I know everyone does this (and now I’m no exception) but I’m quite anxious for my college apps. Smith is definitely amongst my top choices; I absolutely love its facilities and culture. I’m hoping to be a sociology, econ, or psychology major.
stats:
Thank you so much!!
I’d say Smith is a target for you, based on your strong ACTs. Your chances are really good if you apply Early.
You left out two very important factors. Do you need financial aid? For it’s endowment, it’s pretty embarrassing they are not need blind by now.
Also, if you are a legacy, it’s pretty much a slam dunk. No other college in America gives such a preference to legacy.
If you already like a school and want to apply, you really don’t care if it’s need-blind or need-aware; it affects only your chance of admission, and if over half the students get financial aid, it doesn’t have so much effect. Meeting full need is what’s really important.
It does have a huge affect if you are one of the few thats needs a lot of financial but not enough to be listed a Pell Grant or are not a URM of Legacy. The main difference between someone with the OP’s stats of getting in or not are not the extras many look at, but in fact if they are a legacy or full pay, My daughter had 1450 SAT, 8 AP’s including AP Calculus as a Junior with a 4 on the exam, 750 on her math SAT. What do you think her result were? Lets not BS these kids anymore and just tell them the truth, money matters at schools like Smith, more than they lead you to believe.
Not to leave you hanging, she got wait listed at Smith, but did not accept the slot. I was told by admissions at a less selective school that claimed to be need aware only for the marginal applicants that financial considerations is what kept her out, even though her stats where in the top 10% for attending students. Theres a difference between theory and reality.
I would encourage you to apply. Run the NPC with your actual numbers to get a sense of cost and FA. If the result is reasonable, or if cost isn’t a factor, consider applying ED which increases your odds. My D had a lower ACT and similar GPA and was accepted at Smith. She also needed, and received, a significant amount of FA. Good luck to you!!!
@Akqj10 I get that you’re annoyed, and I hope your student found the right match. I don’t think you can make a solid case that this was about needing aid. My daughter was accepted, needing and receiving a significant amount of aid, not even close to Pell eligible, no hook, not legacy and not URM, not a recruited athlete, applied regular decision, with stats roughly equal to the OP and lower test scores than yours. Smith is very much a holistic admissions schools, and test scores are “considered” but not weighted highly in the process. My feeling is, if the student is truly interested in Smith, has stats in range, and is willing to put time into the free application, it’s worth a shot.
@Akqj10 said:
You later go on to say your daughter was wait-listed. This is why the NPC is such a ruse for need-aware schools. When I run our numbers for Smith, it comes back with a net price of $35K for us. You might as well write “REJECTED” on my daughter’s application, even with top quadrille scores and grades.
*quartile. Stupid auto-correct.