Smith College: would a straight cis-gender girl feel out of place?

[Anonymous]

Do most college-aged kids date much? The serious students? My cis daughter, at a mixed gender SLAC does not.

[Anonymous]

Agnes Scott?

[Anonymous]

Take with a grain of salt, but here's a thread on College Confidential in which a student says 50% of Smith students identify as queer: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/2111444-gay-social-scene-at-smith-college.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take with a grain of salt, but here's a thread on College Confidential in which a student says 50% of Smith students identify as queer: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/2111444-gay-social-scene-at-smith-college.html

Umm, a grain of salt??? Try an entire salt shaker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD liked Smith a lot (great school, beautiful campus, cosy feel, great town, family members have attended in earlier decades). But she is worried that as a straight cis-gendered woman she might feel out of place. (She was told that more than half of current smith students identify as LGBTQ). She is very comfortable with that community but worries that someone not part of it will have fewer social opportunistic and will feel more isolated. Can anyone with recent experience with Smith comment? DD is not by any stretch a political conservative but she is in some ways a fairly conventional kid (she is also interested in several southern schools, is possibly interested in joining a sorority, etc).

The plurality if not majority of students are cis gandered and straight. She will still be in the majority.

Not at Smith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? FFS.

Why is this FFS? It's a perfectly legitimate question. Think about how many people ask questions along the lines of, will my left of center kid feel comfortable at a southern school with a huge Greek presence, even though said school has 20,000 students. At a large school, there is always going to be a decent number of kids of all persuasions, not so much at a very small school like Smith. And many LGBTQ girls, choose Smith specifically for it's reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD liked Smith a lot (great school, beautiful campus, cosy feel, great town, family members have attended in earlier decades). But she is worried that as a straight cis-gendered woman she might feel out of place. (She was told that more than half of current smith students identify as LGBTQ). She is very comfortable with that community but worries that someone not part of it will have fewer social opportunistic and will feel more isolated. Can anyone with recent experience with Smith comment? DD is not by any stretch a political conservative but she is in some ways a fairly conventional kid (she is also interested in several southern schools, is possibly interested in joining a sorority, etc).

The plurality if not majority of students are cis gandered and straight. She will still be in the majority.

Not at Smith.

Yes they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How hard/easy is it to take classes at Amherst or UMass, and have a social life with students from those schools? Isn't it like a 45 minute bus ride?

Why in the world would someone want to go to a school, when they are hoping to be able to take classes at another school or have access to another school for social opportunities? If your daughter doesn't think Smith will be able to provide her what she wants, she shouldn't go there! There are plenty of cozy, SLAC's with beautiful campuses that would fit the bill.

[Anonymous]

One of my good friends transferred from Smith, where she was a many generation legacy, to a top 15 coed university for just this reason more than two decades ago. She is a very liberal person who maintained a lot of her friendships from a Smith but the social scena was not great for straight women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would urge her to opt for another school. Meeting guys shouldn't be hard work. As for taking classes at another school, it's a time suck. Take the bus, take the class, get back on the bus.

Everyone's goal is not to meet guys. My DD has plenty of guy friends in HS. My smart, shy child wants to major in STEM without being shouted down or doubted all of the time by guys. She plans co-ed for grad school and fully realizes she will have to work with men in the work world. She just wants a chance to develop her science skills without men overshadowing her. She wants a more female supportive environment.

That's fine, but the vast majority of heterosexual women in their late teens and early twenties are quite interested in wanting the opportunity to date/hookup/what have you with men.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't laugh but Grandma graduated from MHC in 1928.
They have a very active alumni department. Even in
Grandma's late 80's the college was doing outreach so that
Grandma could attend alumni functions.

Grandma met Grandpa at the wedding of a friend. Grandpa
went to Swarthmore. Grandpa flunked out of Swarthmore one
year so it took him 5 years to graduate. Grandpa always
felt that Grandma was much better educated than him and
that MHC was the better college.

Grandma was lifelong friends with her classmates from MHC.

There are very nice folk at the college. I'd recommend spending several days there.

Ok, but do you really think the social climate is anything at all like it was in 1928?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do most college-aged kids date much? The serious students? My cis daughter, at a mixed gender SLAC does not.

Yes, most college aged kids date quite a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]Do most college-aged kids date much? The serious students? [/b]My cis daughter, at a mixed gender SLAC does not.

Yes, most college aged kids date quite a bit.

Not sure about the "serious" ones, but the fun ones do.

[Anonymous]

I went to Smith 20+ years ago. There have always been lesbians on campus. I was straight and loved Smith. It never bothered me, and I dated boys from many different schools. I actually married one. I did not, however, enjoy the super liberal, angry students on campus. If you didn't share their view, they would force their opinions on you in uncomfortable ways. Basically, I kept my opinions to myself for four years both in and outside of the classroom. I think it is difficult to have any opinion other than theirs. And, I have heard that this is much worse now. I think its sad that the culture has created an environment of only one opinion with no discussion or dissention, the antithesis of what I consider a good liberal arts education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]Do most college-aged kids date much? The serious students? [/b]My cis daughter, at a mixed gender SLAC does not.

Yes, most college aged kids date quite a bit.

Not sure about the "serious" ones, but the fun ones do.

Huh. I am a professor, and I observe the opposite. Most of my students who I know are in relationships are pretty serious, and generally more on the quiet side, or at least not the super outgoing party types. The "fun" ones - if we're defining that as outgoing, likes to party, etc. - seem to be more into hookup culture.