Smith: Not so much with the pretentious (that's what our lovely sister Wellesley is for - no offense, though, Wellesley women). But pre-conceived...kind of. Smithies tend to be so concerned with being PC that they don't want to step outside of the box that they think is the only way to offend the least number of people. And it might be, but it's not getting them anywhere, because it's not furthering the discourse. That's not to say, either, that there aren't pretentious Smithies. There are. But there are plenty who are not.
I guess the bottom line is: Smith has lots of niches. From what I read in your journal, there's a well-carved-out (but not too firmly carved, of course) niche for you. There are definitely Smithies (namely, from who I know, women's studies and philosophy majors) who actually challenge pre-conceived notions and who I think you'd fit in well with. i.e. If you're aiming to start a revolution, there are more than a few Smithies who'd be very much on board with that.
...it's college. People have a tendency not to be real in college. :) Every school with have interesting, down-to-earth people... and every school will have its share of pretentious blow-hards whom you really just want to slap over and over and over until they get some sense into their fizzy little skulls
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Wellesley women are humans who pretend that they're inhuman (but are VERY human and in many cases, very normal, imo). We don't seem to emulate pretention as much as we attempt perfection, which looks a lot like the same thing, except we struggle more obviously. It's a fine line and there are plenty of people who walk outside of it but if you're looking for an utter lack of pretention and image-upholding, Wellesley is not the place. There's fakery on every side: the emphatic hippies, the ambitious i-bankers, the average woman who works hard to show that she's above average somehow. But I don't think this is different from most name-brand colleges.
This is spot-on, and I agree that it's essentially true of every college on your list, no matter how loudly the students might deny it. College is usually the first time that most students live on their own, choose all of their own coursework, make major decisions, and generally decide who they are. It's not exactly a relaxing experience, and pretense (intentional or otherwise) is the
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That's not to say, either, that there aren't pretentious Smithies. There are. But there are plenty who are not.
I guess the bottom line is: Smith has lots of niches. From what I read in your journal, there's a well-carved-out (but not too firmly carved, of course) niche for you. There are definitely Smithies (namely, from who I know, women's studies and philosophy majors) who actually challenge pre-conceived notions and who I think you'd fit in well with. i.e. If you're aiming to start a revolution, there are more than a few Smithies who'd be very much on board with that.
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An example of the desire to not offend. ;)
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This is spot-on, and I agree that it's essentially true of every college on your list, no matter how loudly the students might deny it. College is usually the first time that most students live on their own, choose all of their own coursework, make major decisions, and generally decide who they are. It's not exactly a relaxing experience, and pretense (intentional or otherwise) is the ( ... )
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We get a little snarky towards Harvard sometimes... but who doesn't? :)
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