Smith College

I transferred to Smith from a large public university. So far, my experience has been a positive one. The campus itself is subdued--on Fridays most students are getting ahead on their homework or watching a movie in their rooms. However, Northampton has a lot of interesting artsy and/or political things going on (and the other 4 colleges provide alternative activities as well). If your social life revolves around parties, you will be in the minority here. The student body is bright but not brilliant, hard-working but not competitive. The course load is reasonably challenging (my private boarding school was far more rigorous). There are no distributional requirements, and tests/exams are self-scheduled/proctored, which makes for a refreshing change from my last school. The ethos of the administration is all-around wonderful. Research opportunities abound, however most on-campus jobs are reserved for work-study students.

1st Year Female -- Class 2013

Perceived Campus Safety: A+, Extracurricular Activities: F

Most students here are not comfortable being in our main library after dark because of the amount of homeless individuals and just people off the street who are not associated with Smith or the Five Colleges. These individuals are not here doing research, but are loitering or worse. This makes students uncomfortable to use such an important resource as our library, and sometimes they fear for their safety. Despite these concerns, the college has refused to do absolutely ANYTHING regarding this issue. For a college that states that safety is its highest priority, they ignore a lot of issues in this area.

In addition to this, lighting around campus is poor. Many students have also requested security cameras in our houses after a sexual assault incident that took place in one of them. Even after this event, the college has not taken any steps whatsoever regarding safety anywhere on campus, especially houses.I suggest that when you visit Smith, look past the beauty of the campus, the pianos in the houses, and the smiling faces of the students. Half the lights you see aren't even turned on at night. Look for security cameras (you won't find hardly any at all). And go farther than the first floor of the library and see the floors that are frequented by random people and not patrolled by public safety at all.

1st Year Female -- Class 2013

Innovation: A+, Perceived Campus Safety: C-

Safety is lacking in some areas of campus and this can be really aggravating even though Northampton is a generally safe town.My advice to students looking at any college is that when you go on a tour (especially of residential buildings) that you ask about things like security cameras, guest policies (such as sign-in sheets or safety officials guarding doors), and general protection against intruders. This is one thing you want to be clear on before you go to a college. You should be able to feel safe where you are living and these are questions that are not often asked.

1st Year Female -- Class 2013

Collaboration/Competitive: A, Perceived Campus Safety: C