If you win a scholarship, will Smith lower other aid?
We checked the school’s published rule so you can decide whether an outside award is worth your time.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago· CB-1
The short answer
The scholarship may reduce loans before school aid.
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.
What to do
Use this rule to focus on awards that will lower what your family pays.
See the dollar example, school comparisons, and sources
Published policy type
Loan-first displacement
Smith displaces loans first, then work-study. In plain dollar terms, that means a $5,000 outside award shrinks the federal loan offer by $5,000 before any grant is touched.
new.smith.edu publishes the $94,098 cost-of-attendance worksheet the math is run against.
You've received Smith's institutional merit aid plus the federal loan offer in your award letter. You win a $5,000 outside scholarship.
What Smith does
Smith reduces your loan offer first, then work-study, before touching institutional grants. The $5,000 swap is effectively cash to the family: fewer loans now, less debt at graduation.
Family takeaway
Loan-first displacement is the most family-friendly treatment. Outside scholarships translate dollar-for-dollar into reduced borrowing.
Schools with the same policy
These schools also use loan-first displacement for outside scholarships. The same dollar math above applies at each.
Skipping the financial aid application as a 'just in case.'
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.
Displacement questions families ask
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.
Aid-office script (copy & send)
The displacement rule is only binding when it's in writing. This script asks Smith's aid office the specific question that matters for loan-first displacement.
Subject: Outside-scholarship treatment question, fall applicant
Dear Smith Financial Aid Office,
I'm a fall applicant reviewing how outside scholarships interact with my institutional aid package. I've read the public policy at https://new.smith.edu/admission-aid/tuition-aid-applicants/first-year-applicants and the $94,098 cost-of-attendance worksheet.
If I win a $5,000 outside scholarship after the package is built, can you confirm it reduces my Direct Loan offer first, before any institutional grant is touched?
If the loan offer is smaller than the outside award, what is the next aid type that gets reduced (work-study, institutional grant, other)?
A written answer (email is fine) is important because the outside-scholarship awarding bodies want confirmation before disbursing. Thank you for the time.
— [Student name], [Application ID if available]
How Smith compares across our verified dataset
147 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Smith is in a recognizable cluster (147 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
667 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Smith is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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.
