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.

Smith· Renewal Rules

Keeping Smith’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified May 20268 days ago· CB-1

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 2 of 2
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 2
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Smith's published renewal rules cluster around a 3.0 floor with no major-GPA gating, which is survivable for the typical freshman with steady study habits. The risk is non-renewal due to enrollment status (dropping below full-time), not GPA.

STRIDE Scholarship: See notes
Dora Windes Zollman Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

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)
To keep it: Renewable for four years with satisfactory academic progress. Selection retains the STRIDE research relationship through the four-year track.
Source: https://new.smith.edu/admission-aid/tuition-aid-applicants/first-year-applicants
Dora Windes Zollman Scholarship
Half of the tuition cost for four years
To keep it: Renewable for four years with satisfactory academic progress.
Source: https://new.smith.edu/admission-aid/tuition-aid-applicants/first-year-applicants

Renewal questions families ask

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.

How Smith compares across our verified dataset

133 of 150 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Smith is one of them. The cohort minority (17 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 renewal claim is checked against Smith’s own published materials.

policySmith stacking policy
scholarshipSmith Free Tuition Program (Next 150 Pledge)
scholarshipNo-Loan Financial Aid Packages
scholarshipSmith Start-Up Grant