<p>I can speak for the sciences, but not for STRIDE.</p>
<p>My daughter’s personal and intellectual growth at Smith has exploded. She entered as a student planning to major in the humanities, but, because of the nurturing environment in ALL academic subjects, became a hardcore science major AFTER her first year. She had always been intimidated by science, even though she did well in it in HS. I credit Smith for giving her the confidence to pursue the subject matter that interested her despite the gender stereotype of a “male” field. </p>
<p>Despite coming late to her major, she has worked with two Smith professors, one with research and one with a class. She has done summer research at Lehigh; the PI told me that she was better prepared than some of his grad students. She was recently accepted for an nine-week summer research program at Princeton.</p>
<p>For engineering (my D is not an engineer), a GPA of 3.5 or greater ensured automatic admission into graduate engineering programs at Dartmouth, Princeton, and several others. </p>
<p>I can’t compare Smith to Wellesley because my D’s friends who go there major in the humanities. I’m sure your D would get an excellent scientific education there as well. I do know that Smith has a reputation for being the most science-oriented of the women’s colleges, possibly even of the top liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>The above means nothing if your D doesn’t like Smith. She needs to choose the school that best combines educational opportunities with a connection to the college itself. They pretty much know after a visit where they feel most comfortable.</p>