Smith College Top Questions

I would tell myself to definately consider attending school as soon after graduation as possible. Being a 29 year old student, i found it to be much easier being a student as a younger man in all aspects of the learning process. My memory retention was much more effective and i have forgotten many of the skills needed for effective studying. I have had to apply much more time and effort as an older student in order to achieve the same results as a younger student. I know it seems as if it may add too much time to an already drug out process, but in the scope of life i have wasted much more time waiting to attend college. I have wasted time doing something that i have other than enjoyed only to find myself returning back to a learning situation to do what i could have done some 11 years ago and engaging in a profession that holds my interest and potential happiness. And for what, money? Hardly worth it. So I beg you to stop, think and take the little extra time needed to achieve what you will now and not later.

I know you are not very good at it and mother tells you all the time "You need to have more patience" but Amalie listen to your mother for once in your life and have more patience. Please. When you walk into Smith College do not expect within a week of being there that you will have made friends that you invite to your child's graduation or that you will love your professors or that your professors will love you(they don't even know you yet) and if you get lost a couple hundred times walking around the campus, enjoy winding up in different areas of campus and go exploring. Inhale this lost, scrambling. "I'm so confused and I don't know where my first class is" moment like it was Mariah Carey's new perfume(I assume she came out with a new perfume, she's always coming out with something). I want you to dance when you get lost, dance right there in the middle of I don't know where and dance when you find yourself alone at lunch again. Dance because this "getting to know college" phase is the most beautiful part.

I transferred from a community college to Smith, so I would warn myself about taking more classes that would be actually useful to my four year education. I took lots of classes that I enjoyed, but frankly I could havbe taken more sciences and histories at the community college where it would have been SO much easier, and then been able to take more of the interesting, but still useful, classes at Smith. I would have also tried harder to work on my social skills at my community college.

If I could go back and time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would want to tell me to really learn how to sit down and study. In high school I never really took the time to learn good study habits. I was always able to sort of get by by winging it. Since I had started college I really wish that I had learned how to study well. I would want to teach my high school self how to do research and how to take notes. These are things that I never realized I didn't know how to do until I got into college. Somehow I have learned these skills, but it would have been a lot easier if I had just known them from the start.

Chose a college that is career-oriented and small with professors who care about their student's future.

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I visited 17 on the East and West coast of the the USA, and ended up applying eary decision to a school that i hated when i visited it. But now i call it "home". My point is, sometimes you don't find your dream school when you're in high school or after you graduate, sometimes you find it at school. You make the best of your school, find the friends that make you happy, work hard, and most of all, deiscover your new self as you grow into adulthood. That's really what college is about: working hard academically, while you are blossoming internally throughout your many challenges. As parents, you should know that it always works out in the end, and that all the stress you feel for your child to make the right choice is normal, but sometimes there isn't a "right" choice, just fate. And students, remember it's only four years, and it goes by so quickly! So live it up, reach for the stars and get what you want out of your college expreience.

Tour Everything! I would have never applied to Smith if I hadn't taken a tour and fell in love. Go there and try and imagine yourself there. If it fits, it fits. If not, move on. Once you find the school and get in, take advantage of everything in the 1st couple months. Find a million clubs to join, do every stupid activity in orientation and you'll get the most out of it

Try new things. Make friends with many different people. Study abroad. Go to a school that will challenge you.

I would advise parents to, perhaps for the first time, trust their children. This may be the most important decision their child ever makes and it is of the utmost significance that it be entirely up to them. Also, I strongly recommend not basing decisions on financial restraints. Loans can be taken and jobs can be worked to pay them back. Going to the right school, regardless of cost, can make a huge difference in their student's life and happiness. My college education is costing me a lot, but I do not doubt for a moment that it is truly priceless. To students, I would recommend following their intuition. I don't know if college is the best four years of one's life, but they are truly amazing. There is no better time to change and grow into the person one will become and finding the right place to do that is so important. Look into the future and think about what WILL be important, not necessarily what seems important as a senior in high school. Most importantly, no matter what, take the time to make sure that your decision feels right in the bottom of your heart.

The best advice I have gotten so far is use your resources and network with people because that is how people succeed in life. If you raised your child to make the right decisions then trust them to be able to make them on their own. There will be mistakes made along the way but that is a part of learning and you can't prevent them from making every mistake or they will never learn anything. There is not one correct way about attainting an education, so as long as you have a passion for what you are majoring then do it. It is your life not your parents so do what makes you happy and will get you to where you want to be in the future. Lastly, don't get so busy making a living that you forget to have a life.

Finding the right college and making the most of college is about being truly honest with yourself about your needs, goals, aspirations and future plans.

Finding the right college is about understanding who you are as a college-seeking student. A campus overnight should be considered an integral part of any college search for those universities under serious consideration in order to find the right "fit." Once in college, it is important to make the most of the experience. Although you are ultimately paying for an education, it is important to understand that much of your education takes place outside the classroom. It may be useful not to put academics on the top of your list of priorities at the beginning of your college adventure and get a taste for other campus activities and friendships that are waiting to happen. Chances are you chose a college for more than just academics, so get out there and experience as much as you can early!

The one thing that I feel made the most impact on my decision was actually visiting the school. Try to spend some time in the school's student center. Sit in the cafe or somewhere where there are people around and just try to get a sense of the students around you. Picture yourself as a student at that college. Imagine what you would be doing or which of the people you see you think you would be hanging out with. Walk around the campus. See if you can imagine yourself walking the pathways of that campus as a student there. Be careful about overnights; while they can be a helpful insight into life at that college or university, sometimes seeing one person's perspective can be an inaccurate representation of the whole institution. Take advantage of the resources provided to you at your college. Use the library, participate in extracurriculars, and glean all the information you can from you professors. Above all, absorb as much knowledge as you can from your peers and enjoy college; you are surrounded by interesting, stimuating people!

The best way to find out what college is right for you is visiting colleges and getting a feel for them. If you can imagine yourself going to school somewhere, and being comfortable and happy, it doesn't matter what rank the college has or how prestigious it is. Ultimately it is what you make out of your experience, and you can get the most out of your college experience if you are happy with where you are.

Visit, seriously. Don't just sign up, check the place out and get a feel for the atmosphere. You'll be living there afterall.

Don't pay attention to the name-brand of a place...just go and feel out the college yourself to see if it's a right fit - your potential to grow as a student should be top priority, instead of the potential for having a name-brand bumper sticker on your car.

Let your child make the choice....they are the one's who need to be live with it.

It is true there are some colleges better suited for the individual than others, but what you make of your college experience (what clubs you join, sports you do, the classes you take, how you get involved) is much more important than where you go.

You should not expect to fit in perfectly anywhere. College is what you make of it, not the buildings, teachers, or other students. You have the unique ability to make yourself happy wherever you are, and shouldn't rely on others to do it for you. When you pick a school, find somewhere that you can challenge yourself and grow as a person. Get a strange job, join a new club, go abroad if you can. College is the last 4 years of your life before you hit the "real world". It a place where you look yourself in the mirror during finals and say "I can do it!". Set out your dreams and follow them. Whatever college you pick, you will find them if you try hard enough. College is just a path to make it a little easier.