Smith College, a staunchly feminist member of the historic Seven Sisters consortium of women’s liberal arts colleges, remains moderately selective, even as other schools of its caliber see acceptance rates dip into the single digits. But still, Smith admission officers are quite discerning when it comes to the academic standards to which they hold prospective students. While grades aren’t everything in the Smith admission process, they most certainly are the most pivotal factor taken into consideration.

That said, what kind of GPA does a student need when applying to Smith? Let’s take a close gander at the data over the last three years.

What is a Good GPA To Get into Smith?

First, just how difficult is it to get into Smith? For applicants to Smith’s Class of 2029, a moderate 22.41% earned admission. This figure was even lower for the Class of 2028, when 21% got in. For the Class of 2027, 19.73% was the magic number.

GPA Percentage of Smith College Class of 2028

The following is the GPA breakdown of the members of Smith’s Class of 2028 (the most recently admitted cohort for which the data is publicly available):

GPA	Percentage of Smith College Class of 2028
4.0	82%
3.75-3.99	15%
3.5-3.74	3%
3.25-3.49	1%
3.0-3.24	0%
2.5-2.99	0%
2.0-2.49	0%
1.0-1.99	0%

GPA Percentage of Smith College Class of 2027

The following is the GPA breakdown of the members of Smith’s Class of 2027:

GPA	Percentage of Smith College Class of 2027
4.0	83%
3.75-3.99	13%
3.5-3.74	4%
3.25-3.49	0%
3.0-3.24	0%
2.5-2.99	0%
2.0-2.49	0%
1.0-1.99	0%

GPA Percentage of Smith College Class of 2026

The following is the GPA breakdown of the members of Smith’s Class of 2026:

GPA	Percentage of Smith College Class of 2026
4.0	79.3%
3.75-3.99	13.2%
3.5-3.74	7.0%
3.25-3.49	0.5%
3.0-3.24	0%
2.5-2.99	0%
2.0-2.49	0.%

Further Context on GPAs of Smith Students

Before we break down the above data, it’s time for Ivy Coach to dispel the smoke and mirrors we suspect Smith to have put up surrounding this GPA data. No school, indeed not even Harvard University, has a GPA distribution comparable to the figures reported above. There’s not a doubt in our minds that Smith has reported weighted GPA, which means the data are all but useless to our purposes of determining GPA standards for admission. 

In other words, Smith’s insistence that 82% of the Class of 2028 entered Smith with a 4.0 would only be possible if admission officers were inflating each student’s GPA. In all likelihood, the actual GPA distribution for that year likely looks less like an exponential equation, and more like a bell curve (for those math geeks among us!).

Still, these data still do suggest that for the high school seniors attending schools that weigh GPA (not all schools do!), if you don’t have a post-weighing GPA that clocks in at 4.0 or higher, you are likely not meeting the academic standards that would ensure you have optimized your odds of Smith admission. 

But don’t be discouraged by this sweeping pronouncement. Smith, after all, like all of America’s highly selective universities, has a holistic admissions process. If it were just about a student’s GPA, the institution would be overfilled with students – many of them dull students.

Can I Get into Smith with a Low GPA?

In the absence of reliable data on recent Smith admit GPA, it’s hard to say whether a low GPA paired with strong performance in other aspects of the application would suffice for Smith admission. However, it’s worth noting that, according to the Common Data Set, 79% of admits to the Class of 2028 graduated from high school in the top tenth of their graduating class, suggesting it’s improbable (but still possible) to earn admission to Smith with poor grades.

How Ivy Coach Can Help Your Child’s Chances at Smith College

If you’re interested in discerning if your child has a shot of getting into Smith, we recommend setting up Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session. Not only will you find out if your child has a chance of getting into Smith, but you’ll receive a game plan of how your child can optimize their admission to the best school possible. To learn more about Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session led by a member of our team of former elite college admission officers, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.