<p>In short, I was wondering how generous Smith was with MERIT based aid...</p>
<p>Now for the whole story...</p>
<p>After getting a notice from College Board requesting a complete copy of my families taxes for Smith, I called Smith to see if I really needed to do this. I kindly explained that with my EFC being as high as it was, I was quite sure that I wouldn't be receiving any need based financial aid and that I was only really interested in merit based. The women kind of(not directly) said that there wasn't much merit aid at Smith but that if that is "truely all you're interested in" then I didn't need to submit my taxes. To some the tax thing might not be that big of a deal, but our taxes a fairly complicated because of numerous real estate deals and a trust that we just received this year... so we're getting them done professionally this year... which is turning out to take a long time. I inquired about this more for the benefit of Smith(ie to prevent having them expect my taxes and not get them til pretty late) but I think she may have seen it as a selfish, somewhat snobbish question... which it was not. </p>
<p>I was really disappointed hearing that from Smith as I thought that they had always been generous with money... but I guess that's in the form of need based. </p>
<p>Is this correct?</p>
<p>Thanks and I'd appreciate any experiences with their merit aid</p>
<p>They give about 40 merit-based grants combined with research positions a year.
About half a dozen Zollman's, which are half-tuition. These are targeted at students they think they can snag from Ivies. That's the biggie.</p>
<p>The rest are the STRIDE awards. Modest grant of $2,500, plus a 7 hour per week research position for the first two years. (My D got credited in a paper presented a conference first semester...small credit but not too shabby anyway.) </p>
<p>My understanding is still evolving. Originally I had looked at the STRIDE as a nice bit of egoboo and a few dollars. I'm having to recalibrate and say that some of the attendant opportunities are pretty good and that the college really has high expectations of its STRIDE scholars.</p>
<p>Outside of STRIDE and Zollman, I don't know that they have much (any?) merit-based aid. There are scholarships reserved for women who wish to study engineering, however.</p>
<p>"I was really disappointed hearing that from Smith as I thought that they had always been generous with money... but I guess that's in the form of need based."</p>
<p>They are EXTREMELY generous in financial aid (4th in the U.S. among top private colleges in aid per student attending - only Mount Holyoke, Reed, and Oberlin are higher), and virtually all of it is needs-based. (there are a few engineering scholarships, and some for local students, though the latter are needs-based as well, I think.)</p>
<p>(My d. is a Zollman and STRIDE; they did indeed think they were snagging her from an Ivy, but the reality is that we would have received huge needs-based aid in any case.)</p>
<p>Well, that's not exactly what I wanted to hear but is what I expected. I wouldn't consider myself the type of student that they'd try to pull from an Ivy but I'm not a complete failure either. I've gotten numerous 10-15K scholarships from first and second tier schools but I didn't even apply to any ivies. I did apply for their engineering program but I am quite sure that I'm not one of their top applicants. I guess we'll see but without significant merit money I won't be attending Smith.</p>
<p>There's also the Dunn Scholar, $3000 a year, which is merit-based. It included transportation expenses to the accepted students weekend last year.</p>
<p>The Jean Picker Fellowships for the Study of Engineering: Students who have identified themselves as prospective engineering majors are also considered for the Jean Picker Fellowships for the Study of Engineering. These $10,000 awards go to several highly qualified first-year domestic and international students. In addition, Picker Fellows receive a $2,000 stipend for a research project or internship. Picker Fellows are selected on the basis of academic merit and personal achievements.</p>
<p>Sigh. My family and I had hoped for some nice money from Smith since they said the average package was $20,000.</p>
<p>What I've found out is that they practically give the money away to those who really, really need the money and give absolutely no money to people whose EFC are high enough. They just prefer to give money to low-income students so they have an opportunity to come here and get a great education while leaving the rest of us scraping for loans.</p>
<p>Merit based is tough to come by, I think. Especially in your situation. So you'd be lucky if you can get a work-study along with a Smith loan! </p>
<p>Sigh, how I would've LOVED to be a STRIDE scholar. Now that's a work-study job that I'd like to do instead of working in the dining rooms!</p>
<p>ticklemepink, I really don't mind working in the dining room and actually prefer dishwashing to doorchecking (I work about half and half). </p>
<p>But yes, those with EFC's that are rather high (which is the case with my family) get minimal financial aid. My parents also met with the financial aid office after I was accepted and my aid package was slightly increased, but we have taken out a number of loans.</p>
<p>I get both sides of the coin. They kind of expect high EFC families to pay more, obviously. But it's sad that they leave you guys out. And for us low income families, it's really hard to pay for college at all. The money, theoretically, should be spread out a little more, but at the same time, The biggest chunk goes towards those who need it. Just try to get more outside schoalrships. There's alot of them for really high GPA students, and some strange ones for being left handed. Check out fastweb.com, and I know you'll probably say, "but... I don't have time..." All you really need are 2 or 3 5K scholarships, and your set. Anyway. Good luck!</p>