Mailing Address: 10 Elm Street Northampton, MA 01063
Rank on 2008 List: 37
Rank on 2006 List: 15
Average GPA: 3.9
Matriculation Rate of African Americans: 88%
Total Enrollment: 2,598
African American Enrollment: 186
Acceptance Rates: 52%
Black Student Group: Black Students’ Alliance, Smith African and Caribbean Students Association (SACSA)
Summer Program(s): Pre-Bridge Orientation Program during 1st week of school.
Application Deadline(s): January 15
Early Admissions Deadline(s): November 15
Start Sending Acceptance Letters: Regular admission: April 1; Early Admission: December 15
Financial Aid Option/Deadline(s): Feb. 15
Costs: Tuition: $38,112; Housing: $12,050; Books: $800
*25th Percentile-75th Percentile
ADMISSIONS Q&A:
Karen Kristof, Senior Associate Director of Admission
What does Smith look for in a successful candidate?
We look for students who have demonstrated in their academic work and their contributions outside the classroom that they would make an excellent student at Smith. We’re looking for students whose academic achievement and academic potential are high. They’ve taken challenging courses in high school to demonstrate that they are ready for the type of rigor they’ll encounter at Smith. We like to see students who have solid grades and have taken Advanced Placement or honors courses.
How does the university weigh G.P.A., SAT, extracurricular activities, college essays, and recommendations during the application process?
We look carefully at a student’s essay and what her guidance counselor and teachers say about her. We’re interested in what she’s done outside of classes and any leadership positions she may have held. While we don’t require interviews, we strongly recommend them as a way of getting to know a student beyond the numbers. We take a holistic approach to our review and look at a lot of factors, the most important of which is the student’s academic performance. We don’t require standardized test scores and we feel very strongly that there is a much better way to measure a student’s achievement and potential.
What advice do you have for students who fall short of the minimum requirements but still want to attend your school?
We are a highly selective institution and academic performance is really critical to us. If we feel that there might be some extenuating circumstances that would put a transcript in context such as an illness or if the student was struggling with family problems, we try to take that into consideration. But very honestly we want students who have achieved at a fairly high level. For students whose potential hasn’t been realized in high school, we often suggest a year of college elsewhere, including community colleges.
What is the housing situation like? Is it difficult for freshmen and sophomores to get housing?
We require students to live on campus freshman through senior year. It is a really important part of the whole Smith experience. We don’t have traditional dormitories. We have houses that are very warm, inviting, and inclusive place where students take an active role. The houses are like dormitories in that students are assigned to one and guaranteed a space every year.
What kind of opportunities do you have for non-traditional, transfer, and international students?
For non-traditional students we have a terrific program called the Ada Comstock Scholars program. It is the oldest program for non-traditional women in the U.S. We started it in 1975 and we have about 180 students at Smith that we fondly refer to as “Adas.” It works well for non-traditional students because it provides a lot of flexibility. As an Ada you don’t have to take a full course load of 16 credit hours and you don’t have to live on campus. There’s a lot of support and advising. We have students who range from 20 to 60 years old. This is not a program for someone who is new to college; you have to be a transfer student. It is designed for those whose college career was interrupted because they had a family, a job, or other circumstances.
We are very committed to international students and enroll as many students as we can from around the globe. It’s a really important piece of diversity for us to have students who come from different backgrounds and cultural experiences. About 7% of our student body is international students and they come from 72 countries. We offer financial aid to international students and about half of them receive it.
Do you have mentor/summer programs?
We have several programs during the first week of school, including some that focus on culture and diversity.