Smith,
Area Colleges Listed in New Student Guide
It’s not exactly a college
ranking, but a new book of quirky top ten lists for American
colleges ranks Smith and three of the four other Five College
institutions among its various categories.
The Students’ Guide
to Colleges, a new college guidebook published by Penguin
Books, surveyed thousands of college students across the nation
and compiled their responses into a compendium of top ten
lists.
Some of the categories, such
as “Top 10 Misunderstood Schools,” are a bit amorphous.
Others, like “Top 10 Schools You’ve Never Heard
Of” poke a little fun, but in good humor.
Smith College, for its part,
is listed among the “Top 10 Schools in Amazing Locations”
(schools are not ranked within the categories). “When
studying is done, students at these colleges live in some
of the best cities or towns to have fun,” says the explanation
of the category. “They love their surroundings, and
their place in them.”
About Smith, a student listed
as “Cary, a Psychology major from Northampton, MA,”
says “Smith is in the middle of a great, liberal, artsy
town…There’s definitely a lot of interaction between
the town and Smith; people from the town will even attend
our theater productions and sporting events in the springtime.
The athletic fields are connected to the old state hospital
grounds right near campus, so there are lots of joggers with
cute dogs, and also a river which is great for swimming on
those hot New England days.”
Joining Smith on the list are
the universities of California-Berkeley, Colorado at Boulder,
Texas at Austin, Michigan in Ann Arbor, George Washington
University (Washington, D.C.), New York University and Tulane
(New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina notwithstanding), as well
as Lewis & Clark College (Portland, Oregon), and the College
of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia).
Of the other area colleges, Mount
Holyoke is listed among the “Top 10 Sleep-Deprived Schools.”
Mount Holyoke student “Shana, an Undecided major from
Brattleboro, VT,” says, “Everyone here is involved
in a billion different activities. I even had a friend who
had to schedule showering time into her date book!”
Hampshire College made two categories
in the book. It’s considered among the “Top 10
(or 15) Schools for Different Types of Students,” as
well as the “Top 10 Schools with Unconventional Attitudes.”
And the University of Massachusetts
is one of the “Top 10 Fun-Loving Schools,” those
with students “who love to party.”
Among other Seven Sisters colleges,
Wellesley was called one of the “Top 10 Most Intellectual
Schools.” Vassar joins Hampshire College on the list
of “Top 10 Schools with Unconventional Attitudes.”
And Barnard, Bryn Mawr and Wellesley are listed among the
“Top 10 Misunderstood Schools.”
Seven Sisters colleges and others
in the area that may refute their listings can take heart
that at least none of them made the book’s first list:
"Top 10 Schools You’ve Never Heard Of."
The Students’ Guide
to Colleges is likely not essential reading for prospective
students seeking the best school to begin their matriculation.
But the book is a fun read and who knows, for some, maybe
being one of the Top 10 Schools in Amazing Locations is a
foremost criterion for making their choice.
The Students’ Guide
to Colleges was released nationally earlier this month.
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