Chance me - Smith ED Class of 2026

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
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Hi everyone! I am a rising senior from Northern New Jersey planning on applying ED. I just visited and I LOVE it and I have an interview next week!

I plan to major in either Government or American Studies with a minor in Theater.

Gender: Female
Race: White

GPA (weighted): 4.4
Unweighted: 3.65
School does not rank
Member of National Honors Society
Planning to be initiated into French Honors Society and complete my Seal of Biliteracy in French and English in the fall, will hopefully be initiated into International Thespian Society (I am eligible but my school has to decide to hold an induction ceremony)

ACT: 34 (never took SAT)
Math: 33
English: 36
Reading: 34
Science: 31

9th Grade: Honors Geometry, Honors French II, Honors English I, Honors Biology, Honors World History I, Journalism I
10th Grade: Honors Algebra II with Trig, Honors French III, Honors English II, Honors Chemistry, Honors US History I, Financial Literacy, Public Speaking
11th Grade: Honors Pre-calculus, Honors French IV, AP Lang, Honors Physics, AP US History II, Studio Art I (AP scores have not come in yet)
12th Grade (will be taking): Dual Enrollment Calculus, AP French, Honors Dual Enrollment Literature of the Holocaust, Honors Dual Enrollment Psychology, AP Government/Dual Enrollment Public Policy, Honors Advanced Journalism and Media

ECs (in-school):

  • Theater (9-12)
  • Gay Straight Alliance (9-12, community outreach leader in 11, will hold leadership position in 12)
  • Trailblazer Newspaper (9-12, In-Depth Section Editor in 10, College Corner Section Editor in 11, TV show anchor in 11, Co-Editor-In-Chief in 12)
  • Teens Against Cancer (9)
  • Powerback Club (9, was certified as leader)
  • Female Empowerment Club (9, club was discontinued after that year)
  • Model UN (9, 11)

EC’s (out of school)

  • 13 years of dance training

Leadership:

  • founded the official Diversity and Inclusion Committee for my town
  • through this, I worked very closely with the Mayor and Council, County Commissioners, and State Assembly members, spoke at many council meetings, led initiatives including increasing Census returns, Diwali Celebration, Black History Month Celebration
  • My biggest achievement through this committee was organizing our town’s first ever Pride event in June, which was attended by over 200 people!
  • member of the committee’s public relations sub-committee, which involves doing promotion for our events including writing press releases and making promotional flyers

  • I have worked for the Recreation Department of my town as both a virtual stage manager/assistant director for their virtual youth theater program (2020) and as an Assistant Camp Counselor (2019)

  • I volunteered as a classroom assistant at my dance studio for 3 years but stopped due to Covid

  • I have volunteered on multiple political campaigns both local (canvassing door to door) and national (phone and text banking for March For Our Lives and the Biden campaign)

  • I am planning on volunteering for a county level or equivalent political campaign this summer

  • I currently have a job at CVS

Awards:

  • Helen Hayes Youth Theater Nomination for Outstanding Featured Ensemble Member for my role as Hunyak in Chicago (2019)
  • Outstanding Delegate, for representing the country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in UNODC at VIMUN-7 (2021)

My essay is about the isolation I felt by my small town by being a member of the LGBTQ+ community and how forming the Diversity and Inclusion Committee allowed myself to not only create a community for myself but for other underrepresented members of the town as well.

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100%.

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Ohhh yes!! I think you have such a great shot and that you will love the community there!

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You are not 100% but you have a great shot. You need to apply other places by their deadline just in case. Or roll the dice that you get in and then if you don’t apply later to schools which haven’t closed their windows. That’s a risk. Your gpa worries me a tad but u think 95% you are in. Also you never know how they feel about the non academic parts of your app. Good luck

Ps b4 u Ed r u sure your parents can or want to afford

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aww thank you! I am super excited!

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Thank you for your feedback!! In terms of the gpa, I had some issues with online school this past year which lowered it slightly. I have about 9 other schools on my list that I’m applying to so I definitely have backups. Also, I have discussed with my parents about the affordability and we have it figured out, but I appreciate everything you said!

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Great profile. I came upon but this late but having just been through this process with my D21, I thought I’d chime in. My D is an incoming Firstie at Smith. Your profile screams Smith and is very similar to my D’s. Academic excellence and demonstrated community activism is highly valued and seems to be a common characteristic. I do think that Smith favors and pursues this type of student.

Last year was brutal for students applying to LACs. Deferrals for class of '20, test optional applications, and COVID anxiety created a lot uncertainty. Some LACs accepted smaller classes. Some stayed consistent with their historic class size. My D did not apply ED anywhere. She was a merit scholarship recipient at Smith but waitlisted at or denied at peer and lesser schools. We experienced no correlations between objective measures such GPA and test scores as applied to the “rankings”. I predict there will still be some shake out this year but it can’t be as bad as '21. If Smith is your first choice, definitely apply ED. Anecdotally, at our high school, it made a difference. Definitely, have a deep list of safety schools, especially if they are other LACs. These blogs are full of tales of woe from kids with 4.0 gpa/36 ACT who thought a school ranked 25 is a safety for a school ranked 10.

FYI, Smith is packed to the brim this Fall. They are creating extra space in the houses to accommodate the numbers. The waitlist is offering Jan. '22 admission. No official explanation. It could be over enrollment, but my theory is that there are a large number of study-abroad students staying on campus first semester. Even 100-200 students would create a housing crunch. Watch for Smith’s admission stats to come to soon.

Good luck! Hope to see you in NoHo someday!

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My D is a first year at Smith. It’s true-- they are VERY full this year. I think you have a good chance. Your GPA is on the low side and with ED you won’t have a chance to show improvement with Fall grades. Smith is very interested in fit and you look like a fit, but be sure and write essays that convey how you will benefit from a Smith education and what you can contribute as well. And if you don’t get in, cry for a day and then move on. My D was rejected by her ED1 and ED2 schools and she is so glad now because now she’s at Smith and feels it’s where she belonged all along. (She hadn’t been able to visit so move0in day was her first time there!)