The largest women's liberal arts college in the United States, admitting 21% of applicants with median graduate earnings of $64,027.
Northampton, Massachusetts
Smith College is a private liberal arts college for women in Northampton, Massachusetts, founded in 1871. It enrolls approximately 2,900 undergraduates and is the largest of the historically women's colleges in the United States. Social sciences account for the largest share of degrees, followed by biological sciences, visual and performing arts, and engineering through the Picker Engineering Program, the only engineering degree program among the Seven Sister colleges.
Smith is a founding member of the Five College Consortium, which grants students cross-registration access to Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Ada Comstock Scholars Program enrolls women aged 24 and older who are returning to or beginning undergraduate study. Smith holds regional accreditation through the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
Official website: smith.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Smith scores 72.67 overall, rated Good. Outcomes (93.99) and Selectivity (95.27) are among the strongest in the peer group, reflecting an 89% six-year graduation rate and competitive admissions.
Affordability scores 17.93, the weakest pillar, driven by a sticker price above $80,000 and a net price that, while low for the bottom income brackets, remains high relative to what families earning above $75,000 actually pay. Value scores 33.92, reflecting the gap between high cost and earnings that, while solid, trail the most selective research universities. All scores use verified federal data only.
Smith is selective without being hyper-competitive. The college admits 21% of applicants, placing it in the same tier as Barnard, Middlebury, and Colby. Smith is test-optional; submitting scores is not required and the decision is not penalized. Admitted students who do submit scores average around 1400 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT.
No fixed formula governs decisions: the curriculum's rigor, grades, essays, and demonstrated interest in a women's liberal arts environment all factor into the review. Smith offers Early Decision I (November 1) and Early Decision II (January 1) binding options, as well as Regular Decision (January 15). The Ada Comstock Scholars Program operates on a separate, rolling admissions timeline for applicants aged 24 and older.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Smith College is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Smith's sticker price is $65,178 in tuition, with room and board adding approximately $20,000, bringing the total cost of attendance to roughly $85,000 per year before aid. Most students pay far less. Starting in Fall 2026, families earning under $150,000 per year will pay no tuition. Smith meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students, with aid packages consisting entirely of grants and work-study, not loans. The average net price across all students is $27,579. For families earning under $30,000, the net price is $1,363, effectively making Smith free for the lowest-income families who are admitted.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Smith completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 89.05% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students, well above the national average for four-year private colleges. First-year retention stands at 92.6%, meaning more than nine in ten freshmen return for a second year.
These figures reflect both the selectivity of the admissions process and the depth of academic support available through the residential house system and the Five College Consortium. Graduate and professional school placement is strong: a significant share of Smith graduates pursue advanced degrees, particularly in medicine, law, and the social sciences.
Smith graduates earn above the national median for four-year liberal arts colleges. Median earnings are $53,073 six years after first enrolling and $64,027 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 82.8% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
These figures cover all former students and include graduates who went directly to graduate or professional school, which can depress early earnings while increasing long-term outcomes. The Picker Engineering Program and computer science track produce graduates who typically earn well above the institutional median. Social work and education graduates typically earn below the median.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Smith enrolls approximately 2,900 undergraduates, all women, from a wide range of backgrounds. White students account for approximately 38% of undergraduates; Asian students 14%, Hispanic 10%, and Black 7%. International students make up about 14% of enrollment. Nineteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and approximately 17% are first-generation college students.
The Ada Comstock Scholars Program adds 100 to 150 non-traditional-age women to each cohort, giving Smith one of the more age-diverse student bodies among selective liberal arts colleges. The residential house system, in which students live and eat together in smaller communities of 10 to 100, is a defining feature of campus life.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Smith College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Smith College offers an extensive catalog of programs: 47 distinct programs across 19 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Smith operates at an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio, one of the lowest among liberal arts colleges. The vast majority of courses are taught by full-time faculty, and class sizes are typically small: most upper-division courses enroll 15 to 20 students. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is approximately $21,000 per year. The endowment stands at approximately $2.7 billion, among the largest per-student endowments at any liberal arts college in the country. Smith has a strong undergraduate research culture, with funded summer research positions available to students across all disciplines.
338 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 120 | 36% | $152,890 |
| Associate Professors | 63 | 19% | $117,032 |
| Assistant Professors | 64 | 19% | $95,431 |
| Instructors | 13 | 4% | $73,348 |
| Lecturers | 78 | 23% | $79,021 |
Smith's strongest data points are its Outcomes score (93.99), Selectivity (95.27), and the $1,363 average net price for the lowest-income families admitted, which makes it effectively free for students who qualify. Starting Fall 2026, families under $150,000 pay no tuition, extending that reach significantly. The weakness is Affordability (17.93): families earning between $75,000 and $110,000 still face a high net price relative to peer liberal arts colleges. Best fit for students who want a rigorous women's liberal arts environment, engineering in a small-college setting, or the broad course access provided by the Five College Consortium.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Smith before applying: how competitive admissions are, how financial aid works for a high-sticker-price college, what the Five College Consortium offers in practice, and what graduates earn. Smith's financial aid program is one of the most generous among selective liberal arts colleges; the answers below explain how it actually works for families at different income levels.
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