Smith College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Strong target

Selective but achievable for strong students.

✅ Best for

Strong academic profile (SAT 1408–1540 · ACT 32–34 middle 50% + typically a 3.9+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework)
Students drawn to Social Sciences or Biological & Biomedical Sciences (the two biggest majors)
Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1408, or ACT below 32, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)
With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification

Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus

Total enrollment

2,544

1,000 - 4,999

In-state tuition

$65,178

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$65,178

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

19.7%

Highly selective

SAT middle 50%

1408–1540

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

32–34

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$64,027

median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry

$45,731

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$64,027

4-year completion

89%

Median debt (completers)

$17,550

Cost of attendance

$86,030

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

18%

💰 True ROI

5.8× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)

$110,316

$27,579/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$233,804

vs sticker $344,120

10-yr earnings total

$640,270

$64,027/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

1.7 yrs

at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Smith College, the average net price is $27,579/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$1,363/yr

Family income $30-48k

$3,737/yr

Family income $48-75k

$6,559/yr

Family income $75-110k

$11,750/yr

Family income $110k+

$40,477/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Smith College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Smith College →

Opens on Smith College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Smith College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Smith College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Social Sciences

113 degrees · 32.1%

Typical career outcomes

Economist $118k Political Scientist $130k Sociologist $93k Market Research Analyst $75k

Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.

2. Biological & Biomedical Sciences

91 degrees · 25.9%

Typical career outcomes

Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k

Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

3. Psychology

63 degrees · 17.9%

Typical career outcomes

HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k

Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

4. Visual & Performing Arts

45 degrees · 12.8%

Typical career outcomes

Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k

Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.

5. Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, & Group Studies

40 degrees · 11.4%

Typical career outcomes

Policy Analyst $79k Researcher / Editor $73k Foreign Service Officer $87k

Often a pre-professional path (law, policy, academia, international work).

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Smith College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP)	Credential	Cohort	1-yr earnings	4-yr earnings
Economics.	Bachelor's Degree	43	$71,559	$88,067
Engineering, General.	Bachelor's Degree	3	$53,571	$86,262
Political Science and Government.	Bachelor's Degree	76	$42,327	$68,916
Biology, General.	Bachelor's Degree	46	$32,747	$63,133
Sociology.	Bachelor's Degree	26	$35,252	$58,664
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.	Bachelor's Degree	27	$35,407	$58,304
English Language and Literature, General.	Bachelor's Degree	40	$25,023	$52,938
Research and Experimental Psychology.	Bachelor's Degree	44	$43,717	$51,267
Area Studies.	Bachelor's Degree	21	$29,878	$51,131
Natural Resources Conservation and Research.	Bachelor's Degree	28	$21,648	$48,183

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Smith College

CS degrees (annual)

29

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Smith College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.