Best NewEngland woman’s college/university for soccer/academics

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What's the general opinion on Smith for soccer? My daughter wants to keep playing in college. Top of her NPL team. ECNL and GDA wasn't in the cards for us, logistically or financially. Had it been, I would guess she would have been bottom third of a roster anyway. So she's decent, but not top D1 quality. So, here we are and she is picking a college based on academics, community, etc. But she wants to play college soccer too. She loves the game (and I think it breaks her heart that she'll never be the pro she dreamed of becoming as a young girl). How's Smith?

Smith is outstanding academically and very good athletically. All the best in the process. That is what can be tough. Just make sure she likes the school and the setting, the rest will fall into place. Good luck.

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Smith is outstanding academically and very good athletically. All the best in the process. That is what can be tough. Just make sure she likes the school and the setting, the rest will fall into place. Good luck.

Location is a bit remote and the campus small. ISL type student population. Soccer is passable but that is not why you would choose a school like that. If all that is what your kid wants, go for it.

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Location is a bit remote and the campus small. ISL type student population. Soccer is passable but that is not why you would choose a school like that. If all that is what your kid wants, go for it.

Yeah, but it’s part of the five college system so you can take classes at Umass, Amherst, Hampshire and one other. Northhampton is literally 15 minutes away from Amherst where you have about 30,000 students and there is plenty to do if you enjoy the outdoors. Location is more than just the campus, it’s what’s around as well.

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How much time are soccer playing students at top academic colleges like Smith and Amherst going to have anyway? Between classes, soccer & studying there won’t be much time left over, will there?

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How much time are soccer playing students at top academic colleges like Smith and Amherst going to have anyway? Between classes, soccer & studying there won’t be much time left over, will there?

Even athletes have degrees of down time. D3 will have more free time than D1 in winter and spring. Regardless some students want a more vibrant environment, others prefer a quieter one. One of my kids was all but sprinting to the car before the tour was over at a smaller school with nothing to do for miles and miles. One of the first broad cuts when looking at schools is what kind of environment you want - big vs small, urban vs suburban vs rural. Take your kids to some local schools (plenty of them nearby) to get a read on that before they start getting serious.

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Yeah, but it’s part of the five college system so you can take classes at Umass, Amherst, Hampshire and one other. Northhampton is literally 15 minutes away from Amherst where you have about 30,000 students and there is plenty to do if you enjoy the outdoors. Location is more than just the campus, it’s what’s around as well.

Seriously all this is really a reach. If a kid wants a campus with more than 1,200-1,500 students why are they even bothering looking at a school like Smith? Some of you make absolutely no sense. If you’ve had a kid go to one of the state universities you know the kids there generally look at the kids who go to the likes of Amherst and Smith as entitled little rich kids so it’s not like there is a whole lot of cross fraternization. The kids stay in their own environments. If your kid likes a tiny school then go for it. If not there are plenty of equal D1 academic schools out there where a kid could their soccer fix via club soccer and have a hell of a lot more fun with it in the process. Not everyone has to shoe horn their kids into a D3 school just to keep their soccer dreams alive.

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Smith is outstanding academically and very good athletically. All the best in the process. That is what can be tough. Just make sure she likes the school and the setting, the rest will fall into place. Good luck.

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com...h-college.html

Smith around 40-50% gay. Will that be a problem?

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Seriously all this is really a reach. If a kid wants a campus with more than 1,200-1,500 students why are they even bothering looking at a school like Smith? Some of you make absolutely no sense. If you’ve had a kid go to one of the state universities you know the kids there generally look at the kids who go to the likes of Amherst and Smith as entitled little rich kids so it’s not like there is a whole lot of cross fraternization. The kids stay in their own environments. If your kid likes a tiny school then go for it. If not there are plenty of equal D1 academic schools out there where a kid could their soccer fix via club soccer and have a hell of a lot more fun with it in the process. Not everyone has to shoe horn their kids into a D3 school just to keep their soccer dreams alive.

Thanks so much for your advice, BTNT.

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OP of the Smith question here. Like I said earlier, my daughter is focusing on a school she likes overall and then figuring out how to fit soccer into that picture, as it's a sport she wants to keep on playing. Going to a large D1 school and playing club soccer to have more fun on campus makes zero sense for her. She likes smaller schools hence why I asked about Smith and not UMass.

Also, the percentage of gay students doesn't matter. She's not gay but she's certainly comfortable around all types of people.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Early in the process so lots of reading up right now.

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OP of the Smith question here. Like I said earlier, my daughter is focusing on a school she likes overall and then figuring out how to fit soccer into that picture, as it's a sport she wants to keep on playing. Going to a large D1 school and playing club soccer to have more fun on campus makes zero sense for her. She likes smaller schools hence why I asked about Smith and not UMass.

Also, the percentage of gay students doesn't matter. She's not gay but she's certainly comfortable around all types of people.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Early in the process so lots of reading up right now.

Everyone thinks they’re comfortable with something until they find themselves in the minority.

[Unregistered]

OP of the Smith question here. Like I said earlier, my daughter is focusing on a school she likes overall and then figuring out how to fit soccer into that picture, as it's a sport she wants to keep on playing. Going to a large D1 school and playing club soccer to have more fun on campus makes zero sense for her. She likes smaller schools hence why I asked about Smith and not UMass.

Also, the percentage of gay students doesn't matter. She's not gay but she's certainly comfortable around all types of people.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Early in the process so lots of reading up right now.

If that % is right her chance of getting a gay roommate is not low. How would that be different from having a male roommate?

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OP of the Smith question here. Like I said earlier, my daughter is focusing on a school she likes overall and then figuring out how to fit soccer into that picture, as it's a sport she wants to keep on playing. Going to a large D1 school and playing club soccer to have more fun on campus makes zero sense for her. She likes smaller schools hence why I asked about Smith and not UMass.

Also, the percentage of gay students doesn't matter. She's not gay but she's certainly comfortable around all types of people.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Early in the process so lots of reading up right now.

Smith is a great school! No, the soccer isn’t top shelf D1 but it is probably better than you’d think. Soccer also won’t rule her life and she’ll get the whole college experience. My advice would be to visit Smith and a couple of her other choices, meet the soccer coaches, watch a practice, check out campus, sit in on a class and get a feel for the area. She’ll know if she feels “at home” or not! Best of luck!

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Everyone thinks they’re comfortable with something until they find themselves in the minority.

If 40-50% are gay, 50-60% are not. That would not put a straight student "in the minority". Let me guess. You went to a big public D1 school?

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If that % is right her chance of getting a gay roommate is not low. How would that be different from having a male roommate?

I had several roommates of the opposite sex (straight) and 2 who were gay before I was married. Guess what. Every relationship was platonic. It's almost like adults can control themselves and not jump into bed with everyone they meet. Weird, huh?

Pssssst, Grandpa. The 1950s are calling. They miss you.

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If 40-50% are gay, 50-60% are not. That would not put a straight student "in the minority". Let me guess. You went to a big public D1 school?

If you went to the link above and read the posts from students you would have seen this:

“In Fall 2016, Smith sent out a campus climate survey called Pathways (https://www.smith.edu/about-smith/diversity/pathways). The survey asked a wide range of questions, from questions about identity to academics to why people leave Smith and more. The results are only accessible to individuals with a Smith account, but the split was roughly 60% LGBQ and 40% heterosexual.”

On top of that it stands to reason the percentage of LGBQ students involved in athletics is even higher.