Smith or Davidson College?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--thanks all the helpful input. I'm sitting in our hotel room while daughter went for a jaunt around the Davidson campus without mom. We decided to take the last minute roadtrip b/c admissions has graciously arranged a private tour for us tomorrow morning with a theater major who happens to be working in the admissions office this summer. We have told our daughter that the decision is hers and hers alone, and hubby and I will celebrate whichever she chooses. Funny about the PP mentioning the thread with a boyfriend involved. Our daughter's boyfriend already told her she should go to Smith . However, it appears he is likely to be disappointed as daughter's texted me that she's pretty certain it'll be Davidson. It's likely we will be leaving a deposit before we depart tomorrow.

The Davidson campus is quite charming as is the Town of Davidson, and the weather could not be nicer. The campus was pretty active today--it turns out it was reunion weekend. We did find some students and young alums still on campus. We chatted with a few very friendly Davidson baseball players in town who were getting ready to leave for the summer. They told my daughter in no uncertain terms that she should pick Davidson. One directed us to Davidson's Lake Campus which we checked out on our own. Now that was a bonus! The Davidson Lake Campus is a lakefront recreation area on Lake Norman solely for the college community and even has a sandy beach w/kayaks and boats for the students to checkout. Smith has Paradise Pond but nothing like Lake Norman and certainly not the climate to go swimming in the fall and spring.

Smart girl. Congrats to her.

[Anonymous]

Given OP’s exposition, Davidson is the obvious choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given OP’s exposition, Davidson is the obvious choice.

Odd use of the word "exposition"; not sure what you meant to convey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given OP’s exposition, Davidson is the obvious choice.

Odd use of the word "exposition"; not sure what you meant to convey.

Here is the definition of exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

I take the post you quoted to mean that given all that OP said (the description) about how her DD felt about Davidson (the idea), it makes sense that her DD would choose that school. Hope that helps.

-NP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do agree with another poster who wrote that these schools are very different. Hard to imagine a person who would apply to both of these almost polar opposite schools and then have difficulty deciding between the two.

I don’t see how these schools are polar opposites. They are both small liberal arts schools not located in a city.

You need to visit. If you think that Smith College and Davidson College offer similar campus cultures, you are probably unfamiliar with both schools.

If it helps, the overlap schools for Smith College are: Barnard, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, & Wellesley.

Overlaps for Davidson College: Wash & Lee, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Rhodes, and Duke.

According to College Transitions: Davidson College overlaps are Duke, Emory,UNC, U Virginia, and Vanderbilt.

On another college website, Smith has been referred to as "the gayest place on earth" and the former president of Smith College actually conducted a formal poll of then current Smith students asking their sexual orientation due to Smith's reputation as a lesbian school. Smith College had significant issues with student on student same sex sexual assaults several years ago that may have prompted the survey (in addition to Smith's rep as a school for a particular sexual orientation).

NP. This post seems extremely narrow minded and biased. Firstly, there is lots of potential overlap between colleges across the "categories" here. My kid applied to several and considered schools across the list. The last portion with "substantial" seems to betray an ugly bias. I have no connection to Smith, but have done research on it as DD considered it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--thanks all the helpful input. I'm sitting in our hotel room while daughter went for a jaunt around the Davidson campus without mom. We decided to take the last minute roadtrip b/c admissions has graciously arranged a private tour for us tomorrow morning with a theater major who happens to be working in the admissions office this summer. We have told our daughter that the decision is hers and hers alone, and hubby and I will celebrate whichever she chooses. Funny about the PP mentioning the thread with a boyfriend involved. Our daughter's boyfriend already told her she should go to Smith . However, it appears he is likely to be disappointed as daughter's texted me that she's pretty certain it'll be Davidson. It's likely we will be leaving a deposit before we depart tomorrow.

The Davidson campus is quite charming as is the Town of Davidson, and the weather could not be nicer. The campus was pretty active today--it turns out it was reunion weekend. We did find some students and young alums still on campus. We chatted with a few very friendly Davidson baseball players in town who were getting ready to leave for the summer. They told my daughter in no uncertain terms that she should pick Davidson. One directed us to Davidson's Lake Campus which we checked out on our own. Now that was a bonus! The Davidson Lake Campus is a lakefront recreation area on Lake Norman solely for the college community and even has a sandy beach w/kayaks and boats for the students to checkout. Smith has Paradise Pond but nothing like Lake Norman and certainly not the climate to go swimming in the fall and spring.

That's great, OP! Having her tour with a student in potential major is a great way to help her decide. Both schools offer so much -- no bad choice here. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Wellesley alum with many wonderful friends who are Smith alumnae. Like you, OP, I would have loved to see my DD go to my alma mater -- or to another women's college -- but she really wanted a coed school. For her, it wasn't about finding a guy to date; rather she wanted to have male classmates and platonic male friends, and she wanted to be a part of a community where men and women students would work together and support one another. She just graduated and over the past four years I've seen that she made the right choice. I offer just one small vignette to illustrate this -- DD played a varsity sport and at her last college game in the NCAA tournament there were many, many members of the men's teams out there cheering on the women's team -- exactly the experience DD had hoped to have. OP, my advice to you and your husband is to let your daughter make her choice without undue influence from her parents.

100%! OP here and daughter is not an athlete but this was the primary reason our daughter is choosing Davidson. She grew up with a brother and close friendships of both sexes and that is ultimately is what she wants to find in her college experience. As was pointed out in this morning's tour, Davidson has women's eating houses so she has still can find that sisterhood experience though certainly not to the extent she'd get at Smith. She is sad about the life opportunities she is giving up by passing on Smith and said said she wishes she could go to college twice. She and I would have been in the same reunion year and the shared experience of attending Smith would have been meaningful to both of us, but this weekend reinforced all the reasons she wanted to stay on Davidson's waitlist in the first place. Academically, both colleges are top notch with enthusiastic alumni networks to match. Everyone we've met at Davidson and in town has been super welcoming and friendly. Most importantly, daughter is happy with her decision and is now beyond excited about what lays ahead for her next 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given OP’s exposition, Davidson is the obvious choice.

