Smith College Top Questions

yes. brainy lesbians and all the misfits from high school combined.

Smith does have a very intellectual culture, and students are not usually shy about speaking their minds in class. That being said, I personally never felt intimidated by my fellow students' intelligence, and I didn't think it was so much about intellectual competition as it was about excitement about ideas. In fact, I loved being at a college where people were genuinely excited about their classes. There were some houses (dorms) that had larger groups of people who liked to work all night long and all weekend and who liked to complain about their homework, but for the most part Smithies tend to be pretty balanced between work and play: work hard, then play hard. The whole sexual frustration thing is definitely not true; there are plenty of men to be found at neighboring colleges, at parties, and in classes, due to the 5-college consortium. About 1/3 of the students identify themselves as queer, lesbian, bi, or transgendered -- but, while the stereotype of a big gay school isn't numerically accurate, there IS a very pervasive culture of tolerance for the queer community. Homophobia is definitely frowned on, and the LGBT presence is loud and proud, not shy or closeted at all. If you're really not comfortable with a LGBT presence Smith might take some getting used to. I didn't meet a single woman while I was at Smith who owned a set of pearls (or a sweater set, for that matter). While plenty of Smithies come from well-off families, they don't flaunt their wealth. If anything students probably try to act like they have less money than they really do.

A student discusses some of the stereotypes associated with Smith college and comments on their accuracy.

A student discusses some of the stereotypes associated with Smith college and comments on their accuracy.

While there are indeed a lot of girls, it is a refreshing mix of people. Yes, sexuality is a hot topic on campus which is refreshing and mind expanding, especially for people coming from conservative hometowns.

Yes and ,like most stereotypes, completely wrong at the same time. The gamut is pretty big, but chances are that you can expect acceptance at Smith College.

There is a strong representation of both gay and straight students on campus. The all woman atmosphere is certainly different than a coed environment. Classes are interesting and challenging, and people work hard on their schoolwork.

Definitely not true. There's a big gay community, and people definitely take academics seriously but we also like to have fun.

Not necessarily. I am a straight, liberal person who does not always thrive in academic settings, and by no means is my family rich. However, stereotypes do come from somewhere, and I definitely feel that Smith's rep precedes it sometimes when I'm off campus. Ultimately, though, we are not restricted by these stereotypes and generally everyone is given a chance to be themselves.

NO! I am not. But many students at Smith are gay or something else but thats the case at other colleges too single - sex or coed.

A lot of them are, yes, but to varying degrees. Like any place, you will encounter the extremes of the stereotypes, but you are much more likely to meet people who are a combination (minus the boring and plain!, that's a false stereotype). People are very serious about their work and people try really hard to do many extracurrica activities. Also, there is a very large queer community at Smith, no lies. And of course we are feminists, it practically part of the curriculum...sometimes you can't avoid taking a class about gender in the liberal arts, even if you're not a study of women and gender major. It might be overwhelming at first, and then it still might be overwhelming a year or two later, but it really depends on what you are interested in.

No! Smith is in a very liberal area so it is more accepted to be openly gay but that doesn't mean there is a larger gay population at the school.

I only know the "I hate Moho" to be true. Also, a lot of us are competative, but it doesn't affect our interactions, for the most part.

Not at all. There are lesbians here but also plenty of straight people too, just like any other campus. I think that the difference here is that the gay population is active and is very accepted on campus. It is a safe space for all kinds of people to be who they are.

For the most part these stereotypes are correct. There is a large number of lesbians, transgender people, and bisexuals. Smith is very liberal even to the point that their Republican club has a confidential mailing list.

Not really. Yes, there is a large gay population, but there are a ton of straight people too. I know many conservatives on campus, but more importantly, I know that they don't get slammed for their opinions-- Smithies are really smart. They don't tend to stay along party lines, they want to know more and come up with better solutions. And no, not all Smithies are loud and obnoxious, on the contrary there are just enough of us who make noise to make classes lively and interactive.

Not really. All queer groups are minorities on campus, and we're just like the women at any other small, private, liberal arts college, only more so.

Somewhat

in a way... but there really isn't a lot of lesbians. But there are a lot of peculiar people.

Absolutely.