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OPEN DOORS TO WOMEN OF PROMISE

Smith fills its class with strong students each year, and it has been very successful in achieving socio-economic diversity among its student body. Nonetheless, the margin of students we do not admit who are qualified to perform well at Smith is thinner than we would like, and the commitment that we have made to financial aid involves challenging trade-offs in other areas of the budget. The five applications Smith receives for every spot in the entering class is less than half the number received by many peer colleges. Our admission profile leaves us vulnerable to a drop in applications or yield, or a shift in financial need.

Smith has faced a challenging decade in admissions. Despite several new recruitment initiatives, the college’s applicant pool has grown more slowly than that of many of its peers. In part because of increasing use of merit aid across the private sector, we have seen our competitive market for students expand to encompass a broader range of institutions. Our research suggests that prospective students recognize the excellence of our faculty and programs, but are largely unaware of Smith’s other distinctive strengths. The fact that we are the largest of the women’s colleges leaves us little latitude to weather a downturn in applications or yield rate, or shifts in financial aid patterns.

Smith has a proud record of providing access to students of varying economic means, both in the Ada Comstock Scholars and traditional student populations. The socio-economic profile of Smith’s student body differs in fundamental ways from that of the majority of colleges and universities in its traditional peer group. Smith has the highest level of socio-economic diversity among its peers—a point of distinctive pride for the college. But this distinction presents economic challenges for the college: we have the highest discount rate among our peers and the highest proportion of students on need-based aid.

Areas for Exploration

	How can we increase our applicant base? How should we address the geographical imbalance projected for high school graduates over the next decade, with growth focused in the South and West?
	Have the increased number of applications in the last two admission cycles provided us with adequate flexibility? What is the appropriate applicant pool, in terms of size, financial need, and quality?
	How should access compare to other top priorities, such as faculty compensation, curricular strength, study abroad, etc.? What size discount rate should we seek to maintain over the longer term? What are the implications of various discount rate levels on other parts of the budget? To what extent can the college control its own discount rate?
	How should Smith define quality for the purposes of evaluating trends in its admission position?
	How should Smith define its goal of providing access? How much financial aid can we prudently afford?

Potential Strategies Emerging from Campus and Alumnae Discussions

	Invest in admission marketing and outreach in the South and West to build awareness of Smith.
	Build “feeder school” relationships in specific targeted areas, such as the arts, sciences and engineering, etc.
	Improve Smith’s Web site and develop a virtual tour.
	Reduce the traditional enrollment size of the college, striking a balance among issues of diversity, access, and measures of quality.
	Increase use of merit aid to yield top-ranking lower-need students.
	Develop opportunities for the campus community to come together for conversations that explore critical intersections between excellence and diversity.

	Next: Extend Smith’s Impact on the World >

The Planning Process

Re-imagining the
Liberal Arts at Smith

Strategic Directions

Strengthen essential student capacities

Promote a culture of research, inquiry,
& discovery

Encourage purposeful engagement with society’s challenges

Deepen students’ awareness &
appreciation of
other cultures &
global issues

Prepare women for rewarding lives in a rapidly changing world

Support & promote environmental sustainability

Open doors to
women of promise

Extend Smith’s
impact on the world

Committee on
Mission & Priorities