I’m a newly admitted student who will be attending the Destination SMU in March. I’m not sure if this is relevant, but I am South Asian (brown), generally middle-class, and deeply introverted.
3 major concerns I have about going to school there:
I heard that the diversity is not quite where the Uni wants it to be. Is SMU going through some affirmative action to try to get more minorities into the mix?
How welcoming is this Uni to someone who has never lived away from home in their entire life?
How did you make friends starting out? And what social activities are there that would appeal to introverts, if any?
Over a quarter of their student population consist of minorities. It’s not the most diverse school ever, but it’s also not as if there will be no other minorities around. My brother went there, we’re Asian, and he had no problems. He had white friends, a LOT of Hispanic friends (given the location, that’s not that surprising), and several black friends. Ironically, he didn’t make any other Asian friends during his time there. In addition, Dallas is incredibly diverse, so if you ever go off-campus (at a job, for example), you’re bound to meet a ton of minorities.
It’s not an overwhelmingly commuter school, so you’re going to meet people from all over the country. Being introverted is more of an issue than being from out of state/never lived away before.
There are tons of activities that may appeal to introverts, such as academically-oriented clubs, volunteer service, etc. Most people make friends with others in their dorms or classes their freshman year.
SMU is a great school and will provide strong connections to the Texas market (if you’re interested in working there after college). Good luck!
