<p>I think it’s the entire Smith experience that helps women grow – the house system, being surrounded by many intelligent and ambitious women, the one-on-one opportunities with the faculty, the high percentage of discussion-based classes, everything. My D became much more outgoing and confident during her Smith years. </p>
<p>I have to agree with Overwhelmedma about Smith’s science courses: my D would say that organic chemistry II and cell bio took a lot out of the students. She didn’t know anyone who thought those classes were easy. Other courses can have vast differences of opinion since everyone has her own strengths and weaknesses. </p>
<p>And thanks for the clarification, Stacy and TD. I guessed what you meant, but I wanted to make sure that I understood correctly. My D would agree with you: Smith is not a cutthroat place. In fact, I remember my D mentioning several times that she was getting together with one or more students to go over the material for a test, but afterward, she rarely knew what others had gotten. Except when a professor actually said what the class average was, she never knew where she stood in comparison to the others.</p>