It’s that time of year where once prospective students have now transformed into the official class of 2018. Welcome Smithies! With this enrollment comes not only excitement and curiosity, but also presents a big decision: where to live on campus. Smith’s housing form asks incoming students to rank all six areas of campus in order of preference. Because Smith has no first-year dorms and instead has many small houses for students in all four years, deciding where to live can be confusing. Ultimately, all of Smith’s houses have great communities and almost any student will tell you that she lives in the best house on campus. To prepare incoming students for filling out the housing form, Her Campus Smith has some compiled a quick guide with facts about the different areas on campus to further inform housing decisions.
Green Street
Houses: Chapin, Hubbard, Lawrence, Morris, Tyler, Washburn, 44 Green Street, and 54 Green Street
Green Street houses are located between the Campus Center and Green Street. Ford and several other academic buildings are located on Green Street, as well as a number of small, independent shops and restaurants. First-year students in the traditional Green Street houses generally live in doubles, but most graduate to singles by their junior year. Houses on Green Street are less than a five-minute walk to academic buildings or the gym and are also conveniently located close to downtown.
Dining halls: Chapin, Hubbard, and Tyler
Center Campus
Houses: Cutter, Ziskind, Haven/Wesley, Hopkins, Park, Sessions, Tenney, and the Friedman Apartments
Center Campus holds a variety of different types of houses, all located conveniently next to the Campus Center and academic buildings. Hopkins and Tenney are both co-ops, meaning students sign up to live there and prepare their own food communally. Some seniors choose to live in The Friedmans, which are fully furnished apartments. The traditional houses in the Center Campus area are Haven/Wesley, Park, Sessions, and the modern Cutter and Ziskind, which are usually referred to as Cutter-Z.
Dining hall: Cutter-Ziskind (Kosher and Halal options)
The Quad
Although ResLife divides these houses into East Quad and West Quad, students refer to them all as the Quad.
East Quad Houses: Cushing, Emerson, Jordan, King, and Scales
West Quad Houses: Comstock, Gardiner, Morrow, Wilder, and Wilson
The ten houses that make up the Quad are some of the largest on campus, ranging in size from about 80 to over 100 residents. Several Quad houses are predominantly singles, like King and Scales, so a student can live without a roommate for all four years on campus. The Quad is about a ten-minute walk from academic buildings, and many cite its distance as the only major downside. The set-apart nature, however, adds to the Quad’s vibrant social scene, as each house is literally connected to a larger community.
Dining halls: Comstock/Wilder, Cushing/Emerson, King/Scales, Morrow/Wilson
Elm Street
Elm Street houses are also divided into Upper and Lower Elm Street.
Upper Elm Street Houses: Capen, Lamont, Northrop, Parsons, Talbot
Lower Elm Street Houses: Albright, Baldwin, Chase, Duckett, Gillett, 150 Elm Street
Elm Street houses are the most conveniently located for trips downtown, and some are less than a five-minute walk. Elm Street houses are also close to class buildings and libraries. Although Northrop and Gillett are technically located in different areas of campus, the two houses are connected and usually referred to together. They are both mostly singles, as is Chase. Parsons will be put out of commission after the 2014-2015 school year.
Dining Halls: Lamont, Northrop/Gillett (vegan/vegetarian), Chase/Duckett (gluten-free options)