Current Smithie here. Not sure if this is too late or not.
I think many people have doubts about where they apply. @medrunner1998 answered the fin aid question well so I’ll focus on the other 2 parts.
If you’re having doubts I’d recommend creating a pro/con chart of applying to Smith ED, so you can remind yourself of why you love Smith and hash out exactly what is still holding you back. That helped me decide which school to enroll at. Everyone tells you to use your gut but I think that’s BS because guts can be quite unreliable when it comes to big decisions, telling me one thing one week and something else the other.
I did not apply to Smith ED - I applied to another school, was deferred, and ultimately rejected. But although I had visited and really liked that school I wasn’t totally sure about applying there until like 2 weeks before.
I had a lot of doubts about applying to Smith, even RD. Smith just wasn’t what I had envisioned my college experience to look like. When April rolled around I almost committed to another school.
But now I absolutely love it here and think I made the right decision. (I’m outlining what I love about Smith here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/1920397-ask-a-smithie.html)
Also on an unrelated note I love Hamilton and “Dear Theodosia” too. You’ll find a lot of Hamilfans here 