Odd use of the word "exposition"; not sure what you meant to convey.

Here is the definition of exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

I take the post you quoted to mean that given all that OP said (the description) about how her DD felt about Davidson (the idea), it makes sense that her DD would choose that school. Hope that helps.

-NP

Thanks. I did google the definition of exposition before posting. Still seems to be an inappropriate usage. Maybe that poster meant "disposition" rather than "exposition".

Regardless, thank you again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do agree with another poster who wrote that these schools are very different. Hard to imagine a person who would apply to both of these almost polar opposite schools and then have difficulty deciding between the two.

I don’t see how these schools are polar opposites. They are both small liberal arts schools not located in a city.

You need to visit. If you think that Smith College and Davidson College offer similar campus cultures, you are probably unfamiliar with both schools.

If it helps, the overlap schools for Smith College are: Barnard, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, & Wellesley.

Overlaps for Davidson College: Wash & Lee, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Rhodes, and Duke.

According to College Transitions: Davidson College overlaps are Duke, Emory,UNC, U Virginia, and Vanderbilt.

On another college website, Smith has been referred to as "the gayest place on earth" and the former president of Smith College actually conducted a formal poll of then current Smith students asking their sexual orientation due to Smith's reputation as a lesbian school. Smith College had significant issues with student on student same sex sexual assaults several years ago that may have prompted the survey (in addition to Smith's rep as a school for a particular sexual orientation).

NP. This post seems extremely narrow minded and biased. Firstly, there is lots of potential overlap between colleges across the "categories" here. My kid applied to several and considered schools across the list. The last portion with "substantial" seems to betray an ugly bias. I have no connection to Smith, but have done research on it as DD considered it.

Reread the post that you commented on. Cannot find the word "substantial" to which you refer.

Neither narrow minded nor biased--just responding to OP's question regarding her straight daughter's better choice. The response uses outside publications' findings and writings.

Before falsely accusing others of being narrow minded and biased, I think that you need to look into a mirror for the real culprit.

[Anonymous]

Congrats to your daughter! My son is also hoping to come off Davidson's wait list. OP did your submit any updates/supplements beyond her email expressing continuing interest?

[Anonymous]

Congrats to your daughter! they seem like very different schools to me, both great, but different so it's good that she went with what feels right to her.

[Anonymous]

DAVIDSON FOR SURE. It has better on-campus recruiting, the weather is better, and the population of women she connects with at Smith may be small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can she go visit Davidson to get familiar again? I know people that went to both and I can barely think of more different schools.

This is one of the silliest things I’ve ever read on DCUM. You think Smith is more similar to the University of Mississippi than it is to Davidson? More similar to Liberty than it is to Davidson? More similar to Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, Cal State Fullerton, VMI, or [insert the name of 85% of other colleges or universities in the U.S.]?

OP, they are both great schools and we know kids at both. I bet there are a significant number of young women who could be happy at either, as they are alike in most respects. I’d certainly choose Davidson for my straight DD or child who loves sports, though.

[Anonymous]

Glad she choose Davidson! It was high on my kids list. I will always wish one of them went to Davidison. My DD bought a sweatshirt there when we visited and every single time she wore it, someone stopped her to tell her what a great school it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do agree with another poster who wrote that these schools are very different. Hard to imagine a person who would apply to both of these almost polar opposite schools and then have difficulty deciding between the two.

I don’t see how these schools are polar opposites. They are both small liberal arts schools not located in a city.

You need to visit. If you think that Smith College and Davidson College offer similar campus cultures, you are probably unfamiliar with both schools.

If it helps, the overlap schools for Smith College are: Barnard, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, & Wellesley.

Overlaps for Davidson College: Wash & Lee, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Rhodes, and Duke.

According to College Transitions: Davidson College overlaps are Duke, Emory,UNC, U Virginia, and Vanderbilt.

On another college website, Smith has been referred to as "the gayest place on earth" and the former president of Smith College actually conducted a formal poll of then current Smith students asking their sexual orientation due to Smith's reputation as a lesbian school. Smith College had significant issues with student on student same sex sexual assaults several years ago that may have prompted the survey (in addition to Smith's rep as a school for a particular sexual orientation).

NP. This post seems extremely narrow minded and biased. Firstly, there is lots of potential overlap between colleges across the "categories" here. My kid applied to several and considered schools across the list. The last portion with "substantial" seems to betray an ugly bias. I have no connection to Smith, but have done research on it as DD considered it.

Reread the post that you commented on. Cannot find the word "substantial" to which you refer.

Neither narrow minded nor biased--just responding to OP's question regarding her straight daughter's better choice. The response uses outside publications' findings and writings.

Before falsely accusing others of being narrow minded and biased, I think that you need to look into a mirror for the real culprit.

I meant "significant," but the sentiment is the same. Trying to flip the table on me doesn't work even though you want it to. That is such a Trump move -- juvenile and inaccurate. Nothing about typing a different but similar adjective says "narrow-minded." (Absent-minded? Yes, of course)! The issues with your post are present. The bias is there, trying to suggest that Smith is some high-risk den of same-sex sexual assault, and the fact that you attempt to lock down what is and isn't potential overlap betrays your narrow mindset and seems weirdly authority hungry. Just let the kids decide what their overlap is. No one needs you to weigh in to tell them that two schools they like are "polar opposites." If they identify cross appeal, what's it to you?