<p>I am interested in applying to Smith this fall. I imagine that a considerable amount of my classes will be taken at some of the other five colleges, especially UMass. How convenient is it to cross-register? Is the commute long?</p>
<p>Not even being there yet I don’t want to speak for others with more experience but my D says there is a thread about this on the facebook page for this years incoming class and it can be tough without a car according to current Smithies there.</p>
<p>I have visited Smith twice, and the second I used the bus to get from Smith to Amherst. Depending on the time of day, the ride can be a bit long (I believe that it took about an hour when I was there, but that was at 5 pm on a Friday). From what I’ve heard from current students, it takes a bit of coordination to schedule everything, but is worth it if there is a particular course that you want to take. Even better if there are two on the same day, or another activity you need to get to. :)</p>
<p>I did 2 Mt. Holyoke classes, 2 Amherst classes, and a Hampshire class during my 3.5 years on-campus at Smith (well, the Hampshire class was during January interterm). I didn’t have a car, but for one of the Mt. Holyoke classes I got a ride with another Smithie who was taking the class. Mt. Holyoke takes the longest to get to; Hampshire and UMass take the least time. It’s also possible to bike between campuses (Mt. Holyoke is a pretty long way, but the others are doable)–in fact, if you’re a reasonably quick biker it probably takes about as long to bike to Amherst as it does to bus there…you could also put your bike on the bus there and ride back to Smith. </p>
<p>It definitely takes some careful scheduling and it may mean not getting to take every class you want at both campuses, but it’s very possible to take some courses off-campus if it’s something you want to do.</p>
<p>Notes:</p>
<ul>
<li>In general you can’t take 5-college courses your first semester of first year</li>
<li>Most classes at the other colleges are easily approved; some (nursing, business, journalism at UMass for example) are never approved because Smith doesn’t have a comprable department</li>
<li>Consider the course requirements–will you have to go back frequently for labs or group projects (one of my Amherst classes used a computer program that Smith didn’t have and that was expensive to buy…I ended up being able to use Excel with an expansion pack, but only because my prof was nice and agreed to save data sets in a format I could use)</li>
<li>The colleges don’t always run on the same schedules–you might have a 5-college class on Mountain Day, or have to stay past the end of Smith finals for a UMass exam (Smith will allow you to stay in your room if that happens).</li>
</ul>
<p>Once you complete a course are those credits considered transfer credits?</p>
<p>Although I am not a Smith College student, I can say with some certainty that 5 College grades transfer as actual grades. I go to Mount Holyoke and my grades from the other colleges appear on my transcript and count as part of my GPA. My friends at Smith said that their 5C grades count as actual credits/grades as well. Best of luck and welcome to the Five Colleges, Shereenist!</p>
<p>Thank you!! I am SO happy with my choice!</p>
<p>Thanks for the help, everyone!</p>
<p>Since you can cross register classes, can Smithies play sports for UMass? For example, can a Smithie join the UMass Taekwondo team or their cheerleading squad?</p>
<p>Also, I have heard rumors that Smithies join Sororities at Umass? Is that true too?</p>
<p>Well, I’ve got to say that I don’t understand the idea of joining a sorority at Smith…the whole college is like one big sorority and the Houses are like sororities without the ugly side of rush like money, looks, clothes, etc.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that Smithies can play sports at the other colleges or join sororities. First, with the sports, there’s an eligibility issue, since all athletes have to be matriculated at the university/college in question. And then there’s the time factor: sports take a tremendous amount of time when they are ON campus. I can’t imagine the commitment when they are a half hour away.</p>
<p>As for the sororities, TD is correct: the house system supplies all the plusses without any of the minuses. And I doubt the UMass students would want Smithies encroaching on their social turf. It’s one thing to meet each other at parties and quite another to be a part of an intimate, selective social organization.</p>
<p>But I’m not speaking out of knowledge, just out of intuition.</p>
<p>Someone in my house was on the UMass cheerleading squad one year. She physically couldn’t make all the workout sessions, so she had to run, etc. on her own time in addition to regular practices at UMass. </p>
<p>I knew someone else who did marching band at UMass - again, this was a huge time commitment and she only did it for two years. I think she had a car sophomore year, which was helpful because she didn’t have to rely on the PVTA.</p>
<p>So yes, it may be possible, depending on the activity. A cheerleading squad was recently started at Smith, but I don’t know any specifics about it.</p>
<p>I don’t know about varsity teams, but intramural and club teams do take students from other schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, some chapters are open to students of the Five Colleges.</p>
<p>I know someone from Smith who joined the UMass ballroom dancing team, which was by tryout so it’s basically like a club sport. She said while it did take up a bunch of time it was worth it to be able to meet new people and participate in something she enjoyed.</p>
<p>i took a class at hampshire second semester of my first year and it was totally do-able. the bus ride to hampshire was only 25 minutes or so. you just need to make sure it fits with your schedule.
i liked getting off campus and being able to experience another college.</p>