#smithies

Huge congrats to everyone accepted to the newest class of Smith College!

Since the college is currently closed to in-person visits, I compiled some resources to get to know Smith-no matter where you are:

1.) Chats with current Smithies!

I highly recommend coming to a chat, which is our replacement for student-led campus tours! These informal chats with current Smith students happen almost everyday of the week and are a great way to get an unfiltered look at Smith College from students’ perspectives! You can find the sign up information here under “Smith From a Distance: Connect with a Current Smithie”. Currently, they are only for admitted students, but they will return to being for prospective students as soon as college decisions are done! Feel free to bring any questions about Smith to these chats.

2.) Information sessions!

There are also virtual information sessions lead by Smith’s admissions officers. These are great for learning the nitty-gritty details about Smith (statistics & facts)!

3.) Virtual Campus Tours

Although I’d recommend a current student chat to learn about Smith, the virtual campus tour options here are a great way to see what Smith looks like in person!

4.) Follow Smith College on ZeeMee and join Smith College Class of 2025 Social Media groups on Facebook and Instagram!

ZeeMee is an free app that you can download and follow Smith College for videos and more information about Smith! Class social media pages are created by future Smithies to connect with other admitted students!

5.) Attend a Smith class!

Admitted students are currently able to attend Smith classes to get a feel for a classroom at Smith! You can register for class visits through your Admitted Student portal under the Academics tab.

6.) Other various admission events for admitted students!

The Admissions office is hosting events spread out over the next month for students admitted to Smith! More information also available in your admitted students portal! I know there’s currently an activism series happening that looks cool.

Smith is unique in a specific way: research is very accessible and encouraged for undergraduate students. I’ve been involved in research since my first semester, when I worked in a graduate students lab studying an invasive species of crab, to now when I work in the rWright lab studying coral response to climate change. As a biology major, obviously all of my experience is within STEM research and I know humanities research can and does operate differently, but research, regardless of department, does share some similarities. The biggest question I hear is people wondering how to get involved, so I thought I’d help answer this!

Step 1: Find a professor who is conducting research you are interested in. Many professors have a website listed on their faculty profile which may contain recent publications, how to join their lab (some have an application, some don’t), and work that they and their lab are currently working on. Another good way to find professors to work with is through your classes.

Step 2: Send an email or submit the application to let them know you’re interested! Explain that you’re interested in their work, and would like to be involved. Don’t worry if you don’t have experience yet, that’s the point of working in a lab! 

Step 3: If there isn’t room in their lab they may refer you to another professor or lab. Also, if you start working and realize the research isn’t quite what you had expected, or the hours you’re expected to work aren’t matching up with your schedule, let them know. Everyone understands that Smithies are busy, but communication is key. 

Step 4: Proudly present your awesome research at a 5 College conference, at Collaborations, or turn it into a thesis or special studies and present at a department lunch! 

Here’s a picture of my research: anemones that live in Sabin-Reed where we in the rWright lab run genetic and ecological experiments to determine their ability to survive climate change. We use them as a model organism for coral, so we can leave coral in the wild where we want it to be!

Hi there!! I identify as non-binary as well (they/them or she/her pronouns). As an incoming student I was EXTREMELY nervous about the idea of being not a woman but attending a women’s college. I had the idea that I wouldn’t be comfortable coming out and would have to pretend to be woman and all that, but I was very pleasantly surprised at the fact that this would not be a huge issue at all for me at Smith. While I cannot speak to being a trans man at Smith, because I am not and that comes with a whole other set of challenges and stigmas, being nonbinary is a LOT easier than I anticipated. Asking people’s pronouns is a regular part of Smith culture - in club meetings, house meetings, when introducing yourself to others, and even in some classrooms. While the majority of the Smith population does identify as female, there is definitely a decent number of people that do not. Personally, I found a lot of solace in joining the rugby team which has a large number of trans and non-binary individuals. We also have an org called Transcending Gender for trans and nonbinary Smithies! There has been a push to change Smith’s admission policy (allowing trans women to come to Smith was a big step in changing admissions), but I would definitely like to see more done. While during my day-to-day life at Smith, being out as non-binary has not been a huge challenge (which is largely in part to the people I choose to surround myself with), there is still a lot of work to be done on a higher, administrative level and that only students and alums can start organizing this change. I don’t intend to speak for all trans students here AT ALL but I do think in general this is a very accepting campus when it comes to queerness in all forms.