Northampton’s transportation resources are somethings I hadn’t thought about. And I will make sure to contact you if I have any questions. Thanks for replying!
Back to the question at hand…the bottom line is that Bryn Mawr is unaffordable. You can appeal the financial aid but I doubt the money will increase enough to work. Bryn Mawr is not a feasible option so put it out of your mind.
The amazing news is that you have Smith and (if affordable) Mt. Holyoke. Both are outtanding.
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Yes, you’re right! Smith if such a wonderful opportunity - I’m lucky that I got in, especially with such a great award offer!
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I know a Smith student who is a STRIDE scholar and a person of color. She seems to really enjoy Smith and her classmates even though she is the only POC on a sports team. She did a study abroad junior year and travelled around Europe and Morocco, which can give a different cultural perspective. Good luck with your choice!
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Try to appeal financial aid at Bryn Mawr if it’s your dream school! Many colleges let you show them competing financial aid offers from peer institutions (like Smith is to BMC), and they’ll try to match 
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Yep
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My daughter is a current student at Smith and is loving it. While she is definitely political, her preferences are more like yours as she’d rather be on the sidelines working directly for a cause. While, yes, Smith has a lot of political activism, it is more than ok to not be involved, or to be involved at a level in which you feel comfortable.
While we think Smith’s campus is lovely, I can understand why you would say it wasn’t pretty. When Sophia Smith wrote her will creating the College, she stipulated that any new building had to be built in the style of the architecture of the current times. This is why you see some beautiful brick buildings sitting next to some dorms that look like they came from a lego set. Each is beautiful in its on right, however sometimes it does not help with the “flow” and “continuity” of the campus. Personally, I’m not fan of the new library “wings,” however the interior of the building is absolutely beautiful. With that said, the grounds are considered an arboretum. All the trees are labeled and you’ll see some beautiful flowers around campus (the bulb show in March is not to be missed!).
As far as competition goes, my kid has not found Smith to be competitive at all. If any competition is seen, it is competition put onto yourself. My kid knows what she wants to get in a class and works towards that goal. She pushes herself, but that is of her own doing and has nothing to do with how any of her classmates are doing. Competition at Smith is self-afflicted, really.
As you noted, the housing system is really nice and the food really isn’t that bad. My kid is a picky-ish eater and always finds something that she’ll eat. There are a ton of options across a variety of dining rooms on campus. The meal plan also lets you get certain foods from the campus center after 7:30pm (I think), so if there isn’t anything you like in the dining rooms, you can order from the CC.
Smith also will not feel elite. While, yes, there are plenty of kids there who are full pay, there are also just as many kids who are receiving financial aid. My kid does not know who in her house is full pay and who isn’t. You really can’t tell.
In the end, I think college really becomes what you make of it. If you convince yourself going in that there are things you won’t like, then there will be things you don’t like. If you go in with the thought that you will have a fantastic experience and will take advantage of opportunities offered to you then you will be just fine. Byrn Mawr is a fantastic school, but if Smith is the better financial option then find the great things about Smith, go in with an open mind and excitement and you’ll be good to go.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific Smith questions!
Good luck!
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That was our daughter’s experience at her program at Smith – political activism is part of the culture, but it’s also totally OK to be involved (or not) as you like. And we first thought it might be the opposite because of some materials waiting for her in her dorm room upon arrival. But very quickly (like within an hour) she discovered that it’s such a welcoming and fun place. The other young women were fantastic–so impressive. Lots of collaboration in her science classes and labs.
My favorite part of your write-up is this: “When Sophia Smith wrote in her will creating the college…” what an amazing legacy Ms. Smith has left!
The art museum is terrific too.
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@southernfemmom has a first year at Smith and I know from her posts in the class of 2024 forum that her daughter is really having a fantastic time – maybe she can chime in?
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Thank you for tagging me!
That scholarship/financial aid at Smith is such a wonderful thing. Congratulations!
Yes, my D24 is a firstie at Smith and she is having an absolutely phenomenal experience! It is very easy to get involved, but students do need to take initiative. The professors are wonderful and very supportive and engaged in her experience. Her advisor takes a group to dinner monthly and also invites them to attend guest lectures and events with the lecturers. One of D24s professors has her working on research with him and is helping her get published.
On political activism, don’t know what to say. My D24 is majoring in Government and World Religions, and she cares a lot about politics, but I don’t really think of her as an activist. She doesn’t protest or push her viewpoints, she just cares a lot. Some of her friends are politically minded others are not at all.
