<p>I agree with Simple Life that Rice seemed more academically challenging than SMU. There is more partying than you would think at Rice. On my son’s Owl Day visit, he was taken to quite a party-- pot and booze. Unfortunately, his hosts refused to leave and he was more or less stuck at the party. Not a great experience.<br>
My son’s friends who are at Rice report that they work very, very hard. Of course, most of them are pre-med and pre-meds everywhere have to work hard.</p>
<p>PS: I actually thought Rice was prettier than SMU. It’s probably my Houstonian bias.</p>
<p>Just a comment on the TA taught classes. I don’t really know about how it’s done at SMU or Rice. At UT, all of my son’s classes are taught by professors, even the two large classes he has. Some of the classes do have TAs, but they don’t teach.</p>
<p>I’m at a senior at SMU and just wanted to chime in on a few topics I’ve seen raised on this thread…</p>
<p>First of all, drinking is a big deal at SMU. I’m not going to lie. I’d imagine that it’s a little bit tougher for a freshman guy than a freshman girl, but it is an issue. The bulk of drinking doesn’t occur in any specific dorms - mostly at fraternity houses and off-campus bus parties that the frats hold during the fall - and most commonly on Thursday and Friday nights. Thursday is the new Friday at SMU, especially since a lot of the schools - namely journalism and business - have very few, if any, classes on Fridays.</p>
<p>Also, about TA taught classes: I haven’t had one in my four years at SMU. Even the few 1000-level surveys I’ve been in have been taught by the professor himself.</p>
<p>Hi Captain88! Thanks for weighing in!</p>
<p>It does sound like drinking is a huge issue at SMU. I’ve heard that hospitalizations for alcohol poisoning are record-setting this year. It sounds to me like the school’s “new” amnesty policy might be working so that kids are getting help for their peers instead of “putting them to bed and letting them sleep it off.” I was also told by the administration that the business school is intentionally scheduling more classes on Fridays, and there will be more to come, just to circumnavigate the drinking problem.</p>
<p>I’m really glad to hear that you haven’t had a single TA in your 4 years there. That’s fantastic. That was really important to my son while choosing a college.</p>
<p>How have you enjoyed your 3 and 1/2 years there? Are you in sports – maybe TEAM Captain88? Do you feel that SMU has prepared you well for your career? Have you done any internships? Any study abroad? Interviewing for post-college jobs already? Or are you considering grad school? I’d love to hear more about your experience.</p>
<p>cpq, I’ll bet that Owl Day scenario was really disappointing for you and your son. Yuk. And here those kids were, probably thinking they were impressing the Owl Day kids by showing off their great parties. My son would have been so turned off!</p>
<p>The Plan II program at UT sounds fantastic – we’ve been researching it ourselves. In fact, my other son already decided he won’t attend UT unless he gets into Plan II. I’ve got several questions for you, which I’ll probably hold until after our Austin visit in 2 weeks – and I won’t hijack this thread doing it!</p>
<p>Congrats to you and your son on his Presidential Scholarship at SMU! Wow! That’s really good. Do you know how many they gave? And are they given out per “school” at SMU – engineering, meadows, business, arts and sciences, etc – each school gets so many? Or are they just given to the highest merit kids across the board? Any idea? I’ll bet that WAS hard to turn down! But UT Austin is an amazing school, with a great rep across the nation. I’m gonna tag you about UT scholarships too … but not on this SMU thread!</p>
<p>I’m not sure how many Presidential Scholarships are given out – maybe 15 or 20? There were maybe 40 kids interviewing. The presidential scholarships are, at least in part, privately sponsored. Certain companies or wealthy individuals will “sponsor” a presidential scholar. But they don’t have any part in picking the scholars. A panel of profs does that. The scholarships are independent of major or school, as far as I know. If there are any quotas, we weren’t made aware of them.<br>
The UT scholarship was almost a full ride for in-state students. I’ll be glad to fill you in when you are ready.</p>
<p>Hey, cpq. I think you know that my son’s full-tuition was comprised of several different scholarships. His largest scholarship was handled the same way – wealthy indvidual or company sponsors were assigned to each scholar by a panel of profs and administrators. They had a nice little meet&greet not too long ago at President Turner’s house so that the sponsors and students could meet each other. It’s a very personable way to do things. My son felt honored.</p>
<p>It would be an absolute dream come true, needless to say, if my next son could manage to get what your son got, the Presidential Scholarship!</p>
<p>UT was almost full-ride too? Nice! I didn’t know they gave such large awards. I don’t think I saw that on their website. Will pass along to next son. When you say full-ride, that means tuition PLUS room and board, right? Will be in touch eventually, via PM.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son for his scholarships, as well.<br>
