<p>Even when a school offers finaid, the aid package often requires that the family to dig a bit deep than is comfotable. And, yes, since Smith offers very limited merit money, it is not at all uncommon for strong students who are ineilg for need-based aid to get zero finaid from Smith and a $5-10k in merit money from other schools. Clearly, if applicant and her family are hoping for meit money, a school, like Smith, which allocates only 5% of its student aid to meirt money is not a good choice.</p>