Dang merit scholarships are out? I didn’t get one then 
i thought i would get something
Yes, scholarships should be mentioned within the letter. It is still expensive for my family, though, with my scholarship
Decision: Accepted
Major: Biological Sciences, Pre-Health
SAT I: 2050- 680 on both Writing and Critical Reading, 690 on Math
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):75th percentile out of 500 students
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), Psychology (3), U.S. History (4), Chemistry (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP American Government, AP Spanish Language, AP Literature, AP Biology, AP Photography, Business Law, AP Statistics
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Competitive dance team, Girl’s Swim and Dive, Spanish Club
Job/Work Experience: Starbuck’s barista, local campaign assistant, and nanny
Volunteer/Community service: Vacation Bible School counselor, Washington State Senate Page, L’Arche House volunteer
Summer Activities: NSLC Medicine and Health Care program at the University of Washington
Essays: Amazing personal statement but supplemental essays could have used some work
Teacher Recommendation: Very good
Counselor Rec: probably decent
State (if domestic applicant): Washington
School Type: Public but nationally ranked
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Strengths: SAT score, essay and transcript
Weaknesses: GPA
My daughter just got accepted. 3.7 weighted GPA and 32 ACT. If I’m reading the acceptance email correctly it says she was offered a $15,000 founders scholarship per year. Good luck to everybody!
Got in!
Personalized acceptance letter with references to some of my personal volunteer work.
Offered the Dean’s Scholar.
Out of State
Female
34 ACT
4.16 GPA
Lots of extra curricular, leadership roles, student government…varsity sports, cheer and soccer
Super Excited!
DS accepted with 32 ACT/2070 SAT. GPA is weighted 3.7+ with a AP scores of 5 in US History, Human Geography and World History. 740 US History SAT Subject Test. Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Gov, AP English Lit, AP Psychology, and AP Environmental Science. Acceptance letter includes offer of SMU Founders Scholarship of $15,000 annually. Personalized letter was surprising, did not receive that from Alabama, LSU, Mizzou, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Tulane or the University of Texas at Austin.
Decision: Accepted
Merit Scholarship, if received: Deans Scholar: $22,500 a year (personalized letter was really cool!)
School/major: Finance
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2000, 690 Math, 680 English, 620 Writing (Did not send)
ACT (breakdown):
32 Comp, 32 English, 32 Math, 30 Sci, 34 Reading, 11 Writing (Sent)
32 Comp 29 English, 31 Math, 36 Science, 32 Reading, 8 Writing (Sent)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (720), Physics (680), US History (750)(Did not send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5%
AP (place score in parentheses): World History (4), US History (5), English Lang (5), Physics (2)
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Human Geography, AP Economics, AP Calc AB, Honors World
Literature, Honors Anatomy and Physiology, Religion, Senior Thesis
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Football (JV Team Captain, JV Scholar Athlete, Varsity Scholar Athlete), Track (Thrower’s Captain), National Honor Society, Fresh/Soph Lacrosse, Youth Group (Youth Group Leader)
Job/Work Experience: Junior Counselor at Camp, Lifeguard, Farm Worker
Volunteer/Community Service: Youth Group, Summer Camp, Lacrosse Camp
Essays: Common App essay: 9/10, supplements 9/10
Teacher Recommendations: Spanish Teacher 9/10 (had her for freshman and junior year and did very well), AP US teacher 10/10 (spent a lot of time and actually wrote individualized letters based on all the schools I applied to.)
Counselor Rec: Probably 8+/10
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None
Other:
State (if domestic applicant): Reside in MD
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Large, Boys Only Private School (1,200)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 150,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection:
Strengths: Essay, ECs, Rec letters, Leadership
Weaknesses: None really stick out.
Why you think you were accepted: I feel my essays, recs, and ECs were really good.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Alabama, Texas, Tulane (Accepted), Georgetown, Notre Dame, Maryland, Davidson, Wake Forest, UNC
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Visit the campus! I went down the Texas with UT-Austin on my mind, but SMU stole it’s spot as my top school.
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1450/1600, 2160/2400
ACT: didn’t send
SAT II: didn’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.42
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (no test), AP Lang (4), APES (3), APUSH (3), currently taking AP Psych, AP/Honors Chinese, AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Gov, and AP Econ
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP/Honors Chinese, AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Econ, and Marine Bio
Major Awards: Not quite sure what qualifies
Subjective: (I’m forgetting a lot)
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
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Science mentoring club (mentor trainer)
Political organization (statewide director)
Two national LGBTQA+ youth safety orgs (chair/founder with professional backing)
Girls State (mayor & sent on full scholarship by local rotary chapter)
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Job/Work Experience:
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Intern for a local politician
Full-time summer camp counselor
[/QUOTE]
Volunteer/Community service:
[QUOTE=""]
My orgs are volunteer-run.
