| "Mini, even if Smith leads with finaid expenditures per student, couldn't the but other schools be offering more aid (or more grant money) per finaid applicant?'
Quite possible. Except that some schools are making a point of accepting more applicants who require small amounts of aid in order to entice them to attend. So it will vary school by school. (Anecdotes don't really count, but my d. received better aid from Smith than from Williams.)
"Sadly, I believe there are also disincentives w/ Smith's merit awards, like STRIDE that offer paid research, instead of an out-right grant."
STRIDES provide BOTH paid research and out-right grants. But they aren't need-based financial aid (and aren't included in the calculations of need-based aid per student).
"Smith's FA seems to exist purely for truly low-income families and for the top of the applicant pool in the form of research fellowships."
Statistically, this isn't true. Well over half the students receiving need-based aid at Smith are not Pell Grant recipients, even though 26% of the student body is on Pell Grants. The STRIDES, etc. are on top of the need-based aid. |