Smith College Top Questions

A large part of the population is involved in activism of some sort. You'll catch many Smith students hanging out in the downtown Northampton area because there are so many different places to eat and shop.

Athletics, music groups, and student government are all relatively popular on campus. Many students are very supportive of these kinds of groups and attend their events, but there are also so many other activities to participate in. In terms of partying, there are definitely parties on weekends, but many students go to the other four colleges in the area to party as well. We have no sororities or fraternities, so there are not parties as often as at schools like UMass.

I think one of the biggest groups on campus is the Smith Democrats. We have an excellent group and have a couple of students on the executive board of both the College Democrats of Massachusetts and the College Democrats of America! Sports are a great way to get involved and those teams tend to be pretty tightly knit. For example, I'm on the crew team and there are 60 people on the team but that is still how I met my closest friends. Smithies are very involved. We take our academics seriously and we take our extracurriculars seriously. There is always something to do, an event, a party, a lecture. A lot of people do spend Friday night getting take out and watching a movie, or catching up on some homework. But that doesnt' matter when you are surrounded by people you really like in your houses. My group of friends my from house first-year are still some of my closest friends. People do party here! We have parties nearly every weekend, and there are plenty of opportunities to go off campus and meet new people, if you choose to do so. Northampton is also a fun place. I volunteer at the Academy of Music, a local theater so I sometimes will spend my nights ushering and handing out programs then seeing a free show! There are so many ways to get involved here and so much going on that most students complain more about being overwhelmed with all the possibilities rather than being bored.

Students tend to leave doors open and houses are often quite close. Sometimes this leads to house-drama, but it also leads to a lot of house-love and really close friendships. Guest speakers are definitely more popular than athletic events, although the sports teams usually have a lot of spirit themselves (just not a lot of spectators). Smith is filled with beautiful traditions like Mountain Day (a spontaneous day off in the fall) and Ivy Day (a parade at the end of the school year). I met my closest friends in my house and also in an activist group I joined. If I was awake at 2 am on a Tuesday I would definitely be at the local 24-hour diner with my pals. In fact, we did that a lot. That diner has amazing spicy fries. There were always parties on the weekends, but there were a lot of smithies who weren't big drinkers and there were plenty of non-drinking things to do. People would stay up late talking, catch a movie in town, order ice cream and cookies to be delivered to the house, go visit friends at another campus... I never had a weekend where I didn't have anything fun to do. In the winter a lot of people go sledding and ice skating at night; a lot of people hike and go to concerts in town.

VIBES concert at Smith College

There are sooo many amazing clubs on campus doing a lot of incredible things. I spend almost all of my free time doing climate change activism on campus. A lot of students play sports but watching games doesn't have a prominent spot in Smith's popular activities. Guest speakers, however, draw quite a crowd, especially controversial ones, and many well-known people speak every year. Theater and dance is also popular and fun to go to. Dating can be very difficult, if not nearly impossible for straight girls. There are other co-ed schools nearby, but in reality the other schools are at least half an hour away and sometimes hard to enter the social scene there. The party scene at Smith is also a bit strange since it is a woman's school. Parties are strictly regulated, and while people drink, its not a drinking culture or allowed openly. Students also do drugs, but again, its not part of the culture and its done pretty quietly. Smith is definitely not a party school, and most girls who really party go off campus to Amherst or UMASS. House community is incredible and most people's closest friends come from their houses. I've also met a lot of people from extracurriculars - like my work in activism. I take many classes off campus to learn different things, meet new people and get off campus. I love Hampshire and have taken several of my classes each semester there - its a very short and easy (and free) bus ride away and offers quite a different atmosphere.

One thing that really determines your experience is your house placement. If you live in the quad, you're likely to have more party girls and fewer book worms. Central campus and Elm Street houses variety, tight house community, and the hipster crowd. If you like to wear a cape, read Jane Austen, and wield a sword, Green Street is your scene.

One of my favorite things about Smith is the housing system. You are put into a "house" that could have anywhere from 15 to 100 other students living in it. Houses have students from all four years, and people usually live in the same house for the duration of their time at Smith. House life is awesome--there is really strong house community, people leave their doors unlocked (I would feel comfortable leaving my door completely open for several hours). There are living rooms where people hang out together and most of the rooms are pretty nice, or at least unique. There is variation in house culture--some houses are really tight-knit and others are less community oriented, but if you don't like your house it is not too hard to move. I have been on a sports team, and it is wonderful. There are several teams you can join without any experience, even if you've never been an athlete before. Do it.

