<p>It’s not easy to predict your aid in advance, so much so that it’s probably not worth stressing about (as difficult as that is). </p>
<p>Smith likes to say that it’s offers are usually with 1000 - 2000 dollars of those from its peer institutions. As they say on their website they do meet 100% of the demonstrated need of the applicant, but that’s need as THEY calculate it, which may or may not be how you calculate it. Doing an online calculation of your EFC through FASFA will give you some ballpark of how they will evaluate your need, but you have to keep in mind that that is adjusted in Smith’s formula by the information provided on your CSS profile which can cover things the FAFSA didn’t cover (if you own several properties or a large amount of property for example, income of a non-custodial parent, etc). </p>
<p>The merit angle is also difficult to predict, as many many meritorious students apply to Smith that never receive a dime of merit aid. But, then again, those scholarships exist, and someone has to get them, so there’s no reason it can’t be your daughter. You can’t really count on it, but you can’t discount it either. </p>
<p>From my years at Smith, it seemed that they were very responsive to changing family circumstances, hence why they want you to re-apply for financial aid every year. Note that they are responsive in both directions: an uptick in income may result in a decrease in your aid award, just as a downturn in income may result in an increase. As R6L said, they seem to be especially responsive to unforseen problems and they are willing to work wtih students to try and figure something out. They really want students to be able to attend and they want students that are attending to be able to finish.</p>