Springfield Partnership

<p>one thing that could help you is to start making connections at Smith as soon as possible. If you haven't already: get on their mailing list. Go for a tour (not just walking around on your own--make an appointment so they have your name on file), an information session, and an interview--if they'll let you do one with an admissions officer and one with an alum in springfield, do both. If you know what you'd like to study, contact a professor in that field and ask him/her to meet with or chat on the phone with you...just think up some questions ahead of time! If you want to play a sport, join a music group, or join a club, get in touch with the relevant people in charge. Make your name known around campus (without being annoying!) so that when you write about why you want to go to smith, you can oh-so-subtly namedrop about the fantastic professors, coaches, and (of course!) admissions counselors you were so lucky to meet and can't wait to interact with as a Smithie. </p>

<p>The basic message here--let Smith know how much you love them, even if you're not applying ED. They'll be flattered--and flattery WORKS.</p>

<p>Yeah. Great advice. I've spoken with an admissions counselor (Sabrina Marsh) a couple of times, and email her with questions every now and then. I did this program Simply Smith, and have signed up for their Summer Preview. I'm trying my hardest, but how do I come off as being interested in the college w/o being annoying? That's the last thing I want to do.</p>

<p>Granted, I'm not from Springfield, but from what I've heard, minority students get huge preference with the scholarship. Same with their community college outreach program. I have a friend who was in the latter, and she said that was the deal with both.</p>

<p>My best friend from spfld got the spfld partnership scholarship this year. She had only taken 5 aps and had a solid 93-ish avg. She was in the top 5% of her class and was pretty involved in ECs and comm service. She also was born in Vietnam (I dont know if smith factors this in but all the spfld partnership schol. recipients this year and in many of the past years were minorities). She also needed fin aid too, so I think all of these factors combined led to that...hope this gives you an idea of what they look for.</p>

<p>thanks. I am a minority (african-american & puerto rican) so hopefully that is to my advantage. I spoke to smith and they claimed that a student's financial background isn't considered for this scholarship. It's supposed to be merit-based so hopefully that's true.</p>

<p>yeah I read an article about MyDzung in the paper.Hopefully that will be me next year:)</p>

<p>3 Springfield students get Smith scholarships
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
NORTHAMPTON - Three students from Springfield's public schools were awarded scholarships to attend Smith College beginning this fall as part of the college's Springfield Partnership. The full-tuition scholarships, which will cover each recipient's entire tuition for four years, are the centerpiece of the Smith-Springfield Partnership. Now in its sixth year, the partnership aims to strengthen ties between Smith and the state's third most populous city. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.masslive.com/neighborhoodsplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/111994545257760.xml&coll=1%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.masslive.com/neighborhoodsplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/111994545257760.xml&coll=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Each of the three students described in the article sounds like a wonderful addition to the Smith campus. </p>

<p>Best wishes to them and to you as well, Wifey!</p>

<p>Aww... Thanks. Really. I may seem like a stalker but I've printed out articles on the past three years of Springfield scholars. I want to know what the judges (or admissions counselors) are looking for.</p>

<p>Is it just coincidence that all three of last year's winners are immigrants, or is that a target population for the scholarship?</p>

<p>wifey4303 where do you go to high school? and best of luck with the scholarship next year, I'm starting to get ready to head off to smith this fall and I'm so excited!</p>

<p>Laureldj, I was wondering if it was just a coinsidence also.Thanks Sara306! I go to Springfield Central High School. Do you go to a Spfld. high school?</p>