The UT scholarship is the Dedman. It’s for liberal arts students and they give 5 per year. It is a cash award that the students get each year, so long as they maintain a 3.5 gpa. It is not tied to tuition or room and board. It’s a couple of thousand short of covering tuition + room and board. It is donated by the Dedman family, which also donates a lot to SMU.<br>
When your son submits the Texas Ap, make sure he fills out the scholarship section.</p>
<p>Happy to answer your questions.</p>
<p>The business school is scheduling more Friday classes, but that’s mostly going to affect underclassmen. My boyfriend is in Cox and is a junior with no Friday classes. The Monday/Wednesday schedule prevails - same for the Journalism school.</p>
<p>I don’t necessarily think that more Friday classes is the way to curb drinking, though. A lot of students will go out on Thursday regardless and then either a) not go to class or b) go to class with a massive hangover. The school did suspend Thursday night fraternity bus parties for a little while, but I think they’re going to gradually bring them back as long as the frats stay on “good behavior.”</p>
<p>I have really enjoyed my time at SMU. I will say that it’s extremely different than the other schools I was considering (Amherst, Smith, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, etc.), but I do ultimately feel as though I made the right decision. </p>
<p>I was recruited for a sport and then awarded a full scholarship, so that sealed the deal for me. I don’t know if I would’ve chosen SMU without the athletic scholarship, but I absolutely love the sport I was recruited for, so being “paid” to do it in college was a no-brainer for me.</p>
<p>Because of my athletic commitments, I haven’t done study abroad, but I have traveled abroad twice with SMU’s Human Rights Education Program. I traveled to Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Germany, Austria) last March and to Africa (Rwanda) this past summer. I’d highly recommend the Human Rights minor to anyone at SMU. It’s an interdisciplinary minor that is life-changing.</p>
<p>As far as post-undergrad, I certainly feel prepared to go into the real world workforce, if needed, but I think I’d rather go to grad school. 
I’m taking the GRE on Friday and have been working on applications.</p>
<p>I think she nailed a lot of the likes and dislikes about SMU. Here is a parent’s view:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>there is no question that they are cracking down on drugs and drinking. This is welcome from a parents point of view. Let’s face it, college involves some form of partying. What has been literally killing SMU (and some of their students from 2006 through 2008) was the drug use and the extent to which students felt like they needed to go wild. The administration is very aware of what is going on now and – please trust me on this – your kid will not last long if there is any indications of drug use. I have a recent example (within the month) that I cannot discuss, but it is real that they are expelling students for this without recourse or remorse.</p></li>
<li><p>SMU is going to be an incredible engineering school. They are not there yet, but are building the facilities now. That, combined with their Dallas location (Texas Instruments + 100’s of great tech companies within 20 miles of the front gates) and ability to draw great profs and students with enormously high SATs and grades, means that SMU is on the cusp of moving well up the rankings. In 10 years, SMU may crack the top 30 schools in the United States (standard national universities, not liberal arts specialty schools).</p></li>
<li><p>SMU (and to a lesser extent Baylor, TCU and Rice) are really benefiting from the Top 10% Texas Rule. There is a broad swath of great kids in the Top 25% of their class at Texas high schools that cannot go to UT-Austin and may not want to go to A&M for various reasons (military history and/or College Station being in the boonies). SMU is the <em>BIG</em> beneficiary of this effect and it has, and will progressively, water down the frat / rich thing to a significant degree. It also means big bucks in terms of future development money to that school. In 10-20 years, SMU’s development dollars will be on par with Universities far larger and older than it is. Like Freakonomics or one of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, the fact that SMU is getting some very capable kids who USED TO make it in to the University of Texas is going to create a boom for this school in the next 2 decades.</p></li>
