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Smith scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$94,098per year · 2025-2026 · On-campus
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Smith may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
5 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. STRIDE Scholarship$22,500 per year (limited to $11,250 per semester) for four years — plus a $3,000 annual research-assistant stipend for two of those years (effective Fall 2023)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    STRIDE Scholarship

    $22,500 per year (limited to $11,250 per semester) for four years — plus a $3,000 annual research-assistant stipend for two of those years (effective Fall 2023)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for STRIDE Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Outstanding academic and personal qualifications. Awarded to approximately 50 students each year. All applicants are automatically considered through the admission application — no separate scholarship form. Provides a close working relationship with a Smith faculty or non-faculty research mentor.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for four years with satisfactory academic progress. Selection retains the STRIDE research relationship through the four-year track.

    Worth knowing

    Merit scholarships are considered a resource when determining need-based aid — for need-eligible students, the STRIDE replaces what would have been institutional grant rather than stacking. The $3,000 research stipend is paid as employment, separate from the scholarship.

  2. Dora Windes Zollman ScholarshipHalf of the tuition cost for four yearsNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Dora Windes Zollman Scholarship

    Half of the tuition cost for four years

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Dora Windes Zollman Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Fewer than ten first-year recipients per year. Smith's highest academic scholarship. Zollman Scholars are invited to participate in the STRIDE paid research program. Restricted to U.S. citizens. No separate application — auto-considered through admission.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for four years with satisfactory academic progress.

    Worth knowing

    Zollman = STRIDE + half-tuition. The combined value (~$45,000/year tuition share + $22,500 STRIDE + research stipend) is one of the most generous private LAC merit packages published.

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What makes Smith different

Historic women's LAC in Northampton, Massachusetts that combines real merit aid (STRIDE Scholarship $22,500/year + $3k research stipend; Zollman Scholarship at half-tuition for fewer than 10 students) with a Fall-2026 free-tuition program for families with income ≤$150,000 and assets ≤$200,000 — and no loans in any institutional aid package.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Smith's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

Straight from the aid office

What Smith's aid office says

Per the Student Financial Services, Smith College, August 2026. How we verify

GPA threshold for academic probation / SAP

What GPA does a student need to maintain for merit and need-based aid, and what happens if it dips?

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (both GPA and credit completion) for merit and need-based aid; if GPA falls below 2.0 cumulatively or in a given semester, the student is considered making inadequate progress and is placed on academic probation for the following semester.

“If your academic GPA is below 2.0 either cumulatively or in a given semester, you are considered to be making inadequate progress toward your degree and will be placed on academic probation for the subsequent semester.”
Financial aid application separate from admission

Is applying for financial aid separate from applying for admission?

Students apply for financial aid separately from Admission.

“Students apply for financial aid separately from Admission.”
Meeting demonstrated need

Does Smith meet full demonstrated financial need?

For students who apply for aid by the published deadlines, Smith meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with Smith Grants, based on the family's financial need as determined through the financial aid application process.

“For students who apply for aid by the published deadlines, Smith meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with Smith Grants. The grant amount is based on a family's financial need as determined by Smith College through the financial aid application process.”
Consequence of missing aid application deadline

What happens if a student misses the financial aid deadline for their admission group?

Students who do not apply by the deadline in their admission group (ED1, ED2, or Regular Decision) will be ineligible for need-based aid evaluation until they have earned 64 credits at the college.

“Students who do not apply by the deadline in their admission group (Early Decision 1, 2, or Regular Decision) will be ineligible for need-based aid evaluation until they have earned 64 credits at the college.”
Required financial aid application forms

What financial aid application forms does Smith require?

Smith College requires the FAFSA and CSS Profile, as well as parent tax and income information.

“Please note that Smith College requires the FAFSA and CSS profile, as well as parent tax and income information.”
Documenting special financial circumstances

How can a family report a recent change in financial circumstances, like job loss?

Recent changes in financial circumstance, such as loss of employment or unreimbursed medical expenses, can be noted in the 'Special Circumstances' area of the CSS Profile to document information not otherwise evident from FAFSA/CSS Profile.

“it is helpful to note recent changes of financial circumstance (like a loss of employment, unreimbursed medical expenses, etc) in the "Special Circumstances" area of the CSS profile.”

What families often miss

  1. Smith's policy: 'Merit scholarships are considered a resource when determining eligibility for need-based financial aid.' For need-eligible students, the merit award fills demonstrated need rather than adding to it. A student with $22,000 of calculated need who receives a $25,000 Zollman receives no additional need-based aid — the Zollman covers the need plus a little extra. Real new money from merit accrues only for students whose need is exceeded by the merit amount.

  2. Smith's policy is unusually firm: U.S. students who do not apply for financial aid by published deadlines must earn 64 credits at Smith before becoming eligible to apply for institutional aid. That means a student who skips Year-1 aid application is locked out of Smith Grant for the first two years — only federal, state, and outside aid is available during that period. File the FAFSA + CSS Profile by the deadline even if you think you might not qualify.

