Hi everyone,
I would really appreciate an objective opinion of my chances at Smith! It’s one of my top choices and I would really love to get in.
GPA: 3.93 uw, probably about 4.4 weighted ( I’m enrolled in 4 AP classes currently and did a full year of all dual enrollment classes)
SAT: 1430 - 740 english, 690 math
Extracurriculars:
I did an exchange year during my sophomore year, which I wrote my common app essay about, and now volunteer with exchange students (over 150 hours in total)
I volunteer with a community service club at my school, that I've been a part of for all four years, and volunteer monthly at my local food bank
I work part-time, about 15 hours a week (only senior year)
Also in a few other clubs w/ less time commitment than the main ones!
Ethnicity: white (and female obviously)
Financial situation: middle-class; however, I’m a triplet (and all 3 of us are going to college at the same time) so that lowers my EFC drastically!
I’ve also interviewed with a Smith alumni; it went great and she said it seemed like I’d fit in well at Smith!
I know I don’t have a ton of extracurriculars, but i dedicate a lot of time to a few of them, and I’m hoping my essays and GPA will be good enough to get in? Potentially? My common app essay is probably a 9/10 (I’m really proud of it) and the Smith-specific one is maybe an 8 - although that will improve.
I also want to know if I should apply EDII or RD. I love Smith and want to get in, but I don’t think I have the financial capacity to apply ED; however, if it increases my chances dramatically then I might. Let me know what you think!
My daughter was accepted ED and her profile is virtually identical to you (except the triplets part!). I think you would have a very good chance to be accepted.
I would try to get an answer on what conditions would allow you to decline an ED acceptance. I recall that the financial offer not being adequate is the one way out, so maybe it would be safe for you to apply EDII.
We did not get a good financial offer, but I was not expecting one. I do recall when I spoke to the financial service department they said something about each child in college knocks a good chunk off the costs. So I suspect you would get a good offer. Hopefully you have tried their tuition calculator as I have heard it is pretty accurate. In my case, we actually got a slightly better off than the calculator suggested.
Good luck.
PS - did you do an overnight stay at Wellesley? My daughter did and shared the room with someone who was a triplet. If that was you, hi!
Hi- one of the only reasons I’m hesitant to apply EDII is that I’m also applying to other schools, and I want to keep all my options open! I got a really good package from the financial aid calculator but in case that doesn’t turn out to be the case, I don’t want to be fully committed to Smith. It’s really good to hear that I have a good chance, and congrats to your daughter!
I also didn’t do an overnight stay at Wellesley, but crazy to hear that there are so many triplets out there - I always thought we were pretty rare! haha
If you want your options open, then you should not apply ED. I get that maybe you want to maximize your chances, but if you want options, then do not do ED. If you would be happy with the package in the calculator (and would no longer care about the other options) then I would consider applying ED. Just be prepared to back out of the agreement if the package is not as good. From what I can see, you can do that. It would not hurt for either you or your parents to speak to the Smith Financial department on this point.
The general advice if the financial aid package is a critical decision factor is to avoid ED. Both because of the binding agreement but also the belief that you are less likely to be considered for merit scholarships. With Smith, they seem to have a very small number of merit scholarships anyway, and I tend to think the chances are really low to get those so I am not sure how much weight to give this.
I think the options you want are what matters. Imagine you get the aid package in the calculator. If there is some better package another school would offer that would make you not want to take the Smith offer, then do not consider ED. Given that you are an exceptional student, and a triplet, I would not be surprised if there are schools out there that would give you a package where it was essentially free or very little cost, so I can understand wanting to consider all your options.
It is probably difficult to imagine waiting until March to get your decisions, but I am sure it will be worth it in the end. Good luck
Your stats are pretty close to my Smithie’s stats from last year and she got in RD, although Smith seems to get harder to get into every year. I think you’ve got a very good shot, especially if you do ED2. ED does increase your odds. ED acceptance rate is around 50%. RD is around 30%.
As far as financial aid goes, I haven’t heard a wide variance between ED and RD applicants with one catch: Smith is need-aware, so if you need financial aid, your chance of getting in might be slightly diminished once in the RD pool. If you’re sure Smith is your top choice, I’d recommend ED2 and seal the deal.