My daughter does joke that she goes to “hard school.” It can be intense and some classes are a lot of work. My daughter loves that, and it really has benefited her, and she has grown so much as a writer and a critical thinker, but it’s not for everyone. She studies a lot, and writes lots of papers, but also has time for a 10 hour per week job on campus and she definitely enjoys time with friends.
My daughter enjoys the easy access to the coffee shops and bookstores in Northampton. My husband and I have found wonderful restaurants, too, but D24 mostly eats on campus and is generally happy with the dining options, though it isn’t anything phenomenal. She walks into Northampton 2-3 times per week to go to coffee shops with friends or to go to the downtown libraries or other things. She enjoys the town.
The 5 college consortium is so wonderful! D24 has a friend group at Mount Holyoke in addition to her Smith friends and goes there frequently and it is an easy bus ride. She enjoys the town of Amherst and has been to events at UMass, too. She is looking into taking a class at Amherst in the fall, but there are so many offerings at Smith she is interested in she has a hard time justifying the bus ride.
Smith is full of bright, interesting, artistic, quirky, passionate students. Some of them are passionate about politics, but others are passionate about theater or plants or poetry, or ancient civilizations.
You are welcome to message me. We are SO thrilled with Smith and really feel it has exceeded our expectations.
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Thanks a lot for this message! I had a discussion with my parents and financial aid counselor, and it seems more and more likely that Bryn Mawr will remain too expensive, so I really appreciate you sharing your daughter’s experience.
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Do you mind sharing what you mean by some materials were waiting in her dorm room?
I feel like I operate very similar to your daughter in this situation, so it’s great that she’s having a nice time!
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Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve already shared this in another reply, but I probably will end up turning down Bryn Mawr, so it’s reassuring to me that she’s having a good experience.
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Did they explain the why in regard to aid being so different ?
Now you can move on from Bryn Mawr knowing you have done all you can.
The excellent news is you have Smith as a wonderful and affordsble alternative. Well done! Go forth and make the most of this opportunity.
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Of course! My kid is super social and so was looking for information on what group activities were available basically 5 min after check-in. And there was a flyer waiting on the desk in her room that seemed to describe the afternoon’s meet-and-greet activities. But it didn’t say anywhere that it was just a (very) partial list of all they were offering–that would have been the key thing to know. Honestly – perhaps we were missing a paper! Or read it incorrectly. It was a busy afternoon. But what this sheet offered were serious-sounding affinity group meetings that separated the attendees by race or neuro-status. They sounded like study group meetings. The only group that wasn’t that was a Dungeons & Dragons group. Of course I encourage and celebrate these groups–they are needed by many kids. There just wasn’t a group that my kid could actually authentically go to in order to meet her new classmates, unless she wanted to pretend to know D&D which is kind of impossible + boring. And that seemed strange / off-putting. But then we looked out the window and there were a bunch of students and TA’s loudly (music to my kid’s ears!) getting ready to play frisbee and that was that. Out she went in a flash to join them, and that was the start of a fantastic program. I don’t know if any of the girls actually went to the affinity groups that afternoon? 
I truly do think we were missing some welcome paperwork. Because the program and the college were / are AMAZING. We have nothing but wonderful things to say. 10 / 10. I hope this is helpful.
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I’ll second that! Wonderful. It’s been a destination trip for us to meet up with friends. 
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I will also chime in as the parent to a super happy Smithie. My child is a junior, and she has absolutely thrived at Smith. She is very much an extrovert and she quickly found ways to be meaningfully engaged outside of the classroom through rugby and student government. She has loved her classes, and has had very positive experience with her advisor. She is a STRIDE scholar and had a great experience with her research assignment. She has worked closely with the career center and received PRAXIS funding for her first summer internship, and has gone on to lecture and do special presentations for the career center that leverage her expertise and experiences in her chosen field. I love that they employ peer mentoring in this way. My child especially enjoys how passionate every student is about their studies, but without a competitive air/atmosphere on campus. Students are wicked smart, really motivated, and largely supportive of one another. My kid is studying abroad this semester and the global studies office was also excellent to work with.
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I have to tell you --all this raving about Smith made me add it to my daughter’s list! Glad to see so many happy student posts! I had originally left it off the list because I thought it was more competitive than collaborative -but clearly that was not a correct impression. (Still don’t know if she will be competitive for a spot -but that’s a different story!)
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