<p>If you a female, don’t like a heavy drinking scene, would enjoy a bigger music department without losing contact with Spratlin at Amherst (who is going to be retiring anyway), couldn’t you do an interhouse transfer and live at Smith, or, alternatively, just transfer there? My d. is a music major at Smith, and it is much, much stronger than Swarthmore (and larger than Amherst - David Reck taught his Indian music class at Smith last year, apparently because there wasn’t enough interest at Amherst to support it.)</p>
<p>(Before applying, my d. met with Spratlin and would love to have worked with him, and is still hoping to, but she couldn’t put up with the Amherst drinking scene, and so didn’t even apply. The Williams music department, especially in composition, is stronger than both of them, but you might dislike the campus atmosphere even worse than Amherst.)</p>