Smith is by no means a party school. That is not to say there aren't parties, but they tend to be kinda lame. I've had the most fun just opening a bottle with some friends and playing games. People do take school seriously, so while there is some of a party life, it's not crazy every night. also, it's easy to get off campus to party at another school. The student organizations are varied and there is something for everyone. there are varsity and club sports, as well. Smith has a lot of fun traditions, such as mountain day (a random day where the president cancels all classes as a surprise so we can enjoy a fall day), convocation, and lots of other things. One fun part about being at Smith is learning about all these traditions as you go.

At times it can suck. But there is usually something to always do or attend on campus. Plus we are near four other colleges and we can attend their events just as easily.

The house parties are great in the Quad. They bring in a DJ and if your over 21 you get free beer. There is always something to do on the weekends. There is not Greek life at Smith but the houses are so close that it's almost the same.

Don't count on parties being very great. If you want to party, go to UMass. That doesn't mean it isn't fun here though. People here don't feel the need to be drunk all the time to have fun.

Athletic events are not very highly attended. Popular social events are the house parties that happen every weekend. These mostly occur in a group of building which are known as the Quad. Although when first coming to Smith one is reassured that boys will not be lacking, this is not true. Guys tend to stear away from Smith due to the popular stereotype that it is mostly a lesbian college. Unless, you are the type of girl to search out guys and appear available, it is difficult to meet guys. At Smith there are no fraternities/sororities, but each house and the community it build provides some of the same network/ social security as a sorority. Many Smith students study for a good part of the weekend and if anyone is awake at 2am on a Tuesday it is because they are working on class work.

Some sports on campus are pretty active, and LGBT plays a big part, but I think the things that people are involved in are pretty even and wide-spread. No one thing takes over at all, many people like comic books, others swim, others like math or investing. The dorms here are AMAZING. We all live in houses, I live in Talbot, and I love it. People spend a lot of time in common areas, and many either do hw in the halls, and/or leave their doors open. There are always lots of couples on campus, and a lot of girls find boyfriends at the other schools in the 5 college consortium, and still others are in long distance relationships. After going to Smith I can tell you, you can make it work! Many here to. I never drink on saturday nights... We often have capture the flag in the snow during the winter, a cappella groups singing every weekend, concerts downtown, even bedtime stories read by the president. I shop and go to concerts off campus, as well as do swing dancing performances, open dances, and weekend exchanges.

What Smith social life? People who like to party and do it regularly do it off-campus, at one of the other five colleges. The rest of us stay home and get annoyed when they come home drunk and shrieky at four in the morning. My closest friends are all from my house, and house community is a big part of Smith social life. There are no sororities, but houses come pretty close, and host events like Big Sib/Little Sib, where first-years and transfers have a secret Big Sib who leaves them notes and small gifts like candy for a week. In general, houses are welcoming and a comfortable social space--they can get pretty passive-aggressive when house-mates come into conflict but don't want to be open about it.

Straight girls complain that it's hard to meet boys. Our houses are like friendly, nonthreatening sororities with their own traditions and crazy stuff, with a built-in network of friends, study buddies, and dining hall companions.

There are a lot of groups here. I'm not involved in any yet. Yes we leave our dorms open most of the time. Athletic events aren't that popular unless you know a lot of people. We have a lot of Guest Speakers. It always seems like there's a new one every week. The dating scene for the straight, gay, lesbian, and bi community is very active. I met my closest friend at a party at Amherst. He's such a cool guy. If I'm awake on Tuesday at 2 I’m either talking to my friend Brittani or I’m doing homework. Traditions... I'm not too sure of the traditions they have. People party a lot here... but they always make sure all their work is done first. We don't have frats or sororities. Last weekend I went to my track meet and then went to New York for my first official photo shoot!!! Yay me!!! On a Saturday with no drinking I can have fun. I don't drink alcohol and I don't believe it's necessary. I am in a dance group off campus.

Lots of extracurriculars. This thing is running long, yo.

Smith houses are the center of social life for most people. You eat meals with people in your house, go to events with them, do homework in the hallways with them and pull all-nighters in your house living room during finals. We have tea in our houses at the end of every week, and it's a great way to relax after a hard week of class with your housemates. There isn't much of a dating scene for straight Smithies, unless you make a lot of effort to meet guys at other schools. A lot of club sports are popular, like ultimate frisbee, rugby and lacrosse. And many varsity teams accept people with no experience, like crew and fencing. Pretty much whatever you're into, you can find a way to do it at Smith (or in the five colleges). swing dance, step, science fiction, you name it, there's probably an organization for it.

The honor code policy on campus lets you leave your room door open and your laundry detergent downstairs without worrying about theft. There is strong house community and when you arrive, you're immediately surrounded by friends. Some areas of campus are more prone to partying than others. Smithies know how to have a good time, whether partying or attending concerts on campus or around town.