felicitywut

Ahhh that sounds great! Thanks!

stacy

A few huge pluses I didn't know about until I was almost done at Smith:

* Alumnae-funded scholarships for graduate school. These can be extremely generous. Now that I'm starting to repay grad school loans, I'm realizing just how much lower my monthly payments are because of the scholarship.

* The life-long alumnae network. I got a taste of this while working at reunions (which everyone should apply to do--the money is great and you get to learn so much about the campus and the alums) but it was only after moving several hundred miles away and enjoying the local Smith club that I really appreciated it. It's a rare and special thing to hang out with women aged 23-77 and hear about what they're up to.

* The Kahn Institute. They pay about 20 students (and an equal number of faculty) each year to do a project on a specific interdisciplinary theme, and meet weekly to discuss progress, hear speakers, plan campus events, etc. So basically my job was to study something I enjoyed, eat nice lunches, and talk about interesting topics with interesting people. Doesn't get much better than that!

mythmom

The pluses of Smith are certainly abundant.

Just to correct a misconception: Grinnell is an outstanding LAC known for merit scholarships.

luvdogs

After all of the helpful feedback, I searched the Smith catalog again to explore my course options. I completely agree that my fourth class should be “different” and fun, so I’m now debating between The Art of Theater and Design or Playing the Game: Introduction to Exercise and Sport Studies. I’ve never taken a theater class, but I figured I would give it a shot. As I’m a very active and health conscience person, this class might be interesting. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

niightingale

since smith is known as a science school, is it necessary to take SATIIs for math II ? i feel like math is very much related to sciences.

SmithieandProud

I don't think it's neccessary. You will need strong qualitative skills if you plan to major in the sciences at Smith (or any college), and if you are a good math student and feel that taking the SAT II's for math II will showcase your skills, then it won't hurt to take them. Usually I think the only reason to take extra tests at a school that undervalues SATs like Smith does is perhaps if you have a low grade in that subject on your transcript, but a generally strong ability in that subject, it helps underscore that you have the skills even if you had a bad class.

Or if you are, like I said, particularly good in one subject and want to underscore that with a high score, great. But I wouldn't beat your brains out to take tests just because.

Momwaitingfornew

Although Smith is strong in the sciences, that reflects the education one gets in those departments, not what it takes to get admitted. Of course, I can't imagine anyone getting a subpar education in ANY major at Smith.

As for SAT II scores, you probably have to take them for other schools you are applying to. If this is the case, take the tests you're likely to do the best in. If you do well, report them to Smith. You want to make your application as compelling as possible.

TheDad

I'd question the notion of Smith as a science school. I think that Smith is, because of its strong science departments, more of an "across the board" strong LAC, as opposed to many where sciences are weaker than humanities, social sciences, and arts.

uongthuhuong

as you guys have discussed, Smith seems good at sciences. How about Chemical engineering and Economics??? any insight?

SmithieandProud

Smith is the only women's college in the United States with an accredited engineering program, and it's very good, but it doesn't specialize in chemical engineering (I don't think you pick a specialty when you study engineering at Smith, it's a general engineering degree as far as I know, but I would check the website or ask smithiegr to elaborate).

The econ department is great however. I was a government major, and the gov dept. and the econ dept. tend to be pretty closely aligned as many gov majors minor/double major in econ and vice versa. Strong department, good diversity of courses, really fun and kind of wacky professors many with their own strong following of devoted students who rave about their teaching. My roommate was an econ major and now she's going to Harvard Law School, hoping to work in business or entertainment law, so it can take you a lot of places.

TheDad

My Math/Gov D thought the Econ department was terrific. Two of the profs are among her closest advisors and she's strongly considering grad work in Econ.