oh well 
@divu123 It was a letter addressed to us (the parents) basically congratulating us on her admission, that her application was outstanding and a pleasure to read. It was not standard letter size (came in small envelope) and I could see how it could be overlooked in the mail.
It was dated March 4th.
About how many applicants will get this? Iâm so nervousâŠ
From what I gleaned while snooping around CC, there are 10 Zollman Scholarships and about 50 Stride scholarships. Mind you, those 50 represent the âyieldâ. It seems they award 150-200, and about 25% who receive them effectively choses to attend Smith.
My daughter is also an early write. From 2016, Strides are 20,000 and Zollman (plural Zollmen? Zollmans?) are 25,000. A stride or a Zollman would absolutely put Smith to the top of our list. We knew about ED and EDII but did not even know of the concept of an âearly writeâ. Definitely nice to feel liked.
Even though she got the early write, her portal still doesnât show anything indicating acceptance. I assume same for others? Also, when do we get to see the full package - with (hopefully) or without a scholarship? Is that on the same day as actual RD date? And that reminds me the RD date and time is 3/25 6pm ET, correct? Is there any official confirmation?
@khanam We were also surprised by the Early Write, and had no idea Smith College sends these. Had it not been for the Write, we would not have have found out about the Stride Scholarship. $20 000 as of this year! That is quite the jump from last yearâs $15 000! From what Iâve learned, all info should be on their portal on March 25th. However, it looks like recipients are notified of the scholarship beforehand, via snail mail.
ok. well fingers crossed then!
anyone know what this means: âAll STRIDE Scholars entering Smith in 2015 or later will have a standard loan expectation of $1,250 for all four years.â - this is on http://www.smith.edu/sfs/aid_merit.php
http://www.smith.edu/sfs/aid_loans.php
It says loans are in almost every studentâs FA package.
Freshmen have a base eligibility loan of $3,500, and it increases as years go on. I believe this means the school expects all students to take out loans at a certain amount to pay for Smith. STRIDE and Zollman will only be expected to take out a $1,250 loan each year, and the amount remains constant all four years.
Ah got it. even better for anyone getting stride/zollman
@CrewDad I know, what I meant was so believe all accepted students this year received a shirt, and that it may not be a sign of merit aid. I knew ED applicants do not receive merit aid before I applied 
Do they actually receive a shirt, or a coupon for a shirt? Am trying to imagine how they determine which size to send!
@PNWedwonk Thatâs a great point lol! How would they know if a student is 4 ft 10 or 6 ft 1. Very slim or not?
@PNWedwonk @khanam We actually did get shirts! I got a medium which fits me pretty well⊠Thatâs a great point though; I wonder why they donât do that haha.
@juniperann hahaha, yes i immediately texted my daughter as well asking if she had been able to fit into the shirt. they sent her a large one and she is like a medium. so i guess next year in the common app they should ask t shirt size as well lol!
Maybe the shirts are a kind of icebreaker: if yours doesnât fit, you need to go on Facebook and connect with another Smith admit to trade with!
ahahaha! thats an interesting way to make a community - give them things that donât necessarily fit perfectly but can be traded for things that do!
Stride for anyone yet? (biting nails)
I saw on Smithâs Twitter that decisions will be available friday