Smith College
Private College in Northampton, MA. Six-year graduation rate 89%. Median 10-year earnings $64,027.
Students who entered Smith College reach a median of $64,027 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 89% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $17,550, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.27 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 89% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Smith College admits just 21% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. 8,666 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 35% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 29% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 720–760 | 189 (29%) |
| SAT Math | 700–780 | |
| ACT Composite | 32–35 | 88 (14%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Smith College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 89% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 94% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. A 8:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate population is 2,506 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,501 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $27,305 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $1,363 at $0–30k versus $40,477 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 71% of students at an average of $57,028. 14% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 649 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $1,363 |
| $30–48k | $3,737 |
| $48–75k | $6,559 |
| $75–110k | $11,750 |
| $110k+ | $40,477 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 353 of these 2,501 students, totalling $2,221,585 — an average of $6,293 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hampshire County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)