Volunteer at local shelter, as well as programs for homeless youth
[/QUOTE]
Summer Activities:
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Full time job @ camp
[/QUOTE]
Essays: Eh. Wrote them in one go and was pretty stubborn about keeping them. 7/10
Teacher Recommendation: English teacher I connected with, although my performance dropped. 7/10
Counselor Rec: Knew me pretty well, and started out in a similar field to the one which I hope to go into. 8/10
Additional Rec: None
Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s): Human Rights / Health & Society
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Ranges
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: SAT scores, ECs related to major, essay pulled together, met my regional counselor. My cutesy personal message read, “The Committee greatly commends you on your leadership of (org I lead) and your efforts to create a supportive environment for your peers.”
Weaknesses: GPA!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
General Comments: Apparently I’m a Second Century Scholar! Holy cow! This now brings the cost to near that of U-Minnesota, also a top choice of mines. I was accepted to Ohio State, Tulane too and haven’t gotten scholarship info from anywhere besides SMU.
Congrats to everyone who got in, and best of luck to those waiting! SMU or not, you’re on your way to some pretty neat things.
Can someone explain to me what the Dean’s scholarship is ?
Not to undermine any of your achievements, but mine did the same thing. I think its sweet though that they put down some specific things that stood out about us in the acceptance letters.
Congrats on the acceptance!
Dean’s Scholar according to my letter is $22,500 annually… Up to $90,000
@Illnoisdad16 I was wondering about that as well. It’s not listed in their website.
So can one assume that the President Scholar candidates will be selected from the pool of Dean’s Scholars, given that seems to be the highest award they include in the acceptance letters?
I looked it up after getting my letter. I couldn’t find it on the website. My letter states the committee has chosen you as a Dean’s Scholar. Academic and personal achievements…$22,500 a year up to $90,000.
I was a National Merit so that may have helped…
Several outside websites say the following about SMU Dean’s Scholar, which I take to mean one makes the cut to be in the pool of candidates for President Scholarship. Also, I assume you must have properly applied for Pres Scholarship.
“The Dean’s Scholar Award is open to entering freshmen at Southern Methodist University. This award is for President’s Scholar finalists. You must have a minimum SAT I of 700 verbal, 650 math and 1350 composite (or the ACT equivalent) to be considered for this award. You must also rank in the top 10 percent of your graduating class and demonstrate both involvement and leadership. This half-tuition award is renewable provided you maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA.”
My SAT was 1450 (720 verbal, 730 math) & I wasn’t chosen :O! Given my GPA, I should be glad I got anything (which I am). Congrats to those who earned it!
This post is for those guys ho have doubts about getting in b/c of having really low stats
Decision: Accepted
Merit Scholarship, if received: SMU Founders Scholars ($15,000 a year!)
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT: 30 (30 Math, 31 Reading, 29 English & Science)
SAT II: Biology M 730, Math 1 630
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.34 (Rough Sophomore Year) Weighted 4.04
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): We don’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language, AP U.S. History, AP World History all 4’s
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, Introductions Into Engineering Designs, Honors Philosophy, Internship: National Institutes of Health
Major Awards: Twice Published Scientist in the NCBI Database, Waksmans Student Scholar Award, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity W.E.B. Dubois Academic Achievement Award, A couple Chemathon awards
Extracurricular (place leadership in parenthesis):
-National Medical Honors Society (Founder/President)
-Field Hockey (Manager/Assistant Coach)
-SGA (Elections Officer)
-Chemathon
Job/Work Experience:
-National Institutes of Health Intern FULL YEAR
-Waksmans Student Scholar Researcher FULL YEAR
Volunteer/Community service:
-Distinguished Young Women of Montgomery County(Co-Chairs woman/Co-Founder)
-Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (Montgomery County Ambassador)
Summer Activities:
-National Institutes of Health Student Career Exploration Intern
Essays: 8/10, my ‘Why SMU?’ one I was never fully satisfied with.
