Smith College Top Questions

The thing that strikes me most about academics at Smith is how amazing my professors are. They all know who I am and genuinely care about what I'm getting out of their classes. Students here are very academic, and I spend at least a little time almost every day studying. This means that the level of class participation and discussion is usually very high and I learn on a regular basis from my peers as well as my professors.

While various programs and professors are outstanding, I find myself bored with my classes and my professors. Perhaps when I find a major that suits me I will have better things to say about Smith's academics but for now, all I can really say is that professors assign a lot of busy work which unnecessarily stresses out students who are already inclined to be stressed ("overachievers"). Smith students are generally intelligent, although you do get the occasional girl who doesn't know what she's talking about and will try to argue with you. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class. Smith's more geared towards learning rather than towards getting a job; it is a liberal arts college. I both like and dislike the lack of core requirements; while I enjoy choosing my own classes, I feel that as someone who doesn't have a major and does not know what direction I am headed in, perhaps being forced to take classes I wouldn't normally take would be helpful. I've found that students' study habits vary and it depends on where a student lives. For example, students who live on the Quad generally do not study as rigorously as students who live on Green Street, for example. Perhaps it's the "party" atmosphere...

The small classes are very beneficial. The professors know everyone's names and it is easy to get help when needed. I am quite disappointed by the lack of school work, however. I am bored out of my mind.

students here are very competitive to the detriment of their education. A lot of smithies do what they have to do to get the grade even if it means sacrificing their learning. people don't read articles, they talk to people who have read them. they don't watch a film but they fake having seen it for class. "do what you have to to get the grade at the cost of skipping the parts where you actually learn."

Smith academics are HARD. Not only do the professors expect a lot, but the competitive nature of Smithies means you really are completing every reading, revising every paper and spending most nights in the library. Good thing is, we love to learn!

I'm a philosophy major, and the department is fantastic. It's pretty big, considering how small the school is. The professors are friendly, they make an effort to get to know the majors. And all of us students talk and are friendly. There's a lot of camaraderie in the department. And if you're interested in philosophy, you should REALLY consider a women's college like Smith. I can promise you that all your philosophy classes at coed schools will be totally dominated by men. I have had a lot of academic conversations outside of the classroom, but it's certainly not all we do. You'll have discussions about other things, too.

Every one of my professors knows my name. I have a few classes where this doesn't necessarily have to be the case because of the big size, but in that instance, I make a point to go to my prof's office hours and get to know him/her. Either way, professors are overjoyed to have students display interest in their field, so they welcome casual conversations, or questions about coursework. Smith classes are hard. They are tons of work. There is so much work that it is impossible to have a social life and also get all of your work done all the time. But, professors know this, and I only know a handful of students who read every single word for every class. Sometimes things can get stressful, but it's all worth it because most of the classes are absolutely phenomenal. In general, you can get any Smithie talking about her academic pursuits, because each person is so invested in their education. It's great.

Academics at Smith are very intense. Ask people how they are doing and they will most often tell you "busy, but ok." Many students take more than a full course load (16 credits). Classes are challenging with a lot of outside reading. I have one class this semester with 300 pages of reading a night. Despite the hard course load, I'm really happy I'm here because I am learning so much more than most of my friends at larger, less challenging schools. As one of my friends put it, "you know you're screwed when the kids visiting from Harvard are freaked out by the amount of work you have."

Love the classes. Professors who have been here a while are great, the new ones they are bringing in are the ones to look out for (although some of them rock).

It's true, we work like crazy--and everyone here would be thankful if our professors gave us just a little less work, and a little more time for extra-curricular pursuits (like regular sleep and exercise). But people here love the work--we talk about the subjects we study outside of class, and not only in terms of what homework we need to finish, but out of genuine interest in the material.