Paul Smith's College

When it comes to cookie-cutter colleges, Paul Smith’s is anything but. In fact, we’re the only 4-year college inside the boundaries of the world-famous “forever wild” Adirondacks.

Living and learning here requires a special kind of student – someone who values the abundance of our natural landscape and embraces our spirit of creative self-reliance.

Our mission is :

• To develop career-ready graduates through hands-on, personalized education.
• To educate, research and advocate on issues that improve our planet and the lives of the people that inhabit it.
• To help the Adirondack region be ecologically and economically sustainable.

We are a thriving college, broadly recognized for outstanding experiential education and an adventurous spirit. It is our desire to help you transition from high school, a community college, the military or from overseas. We want to get to know you and your family, answer all your questions and support your efforts to discover Paul Smith’s College.

Here’s the formula: Our academics + our faculty + our location = a college experience you can’t get anywhere else.

With approximately 900 students Paul Smith’s is a tight-knit, supportive, and conscientiously “green” college community. We offer 18 Bachelor’s and 7 Associate’s degree programs.

Families may need to explore financial aid in the form of grants, loans, scholarships and work study to help finance their college student’s education. Paul Smith’s Financial Aid Staff is committed to helping you and your family in evaluating your options. How do you apply for aid? The first thing you need to know are these five letters: F-A-F-S-A. They stand for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. FAFSA is the federal form that’s used to determine the amount a family should be able to pay for college. It’s definitely worth filling out a FAFSA online, even if you don’t think you’re eligible for need-based aid.