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10 for the first teacher, she loved me and was both my biology teacher for two years and research mentor for one, The other probably 7/10
Counselor Rec: 9/10, she knew about all the issues happening my sophomore year and promised to explain the situation in her letter She also loved me dearly 
Additional Rec:
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
Intended major(s): Economics with Management Information Applications Specialization
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: African
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Strengths: Extracurricular, research experience
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Honestly, It had to be because of all of my extracurricular and research, my GPA to me seemed to low for me to make it in, let alone get a scholarship!
Where else you are applying or have already applied: I’ve also gotten into Butler University ( with max. scholarship money) And University of Minnesota Twin Cities!
General Comments: Don’t not apply to this school just because you think your GPA/ Test Scores are too low! Give it a try, I got in WITH SCHOLARSHIP MONEY! Don’t give up!
Decision: Accepted
Merit Scholarship, if received: Second Century Scholar: $20,000/year
School/major: Lyle School of Engineering/Computer Science
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): not submitted
ACT (breakdown): 33C 35E 35M 34R 27S
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 620 Math I (took soph year, not submitted)
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank, probably somewhere around top 25-30%
AP (place score in parentheses): Comp Sci (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Spanish, AP Econ (micro and macro), Honors Physics, Honors English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity Soccer, Impressive summer activities every year, took coding classes (overall expressed lots of interest in comp sci–the major I applied for)
Job/Work Experience: Started own online business
Volunteer/Community Service: Around ~50 hours, various activities, one trip abroad to 3rd world country
Essays: Common App essay: 11/10 (everyone I’ve had read it said it was really that good), supplements 10/10
Teacher Recommendations: Did not read them but… Spanish teacher for 2 years (also my advisor for 4 years): 10/10, US History teacher 8/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None
Other:
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Extremely rigorous public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: dunno, a lot
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Strengths: ACT, essays, rigor of classes taken (only took 3-non honors/ap classes throughout all of HS), GPA showed lots of improvement throughout HS with excellent 1st quarter grades this fall, also a female interested in CS (not exactly sure how much pull this has, if any?)
Weaknesses: Cumulative GPA, APCS exam score made me nervous (did not get a 5), EC’s were strong but sparse
Reflection: Wow, I was not really expecting a merit scholarship simply because of my GPA but according to SMU’s website the scholarship I received is mostly based on subjective achievements, so I guess they must have really really liked my essays because my EC’s weren’t merit-scholarship-impressive.
Why you think you were accepted: My personal statement is fantastic, my ACT scores are much higher than SMU’s range, and I wrote very specific and in my own opinion, compelling, SMU supplements.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UT Austin, Southern Cal, NYU, etc.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I visited from CT–liked the school but honestly only applied because they have EA and were a safety for me. Definitely a confidence booster for me as I did not apply ED anywhere. As for advice, I would say really try to have at least one compelling experience throughout high school that you can write an incredible essay about and really focus on the supplements. Try to say something in them that really shows how you are unique and can add to the community.
Decision: Accepted
Major: Biology
ACT: 27
SAT I: 1950
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.18
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): na
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Gov (5), AP Lang (3), AP World (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus, AP Lit, AP Physics, Child Development, Philosophy, Global Issues, Yearbook
Major Awards: A bunch of African American Excellence awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Editor in chief of the Yearbook, Treasurer for Doctors of Tomorrow, Amnesty International, President of FCA, etc
Essays: Very good! I wrote about life skills not being taught in schools. I had my essay checked my my Lang teacher who used to be on the admissions board for another university.
Teacher Recommendation: dont know
Counselor Rec: Not aloud to see it
Other
State (if domestic applicant): MD
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Female
Pick one:
Decision: Accepted
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): CR 640, M 700, W 640 (1980)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Didn’t Send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.4 lol
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Psych (4) AP Lang (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):HL Econ (Predicted 7/7) SL Physics (predicted 6/7) SL Math (Predicted 6/7)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, APUSH, IB HL2 Econ, IB SL2 Math, IB SL2 Physics, Chemistry A
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): bunch of service clubs
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: SO much
Summer Activities: None
Essays: Fantastic - admit letter mentioned how they enjoyed it
Teacher Recommendation: both probably 9/10 (maybe 10/10 for one)
Counselor Rec: above average but didn’t know her well 7/10
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Technically from Texas but live overseas (US Citizen)
Country (if international applicant): Indonesia
Intended major(s): Mechanical Engineering, Economics
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Expat Kid - lived overseas for 13 years
Reflection
Strengths: essay, recs, course load
Weaknesses: test score (CR and W), GPA