Smith vs schools in Boston

SmithieandProud
Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:46:01 +0000

Well, I agree with TD, going to an LAC is by no means impractical. And going to Smith will certainly help a lot in preparing her for a career.

A good question to ask her might be “Why Boston?” Is it the allure of a big city or the proximity to specific points of interest? If she really wants an urban setting, then there might not be a lot you can do to dissuade her. But maybe she has some reasons that can also be found at Smith or a similar school. My mom convinced me not to go to school in New York, though I was dead set on it. Smith ended up having everything I wanted, minus the noise/traffic/hectic distractions of NYC. I’m glad I listened to her, because as fun and exciting as New York was, living my life at that tempo would have definitely gotten wearing after a while, and made it really hard to focus on school and friends and general relaxation.

You can remind her that she can always spend summers and breaks in Boston (like Thanksgiving break or Fall break or Spring break), it’s just a short bus ride from Northampton. She can intern there and a lot of people move there after graduation. Northampton has a lot going for it. It’s small, certainly, but being a city girl myself with zero interest in rural life, I thought that Noho was basically like a cool hip city neighborhood that’s been transplanted to the Berkshires.

Also, I find that city schools often lack the close-knit campus feel that I wanted in a college. With so many other things to do and see, students usually don’t spend as much time on campus connecting with each other. This I think was for me a major reason why I decided to not go to NYC. I wanted a campus where people considered the school to be “home” and they spent a lot of time there or in the nearby area even when they weren’t in class.