  3. The Next 150 Pledge's free tuition guarantees that grant aid will equal or exceed the cost of TUITION for families with income ≤$150,000 and assets ≤$200,000. Room, board, fees, and other expenses are part of cost-of-attendance and are addressed through the standard meet-full-need calculation, but the headline 'free tuition' label refers specifically to the tuition component.

  4. Smith's no-loan and free-tuition policies explicitly apply to all undergraduate students — including international students on student visas, undocumented students, and DACA-status students — provided they receive institutional grant aid and meet established deadlines. Smith is the first women's college to offer comprehensive no-loan + free-tuition for both domestic and international undergraduates.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Strong applicants targeting STRIDE or Zollman (research-track scholarships are unusual for LACs at this scale); families with income up to $150,000 (free tuition under the Next 150 Pledge); high-need families generally (Smith meets 100% of demonstrated need with no loans). The brief's 'modest merit' tag undersells the actual program.

Cost of attendance$94,098 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$94,098
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal

Health insurance ($3,588) excluded as domestic-waivable.

Smith cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Smith, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Smith, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$1,363
$30,001–$48,000$3,737
$48,001–$75,000$6,559
$75,001–$110,000$11,750
$110,001+$40,477
All income levels (average)$27,579

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$65,178
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$27,579

That works out to roughly a 68% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $86,030 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
89%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
94%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$17,550 (~$186/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$64,027
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
16%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
15%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Smith's published outside-aid policy is self-help first: outside aid reduces work-study first, then can offset a one-time computer purchase or Smith health insurance, with any excess replacing Smith Grant dollar-for-dollar. State and federal grants displace Smith Grant dollar-for-dollar. Merit scholarships fill need before adding to grant.

Per Smith's first-year applicants page, outside aid (including outside merit awards and parent employer tuition benefits) first reduces or replaces the work-study portion of the award. Excess outside aid above the work component can be applied to a one-time computer purchase or to Smith health insurance (unless the student receives a health grant). Any further excess replaces Smith Grant dollar for dollar. Federal and state grants reduce Smith Grant dollar for dollar. Merit scholarships are considered a resource when determining need eligibility — they fill need rather than adding to it for need-eligible students.

Source

Other Smith scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountFull tuition covered for families with income ≤$150,000 and assets ≤$200,000EligibilityEffective Fall 2026. All undergraduates eligible regardless of when first enrolled — entering, returning, transfer, Ada Comstock, domestic, and international students currently receiving need-based aid. No separate application; eligibility reviewed annually through standard FAFSA/CSS Profile aid application.

Source

AmountLoans eliminated; replaced with institutional grantsEligibilityAll undergraduate students receiving institutional grant aid (including international and undocumented students with DACA, and Ada Comstock students). Effective Fall 2022. Existing loans from before Fall 2022 remain the student's responsibility.

Source

Amount$1,000 one-time grant at the beginning of the first Fall semesterEligibilityNew, entering high-need students whose Smith-determined Expected Family Contribution is less than $7,000. QuestBridge Match students automatically qualify. Sent directly to the student.

Source

Smith merit aid FAQ

  • Does Smith College offer merit scholarships?

    Yes, but limited. The STRIDE Scholarship awards $22,500/year (plus a $3,000 annual research-assistant stipend for 2 years) to approximately 50 students. The Dora Windes Zollman Scholarship awards half-tuition for four years to fewer than 10 students, and includes STRIDE participation. Both are auto-considered through the admission application. Note: merit aid fills need rather than adds to it for need-eligible students.

  • Does Smith offer free tuition?

    Yes, beginning Fall 2026. Under the Next 150 Pledge, Smith offers free tuition to all undergraduates from families with income ≤$150,000 and assets ≤$200,000. Eligibility is reviewed annually through the standard FAFSA/CSS Profile aid application. The program applies to domestic and international students alike.

  • Does Smith have no-loan financial aid?

    Yes, since Fall 2022. Smith does not include student loans in undergraduate institutional aid packages — loans are replaced with grants. This applies to all undergraduates receiving institutional grant aid, including international students, DACA students, undocumented students, and Ada Comstock students.

  • Will outside scholarships affect my Smith aid?

    Outside scholarships first reduce work-study. Excess can offset a one-time computer purchase or Smith health insurance. Further excess reduces Smith Grant dollar-for-dollar. Federal and state grants reduce Smith Grant dollar-for-dollar. Practical implication: outside scholarships up to the work-study amount are net new money — beyond that, they displace institutional aid.

  • What happens if I don't apply for aid as a first-year?

    Smith's published policy: U.S. students who do not apply for financial aid by the published deadlines must complete 64 credits earned at Smith before they are eligible to apply for institutional financial aid. That effectively locks a student out of Smith Grant for the first two years. File the FAFSA + CSS Profile by deadlines even if you think you may not qualify.

See sources and other schools

How Smith compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Smith is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Smith is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Smith’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

  • BU Wheelock merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • WPI merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Northeastern merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Bentley merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Smith merit aid

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