<p>i know these are like, super prestigious and hard to get, but does any one know if they require a separate app or anything like that?
also, any one know/ know a place to find info about zollman scholars?
i'd go to smith w/o a second thought, even if all my other schools accepted me, if i got this honor.<br>
i honestly don't think i have any chance, but it would be interesting to see what smith values in an application- my hunch is dedication and passion over satscores/gpa.</p>
<p>They tell you flat out - "Heady, nervy, intellectually exciting". No separate application. The admissions office seems to send over a bunch to a separate committee (which includes the college pres) to decide. The reason I know this is that the pres called us, and she'd read everything in my d's application.</p>
<p>(My d. is a Zollman - and she didn't have a real GPA - she was homeschooled.)</p>
<p>But there are also 40-50 STRIDES, and they carry most of the major benefits of the other awards.</p>
<p>{The admissions office seems to send over a bunch to a separate committee (which includes the college pres) to decide."}</p>
<p>According to my conversations with administrators, the admission office (Sabrina Marsh being the principal decision maker) decides all merit scholarships</p>
<p>Smith understands most outstanding students (like your daughter) with high SATs, gpa’s--for those who aren’t homeschooled-- amazing ec's, and talents, etc., very likely were accepted at other top colleges and have choices.</p>
<p>Having Pres. Christ call was obviously an honor. I believe adding the personal touch of the Pres was an attempt to help you and your daughter decide on Smith. They very much wanted her as a student. </p>
<p>“Smith offers a limited number of awards based on merit rather than need. All applicants for admission are automatically considered; there are no special application forms. Students are selected by the Office of Admission”</p>
<p>But there are also 40-50 STRIDES}</p>
<p>Smith offers 30 Strides, give or take a couple. Almost all are awarded as an “incentive” --for the obvious reason of persuading women to choose Smith over a competing college. I'm not sure how many any were accepted last yr. It varies from yr. to yr.</p>
<p>Passionflower, the criterion used for the Strides and Zollmans are, 1st-- strength of h/s transcript, followed by rec’s, ec’s and SATs</p>
<p>so, i would interpret that to mean if you're not a valedictorian, or haven't already saved the world, no hope of scholarship? as another thread discussed, even though the admit rate is high, the quality of applicants is great.<br>
If, after visiting campus (and even, to a certain extent, after reading this board) I decide Smith is a good fit, my dream come true would be to get a zollman. Regardless of what other colleges I got accepted to, I would definitely go to smith , no question. I love the open curriculum, government major, jya programs, semester in washington, women's college, lac, close but not too far location, and more or less, smith seems like a really really great fit without having visted campus. the money would more than help me make up my mind and would just save me from making a painful decision (even if I do get accepted to the other colleges I like). on a personal note, i have like a 3.7/4.2 uw, taking all honors and ap courses (i'll have taken 7 aps by the time I graduate) and yeah, i have gotten bs and even bminuses. i am pretty involved though. so, yeah, thought i'd share that little tidbit.</p>
<p>You are probably not getting a Zollman unless Smith thinks (correctly or not) that they might lose you to an Ivy or possibly AWS. That's the purpose of the Zollman: to grab you away from competing schools. You need to be "spectacular" in one dimension or another...see Mini's D...to get a Zollman.</p>
<p>"Having Pres. Christ call was obviously an honor. I believe adding the personal touch of the Pres was an attempt to help you and your daughter decide on Smith. They very much wanted her as a student."</p>
<p>Oh, we know that (although, according to our local alum rep who interviewed her, they had her pegged wrong - they thought they were competing with Harvard, where my d., after visiting, didn't even apply - they were competing with Williams). What was impressive is that Christ seemed to know all about her inside out (but my d. was out working on a community garden when she called.)</p>
<p>The Z. didn't actually benefit us financially - it offset need-based aid, though it did protect half the tuition cost against inflationary pressures. The important part, really, was the STRIDE (and the fact that they created a position specifically for her.)</p>
<p>Anyway, here's the latest report from Italy:</p>
<p>Seemingly blissful in Florence. Lives with a family on the Via D'Serragli (which, I'm told, is NOT the "street of the harems", but "street of the menageries" close to Sancto Spirito and the Pitti Palace), with a 15-year-old and 17-year-old, and now that she has figured out Florentine accents (hard "c"s are pronounced as "h"s), can get along just fine. There's no internet in the house, which means even more Italian conversation. She walks (on a bridge) across the Arno every morning. She's been to Ravenna, and on Sunday went to the west coast north of Livorno. Her program is located literally on the Piazza de Signoria, the historic center of Florence, looking out on the square itself. She's climbed Giotto's Tower, found a cheese shop and a cheap lunch place, bought shoes, and had a cooking class, all in Italian (they are forbidden from using any English.) Oh, and a bus tour of how to use all the public transportation. Is getting a voice teacher, and plans to play in the university orchestra. Got into the highest section of language classes (which surprised her a bit), but there are only 24 students total in the program (and a bunch of faculty), so the class sizes must be awfully small. Doesn't like bread made without salt (a Florentine institution, based on a historic opposition to a salt tax.)</p>
<p>The college is having its 75th anniversary reunion in Florence in October, with folks coming from all over the world.</p>
<p>I am extremely jealous (but I do get to visit!)</p>
<p>{They very much wanted her as a student."</p>
<p>"Oh, we know that"}</p>
<p>I thought PNW folk were known for their modesty? Just having fun. :)</p>
<p>It sounds like your daughter is having a great time. I'm jealous too. ;)</p>
<p>Che tutti frutti!!!</p>
<p>{The Z. didn't actually benefit us financially - it offset need-based aid,}</p>
<p>Mini, I know for a fact you’re not complaining, but this issue bothers me. So I thought I’d put it out there for the Smith administration to mull over.</p>
