I applied early decision to smith last year and got rejected. I am now planning on re-applying to smith ED once again this year. Would my commitment to the college impact my chances in any way? will reapplying worsen my chances?
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Generally speaking the advice is to not reapply to a school that has previously rejected your application.
Are you on a gap year or applying as a transfer?
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I’m assuming by this question that you didn’t have any good choices amongst your acceptances and decided to take a gap year. If you are going to college anywhere this year, you can’t apply ED again as a freshman.
So how has your application changed? Did you do something amazing senior year that Smith didn’t know about? How are you planning to spend your gap year? If you apply again with the same application you are likely to get the same result. Something has had to have changed for the better to get a different result.
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You were not accepted last year. Your high school record will again be used to review your application for admission.
It sounds like you weren’t deferred but we’re outright rejected.
What makes you think the outcome this year will be different.
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I’m an international student and was unable to get the scholarship i needed last year so i decided on a gap year.
During my senior year, I became the first and only female to become an executive council member in a national STEM olympiad, took cloud computing courses (im a computer science major) and worked with special olympics. Also I feel like my essay was one of the reasons I got rejected so this tine around that would change.
During this year, I have taken up college courses at my local university. I’m not enrolled in a degree program, I’m just taking college level courses which i hope to transfer to whichever college I choose to enroll in this year.
Smith College, I believe is need aware for international students. How much aid do you need to attend?
From Smith:
Smith meets the full documented need, as determined by college policy, of all admitted students who apply for aid by the published deadlines. Because Smith follows need-aware” policies, a small fraction of admission decisions may include an assessment of the student’s level of need.
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Be sure you research what would make you be considered a transfer student v a freshman at Smith and anywhere else you apply.
I would also apply to some affordable back-ups in your home country.
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While there isn’t much reason for the outcome to be any different, smith is just where I want to end up, its my dream school. I think like everyone I made a few mistakes last year because of lack of information and exposure and I want to rectify those.
last year, someone i know got into smith on a full ride, so while yes it is need-aware im hoping for the best. majority of need-blind colleges are too competitive for me to try.
I would very strongly urge you to look at the characteristics of Smith College and find some other colleges with similar characteristics where you didn’t already receive a rejection…to apply to this year. Re-apply to Smith if you want to. But please don’t elevate it to dream status. You should have a bunch of colleges on your application list that perhaps will be affordable and that you would be happy to attend.
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Thank you so much for your advice. I will be able to enroll in my national college next year if my US applications fail so it’s mostly just me shooting my last shot. I’ll try to look for new colleges, I’d love any suggestions if you have any.
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@AustenNut any suggestions other than Smith for someone who is an international student needing aid…who likes Smith?
@intcollege what exactly is it about Smith that you like. Give us some ideas of what you are looking for in a college and perhaps folks can help you. Knowing your high school GPA, and ACT or SAT if you took it would help also.
Are you interested only in women s colleges?
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It’s hard to know what OP likes about Smith in order to suggest alternative colleges. But, off the top of my head, I’d take a look at Mt. Holyoke (another women’s college) as well as U. Mass-Amherst (big state school), both in the consortium that allows students to take classes at the other schools (Smith, Amherst, and Hampshire).
If OP likes a women’s college that’s in a consortium, then Scripps (CA) in the Claremont Consortium might be worth considering, as well as Spelman (GA), an HBCU in a consortium with Atlanta schools like Morehouse, Georgia Tech, Emory, and others.
The other women’s college I might think about is Meredith (NC) in the Research Triangle area that has been getting a lot of tech companies moving in to the area.
If OP lets us know more about what she wants, I’m happy to provide more targeted suggestions. Also, @intcollege, please let us know what your family is willing and able to pay for college in the U.S.
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You should not reapply to Smith ED and depending on your need - they may not accept you due to finances.
What is your budget?
What are your stats ?
Did you get into any other schools ? With any aid ?
This likely precludes you from applying as a freshman… you are likely to be a transfer student, who typically receive less aid than incoming first years (at schools that don’t meet full need for all). Contact the schools on your list, tell them where you are taking the classes and how many credits you have…they will tell you if you can apply as a first year or transfer.
I agree you can apply to Smith again (either as a first year or transfer, based on what they tell you). What other US schools are on your list? I second austennut’s suggestions.
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I was drawn to smith because of their commitment to nurturing women in STEM, the diverse student body, consortium and general campus life. I’m not too picky with colleges since im an international student, just anywhere I can get a scholarship to cover my costs.
I have a 4.82 GPA, Rank 1, test-optional, STEM major, basketball as a sport along with other community and stem based ECs
As for budget, I’m hoping for a full ride but I could pay like 5000USD maybe.
Have you run the net price calculator to see what it says smith would cost you ?
That’s an aggressive amount you desire and as a need aware school, they might turn you down for that reason.
You might be smarter to consider a school that meets need, like smith, but also is need blind. But again ensure they agree with your need via the NPC.
Whether or not you can get in I don’t know. But the amount you need won’t be the reason you are turned down.
These schools are
Amherst
Bowdoin
Brown - starting in 2025.
Dartmouth
Harvard
MIT
Princeton
Yale
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The reason you weren’t admitted is the amount of aid you need to attend. The college’s budget is limited and they want a variety of countries and profiles represented.
Colleges don’t go “oops, we made a mistake last year”. Applying to Smith ED is wasting your ED. If you truly want to attend a US college, with an EFC near zero, apply to Amherst or Bowdoin. They’re different from Smith but they’re still small, elite colleges.
That being said, Amherst would give you a chance at taking classes at Smith.
Bowdoin has joined the list of full need/need blind for internationals more recently and is more remote so might be a tiny bit less competitive but at that level I don’t think it’ll make a huge difference.
You could also apply to Mount Holyoke ED with your current credentials.
The college may only admit one student from your country on full financial aid - perhaps only 2-3 students from your country, total. So you need to choose wisely - basically, ED Amherst, Bowdoin, or Mount Holyoke.
Wrt college courses, make sure not to go over 12 credits, UNLESS you’re only auditing them (attending but not expecting credit) or considered dual enrolled (still in high school).
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This is an international student. The NPCs are likely to be inaccurate for an international student. PLUS many have not yet been updated for the 2024-2025 academic year because they are awaiting finalization of the new FAFSA guidelines.
I completely agree with @MYOS1634 . That response is spot on.
What makes you think a school like Smith that gives need based aid will be affordable? And of course, need based aid only gets awarded to accepted students.
We don’t know why the student was not admitted. Saying it’s related to need is speculation. That may be the reason or part of the reason or perhaps none of the reason.
Smith meets 100% of need, even for international. Whether it’s right or not, the NPC is what you have.
Nonetheless we can all agree applying there is unlikely to change the result.