rec163

I'm currently a first-year, looking into transferring to Smith.
I was accepted as a high school senior without question (as in, they accepted me early as part of a select group, in February, even though I applied regular deadline).

When I applied as a high schooler, my weighted GPA was 4.26. I consistently earned all A's save for one class, which was never lower than a B+. I have taken 11 AP's in total. I had taken 5 AP tests, with four 5's and one 4. SAT 2030, Lit 710, US History 780. National Merit Commended Scholar. President of two clubs.

There are, however, a few factors that have changed since I applied in high school. I did not end up taking my AP tests my senior year, so I have no scores to show for that. I had to miss about 1/4 of the school year due to mental health issues, and the absences really stick out on my transcript, as until that point I had literally one day of absence all of high school. I had to drop a non-honors science course, and my GPA for senior year was a 3.667. Overall HS GPA now a 4.15, weighted, bear in mind.

I now attend Sarah Lawrence College. We have a system where we take only 3 classes at a time, and many of the courses offered are year long. As such, I only have 2 grades to show Smith from first semester: An A, and an A-, total GPA 3.85.
My concern is that I don't have enough to show Smith for what I've done since I applied last. I have practically no extracurricular achievements since, but I am almost positive I will have glowing recommendations.

What I truly want is to have enough "bargaining power" to lobby Smith for more financial aid, or a merit scholarship. I have heard that Smith is much better about need aid than Sarah Lawrence. We had to nudge SLC to give us what we needed, and I believe they complied only because I was a very competitive applicant. I think contrary to what some people believe, need based aid is, to some degree, about how much you lobby them, and how desperately they want you. Smith is about $5,000 less expensive than SLC, but my merit scholarship here is $15,000 per year. That means, if the need is calculated the same at both schools, there is still $10,000 to make up for. I need Smith to be on the generous side in their calculations, or a merit scholarship.

What do you think are the chances of this happening?
(Also: does anyone know how well my credits will transfer, being from SLC?)

njcdmom

Regarding aid- Smith is a "meets 100% of need" school, but that means 100% of what THEY determine is your need; not what the applicant and their family feels is their need.

This is from Smith's website: "Smith College is committed to a generous financial aid policy that guarantees to meet the full financial need, as calculated by the college, of all admitted students."

Also, all aid is based on financial need. The only scholarships (that I know of) are called STRIDE and the very few Zollmans; they are for first-year students.

From Smith's website, too:
"U.S. Transfer students who do not apply for aid prior to admission are not eligible to receive institutional aid until they have completed 32 credits at Smith." So keep that in mind when you apply.

I'd say apply, but do it soon. It looks like Feb. 15 is the deadline for Fin Aid apps for transfers for Sept. Smith College: Financial Aid

And send them a letter explaining your circumstances. Good luck! It is a fantastic college; my d is a first-year student there.