<p>The idea of the Z and STRIDE is to attract students who might otherwise attend a competing college. If there isn't a financial difference with or w/o the award, what’s the point? I understand the internship is important, however, to many families a financial benefit is much more so.</p>
<p>If the Z substitutes for loans, fine; if it substitutes for grants one would be awarded regardless, that’s wrong. Full pay parents receive the benefit of having the award reduce their financial contribution by the amount of the award. Aid assisted parents should receive the same benefit-- ignoring the possibility of attracting a superior student-- if for no other reason than fairness.</p>
<p>E.g. If the EFC is 20k for a financially aided parent w/o the Z…..It should be ~10K with it.</p>
<p>Let's be clear: there's no "double-blind" test: we couldn't receive awards with and without the Z, and compare!. I can only base what I said on what offers looked like from competing "100%-of-need" schools where we submitted the same FASFA, etc. info.</p>
<p>"I can only base what I said on what offers looked like from competing "100%-of-need" schools where we submitted the same FASFA, etc. info"</p>
<p>I understood that. But it's a statistically compelling comparison b/c the FASFA was used as a standard. Wihout the Z you most likely would have recieved the same aid based on the FAFSA info.</p>
<p>It appears to be a slight of hand, or aid, as the case may be ;)</p>
<p>otoh--Even though the aid was comparable between colleges, the Z may have replaced loans. If that's the case, as I said, it's a benfit.</p>
<p>Passionflower - the quality of applicants is great, but that shouldn't dissuade you from applying. Smith looks for bright, articulate women, yes! But also take into consideration the aspects of what diversity brings to the experience. My D is a STRIDE scholar, and I believe she told me that there are close to fifty this year. This comes with some scholarship money ($5000 per year), but also provides first-years with an opportunity to work closely with a distinguished prof in their area of interest; and potentially get published by the end of year two. Not many colleges can boast that one. </p>
<p>Mini, you must be very proud of your D! Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Smith provides these kinds of experiences, which to me, puts them in a league of their own!</p>
<p>the STRIDE thing is a really nice perk, especially now that they raised the stipend for it. back in my day (i feel SO OLD) it was only $2500/yr. But the chance to work with a prof in a really meaningful way was amazing--and there are even funds to go to conferences with your professor. i went to New York, which was fun. Other STRIDE people I know got to go to New Orleans and Belize! </p>
<p>I agree with what the others have said about the Zollman. It's nice, but no one is a 'sure thing' to get one. They give fewer than 10 each year (and my understanding is that if someone turns it down--and a lot of people do--it doesn't get awarded to someone else). I got one, and I hesitate to put my numbers down since they're so out-of-date at this point. But I had good grades at a good public school, spent a year as an exchange student, edited my school newspaper, did a fair amount of community service, and had a part-time job. I also had a real love for Smith and spent a lot of time learning about it. But what Mini says is true--i think the reason i got it was because they were afraid i was going to get in to a higher-ranked school and go there if it wasn't for the money.</p>
<p>as it turned out, i got into some schools and was rejected from others. even without the Zollman, smith would have been an amazing place for me. But with the scholarship (and the alumnae-funded scholarships for smithies heading to grad school--not necessarily a way of choosing which college to attend, because who knows going in if you'll win one, or even if you'll want to go to grad school--but i cannot stress enough what a bonus this little-publicized program was for me) it was a great bargain as well.</p>
<p>"and there are even funds to go to conferences with your professor"</p>
<p>Passionflower, thats a great point and one I forgot about. Even without a STRIDE or Z, Smith will provide funds to attend conferences, etc. Last yr. students I know on two occasions had all expenses, airline included, paid (regardless of income) to attend conferences. What other colleges will dip into their coffers to afford students this wonderful learning experience?</p>
<p>I'm not sure why a lot of students turn down the Z, as Stacy stated. It's their loss. I should have stressed more the Z and STRIDE are amazing programs b/c of the internships, not to mention the incredible honor of having been awarded either.</p>
<p>But PassionFlower, even without a scholarship, Smith still offers an untold number of <em>perks</em> far and above many LACs.</p>
<p>Besides the STRIDE and Zollman, don't overlook opportunities available to all students, including the Praxis program that pays an internship for everyone.<br>
Also, if you're a Government, American Studies, Econ (or probably some other majors of which I'm not aware), there are two different D.C. internship programs <em>in addition</em> to the Praxis, one centered on the Smithsonian museums, the other on Capitol Hill and the D.C. political scene, from the White House to various non-profit orgs.</p>
<p>{Also, if you're a Government, American Studies, Econ (or probably some other majors of which I'm not aware)]</p>
<p>Thanks for listing some of the <em>perks</em> I was too lazy to do :) </p>
<p>History, as well as other majors, can participate in the Picker Program.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.smith.edu/gov/jeanpicker.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/gov/jeanpicker.html</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.smith.edu/ams/smithsonian.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/ams/smithsonian.html</a></p>
<p>I believe I was incorrect when I said there were 50 STRIDES this year; it's more like 30. Sorry! :(</p>
<p>To pick a nit: I believe around 30-35 STRIDES accept Smith's offer every year. I suspect that the number offered is at least in the 40's, since presumably not all STRIDES take the offer. A STRIDE may not <em>necessarily</em> be the designed Ivy-killer that a Zollman is but in general you've got to figure that STRIDEs are accepted to a pretty flashy group of colleges.</p>
<p>Agreed! Then there are those who just know that Smith is for them; STRIDE or no STRIDE!</p>