<p>I hate to admit that prestige matters to me in selecting a college, but, especially because I hope to move on to medical school, it is certainly a factor in my college decisions.
Anyway, I am very interested in Smith college and I am wondering how prestigious you think it is considered. What do you think of Smith college alumni? Also, do many students go from Smith to medical school, and do you think I’m likely to get into a good medical school?
I love Smith, but I will look more into applying to reach schools if it will look better and help my future.
Please, no rude comments.</p>
<p>Medical schools are NOT concerned with prestige or reach schools. It is only one factor in their decision making, but if you get the high grades, the high MCAT scores, the good interview, the strong letters of rec, and the research or service that would indicate a strong interest in medicine and service to humanity, it won’t matter a lick that you went to a small state school in North Dakota. </p>
<p>Smith is a wonderful school with a great reputation, and if it’s your idea of a small state school in North Dakota then by all means apply to it. Whether it has a Top 60 pre-med program hardly matters because pre-med programs are pretty much the same everywhere. What you want is a high GPA, letters of rec, and some research, and you can do that anywhere. It’s really upto you and not the school you go to.</p>
<p>Look, I’m not going to pretend I know a ton about Smith, but I’m guessing, even if it is a good school, because it is rather small, its name doesn’t generate as much excitement as Yale if you announce it as your alma mater.</p>
<p>Have you looked elsewhere online? Googled something about what employers and grad schools think of Smith grads?</p>
<p>Smith has a fine reputation so if you love the school and feel you will be successful there then you have your answer.</p>
<p>
Which ones?
<a href=“List of Smith College people - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Smith_College_people</a></p>
<p>Smith is considered to be a very good LAC.</p>
<p>Smith is one of the Seven Sisters. Anyone who’s in elite circles knows about it. Random people and high school students, not necessarily, so it all depends who you plan to impress. 
I also second what jkeil said: for med school, school prestige matters very little. What matters is what YOU do. You’ll get support at Smith to get internships and work on research, but it’ll be up to you do take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Among highly educated people, especially women, Smith rings a (big) bell. </p>
<p>Your post doesn’t make sense. Or it only makes sense if you don’t know anything about medical school admissions. Browse the medical school forums here, read any posts pinned to the top of the various forums.</p>
<p>Smith is a highly reputable college, with good opportunities for research. I love that you can try out a class or two in the consortium. You might want to browse the Smith forum.</p>
<p>Just for fun: do you watch Grey’s Anatomy? Cristina Yang (the super smart, super accomplished surgeon) got a BA from Smith, a PhD from Berkeley, and an MD from Stanford. I know she’s a fictional character… but you get my drift. </p>
<p>Admittedly, I wouldn’t actually consider Smith “prestigious.” Certainly not as much as any Ivy. Among women’s colleges, I think Wellesley is considered the “best.” Also, Smith is not too difficult to get into (~40% acceptance rate). However, I do believe that you will receive a very good education there. The (highly accomplished) professors are all very committed to the college, there are many famous and successful alumni, there are many great opportunities there, etc. I think that Smith is “prestigious” enough in that people will think well of you when they hear that you go to Smith.</p>
<p>Its acceptance rate is driven by the fact that not many kids apply to all-women’s colleges. Take a look at the GPA and test scores of the accepted students and you will see that admissions are very selective.
Acceptance rate by itself doesn’t always paint an accurate picture.</p>
<p>The “Seven Sisters” reference above is to the top seven women’s colleges that got together in a loose consortium . These women’s LACs wanted to provide education to women similar to the men’s Ivy League.</p>
<p>If you have to ask this question, you haven’t even begun to do your own research. Our knowledge isn’t as important as you starting to really look into the colleges that may interest you. Have that drive. </p>
<p>Smith is highly respected and will be recognized immediately by any medical school. You don’t have to be concerned about this factor.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the responses. I actually have done quite a bit of research, and I know all the statistical data and such, but I really wanted to hear people’s opinions or experiences. </p>
<p>After touring some pretty amazing campuses with my daughter including Williams, UVA, Brown, Yale and Barnard, I’d have to say Smith was one of my most favorite campuses. The campus and residential housing is amazing. I love the way it integrates with Northampton - a very funky and vibrant town. Visit if you can.</p>
<p>Highly respected college, and for good reason.</p>
<p>Xiggi, care to weigh in? Where you at? 
</p>
<p>^ Why invoke Xiggi? I believe he posted some comments to the effect that Smith’s US News Peer Assessment score has been higher than other schools (like Mudd) with stronger stats (lower admit rates, higher average test scores etc.). I thought the point was that the PA scoring process is out of whack, not that there is anything particularly good or bad about Smith per se. The “peers” think it is even better than the recent, objective data say it really is. That may be (to address the OP’s question) because Smith’s historic prestige is so strong. </p>
<p>Smith may not be “prestigious”, but it is a good school. It lacks name recognition only because it is a small LAC. If you want a school that has clout and name recognition, you’ll want to focus more on the national universities. </p>