Smith experience. We don’t have traditional dormitories. We have houses that are very warm, inviting, and inclusive place where students take an active role. The houses are like dormitories in that students are assigned to one and guaranteed a space every year.
What kind of opportunities do you have for non-traditional, transfer, and international students?
For non-traditional students we have a terrific program called the Ada Comstock Scholars program. It is the oldest program for non-traditional women in the U.S. We started it in 1975 and we have about 180 students at Smith that we fondly refer to as “Adas.” It works well for non-traditional students because it provides a lot of flexibility. As an Ada you don’t have to take a full course load of 16 credit hours and you don’t have to live on campus. There’s a lot of support and advising. We have students who range from 20 to 60 years old. This is not a program for someone who is new to college; you have to be a transfer student. It is designed for those whose college career was interrupted because they had a family, a job, or other circumstances.
We are very committed to international students and enroll as many students as we can from around the globe. It’s a really important piece of diversity for us to have students who come from different backgrounds and cultural experiences. About 7% of our student body is international students and they come from 72 countries. We offer financial aid to international students and about half of them receive it.
Do you have mentor/summer programs?
We have several programs during the first week of school, including some that focus on culture and diversity.