Smith College: Narrative Description

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SMITH COLLEGE E-5

Northampton, MA 01063
Tel: (413)584-2700
Free: 800-383-3232
Admissions: (413)585-2500
Fax: (413)585-2123
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: http://www.smith.edu/

Description:

Independent, comprehensive, women only. Awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and post-master's certificates. Founded 1871. Setting: 125-acre small town campus with easy access to Hartford. Endowment: $923 million. Research spending 2003-04: $3.8 million. Educational spending 2003-04: $17,905 per student. Total enrollment: 3,159. Faculty: 305 (285 full-time, 20 part-time). Student-undergrad faculty ratio is 9:1. 3,304 applied, 52% were admitted. 59% from top 10% of their high school class, 88% from top quarter, 99% from top half. Full-time: 2,641 students. Part-time: 41 students. Students come from 53 states and territories, 65 other countries, 76% from out-of-state, 1% Native American, 6% Hispanic, 6% black, 10% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 7% international, 8% 25 or older, 91% live on campus, 3% transferred in. Retention: 92% of full-time freshmen returned the following year. Academic areas with the most degrees conferred: social sciences and history; area/ethnic studies; psychology. Calendar: semesters. Services for LD students, advanced placement, accelerated degree program, self-designed majors, independent study, double major, part-time degree program, adult/continuing education programs, internships, graduate courses open to undergrads. Off campus study at Pomona College, Amherst College, Bowdoin College, Connecticut College, Dartmouth College, Mount Holyoke College, Trinity College, Vassar College, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, Wheaton College, Williams College, several historically black colleges. Study abroad program. ROTC: Army (c).

Entrance Requirements:

Options: Peterson's Universal Application, Common Application, electronic application, early admission, early decision, deferred admission, international baccalaureate accepted. Required: essay, high school transcript, 3 recommendations, SAT or ACT. Recommended: interview, SAT Subject Tests, SAT II: Writing Test. Entrance: very difficult. Application deadlines: 1/15, 11/15 for early decision plan 1, 1/2 for early decision plan 2. Notification: 4/1, 12/15 for early decision plan 1, 2/1 for early decision plan 2.

Costs Per Year:

Application fee: $60. Comprehensive fee: $38,886 includes full-time tuition ($28,930), mandatory fees ($226), and college room and board ($9730). College room only: $4890. Room and board charges vary according to housing facility. Part-time tuition: $905 per credit hour.

Collegiate Environment:

Orientation program. Drama-theater group, choral group, student-run newspaper, radio station. Social organizations: 112 open to all. Most popular organizations: Recreation Council, Service Organizations of Smith, Glee Club and choirs, Athletic Association, Black Student Alliance. Major annual events: International Students' Bazaar, Otelia Cromwell Day (Diversity Day), Rally Day. Student services: health clinic, personal-psychological counseling, women's center. Campus security: 24-hour emergency response devices and patrols, late night transport-escort service, self-defense workshops, emergency telephones, programs in crime and sexual assault prevention. 2,449 college housing spaces available. Freshmen guaranteed college housing. On-campus residence required through senior year. Option: women-only housing available. Neilson Library plus 3 others with 1.3 million books, 141,932 microform titles, 6,530 serials, 65,135 audiovisual materials, an OPAC, and a Web page. Operations spending 2003-04: $7 million. 585 computers available on campus for general student use. Computer purchase/lease plans available. A campuswide network can be accessed from student residence rooms and from off campus. Staffed computer lab on campus.

Community Environment:

The early frontier town of Northampton, settled in 1654, has been transformed over the intervening three-andone-half centuries into a lively and sophisticated center of culture, commerce, and entertainment. Northampton has been named the Number 1 small town for the arts in the country by writer John Villani. Today there is a population of over 30,000. Located in the western-central part of state, about 18 miles north of Springfield, the area is easily accessible to good recreational sites. The city has a community hospital, theatres, art galleries, parks, and several hotels and motels. Part-time work is available for students.

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