you if you have different ideals.

Becky

Everybody here is different and really friendly. It's easy to get to know people - just join a club, go to pre-orientation, get involved. You can be yourself here. For instance, if you look around a classroom, some of the students are wearing pajamas, some are dressed up everyday, others do their own thing. There's no pressure!

Bobby

I've always loved that most Smithies actually get dressed to go to class, not just add flip flops to their pajamas and head out the door. It makes campus actually feel like a community and not just one gigantic outdoor high school. It's like living in an actual neighborhood or community.

Alison

I feel that our campus is very diverse, but that we are also clustered into groups on campus. At lunch, people of the same ethnicity and race generally sit with each other and it's kind of initmidating. I'm all for being around people that are like you, but sometimes, I feel like it is a private club based on your culture and where you come from.

Grace

There is a great international student program. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. The school has it's cliques, but most all get along and live in harmony. I absolutely love the diversity.