<li><p>It is my impression that SMU is 10 years behind Vanderbilt. This is the path that Vanderbilt took and their most recent admissions info shows the school is becoming more and more selective with only 15% of kids getting in RD this past year. That is not where Vandy was 20 years ago and there are valid arguments that Vandy is losing some of its culture in a slave to “kids with numbers”. We will see if that is true. As a Univ of Texas grad, I cannot believe how much the student body has changed in 25 years. Astonishing. While great that many more diverse kids are getting in, let’s look at what the development numbers are in 10 years. My projection is that there will be significantly less dollar support from these Top 10% classes and that will have an adverse effect on development dollars (which will be needed as the State revenues continue to be under pressure) in years ahead. Again, these are projections. We will see what happens.</p></li>
<li><p>SMU is going to dramatically fix their sports programs. It will be 5 - 10 years though. If TCU can be #6 in the country in Football (as they are as of Halloween 2009), so can SMU.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>More than you wanted to know, but this thread is very interesting both as it pertains to SMU and other Texas schools. One thing to note, the value of your school is not a static thing. If your school’s academic/sports reputation grows even after you are long gone, it is very helpful to your career track. My friends from Duke that graduated 30 years ago comment on this all the time. No way could they get back in with their scores and grades today!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, again, captain88, for your input. I hope your GRE went well and that you’re on your way to grad school next fall! I loved reading about your experience and perspective at SMU! All good stuff.</p>
<p>SB27, your post was fascinating. I know next to nothing, as the parent of a freshman, but my kids and I have definitely had the same sense about the up and coming SMU-to-be! It’s exciting. Your analysis regarding sports, top 10%, Vandy, drugs and alcohol, and the engineering school was thorough and intriguing. Thanks for sharing!</p>
<p>SB27’s insights are quite correct on all accounts, particularly with regard to drug and alcohol use. Three students died my freshman year (2006-7) due to drugs and/or alcohol. </p>
<p>I was having an interesting conversation with my boyfriend about the new alcohol policies. This year, so far, 20 students have been hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning. Last year, the total, at the end of the year, was only 13. Rather than an increase in drinking on campus, I think this is more likely due to the fact that students are being proactive when they see that a friend of theirs has had too much.</p>
<p>Many fraternities (and I’m sure sororities too) require some of their members to be TIPS-trained, a program that teaches students how to help prevent alcohol misuse. In addition, SMU just recently launched a program called Mustangs Who Care - [Mustangs</a> Who Care: A wristband for responsibility - SMU](<a href=“http://www.smu.edu/News/2009/mustangs-who-care-01oct2009.aspx]Mustangs”>Mustangs Who Care: A wristband for responsibility). I’ve done both certifications as part of a requirement for another organization I’m a part of and can say that they really are useful.</p>
<p>The bulk of the SMU student body is never going to stop drinking/partying- I say that as a current student who has done my share of partying at SMU - but if students are willing to help others who need it and moderate how much they are drinking, hopefully incidents like the deaths of Jake Stiles, Jordan Crist and Meaghan Bosch can be avoided.</p>
<p>(Oh, unrelated: the GRE went well! Scored above what my goal was. Got my letters of recommendation taken care of, now just to work on my personal statements, then my grad school apps will be complete. )</p>
<p>I am a senior at SMU and also wanted to share my feelings about SMU and drinking.</p>
<p>Since I transferred to SMU, I have experienced the life as a college student at both a large state university and a small private university. As for drinking? I see absolutely no difference in drinking trends at SMU compared to Texas State (state school). I am aware of the drinking incidents that have occurred at SMU, and I know drinking is prevalent at SMU, but I don’t feel it is as big of a problem as people make it seem. Drinking is a part of college. MOST universities experience drinking problems. While I attended Texas State, three students died from drinking/drug related accidents ( that I know of). SMU just gets more media attention from it than other schools, possibly because of this reputation is has undeservingly been given. Or maybe because, compared to other schools of its caliber, SMU’s students are a little more outgoing. Regardless, I don’t feel SMU is any different than MOST other universities when it comes to drinking. </p>
<p>I don’t think drinking should stop a potential student from attending SMU, because I don’t feel this reputation is a reality. I have experience life at two different colleges, not to mention attended parties/events at friend’s universities, and while I agree SMU knows how to have a good time, I don’t feel it’s out of control. IT’S COLLEGE! Drinking is GOING to be a part of the experience for most students.</p>
<p>Bumping an interesting thread…</p>
<p>Is it true if you dont get in you get a letter later?
I got in my some of my friends did not hear? i am in chicago is that
bad news?</p>
<p>I would call admissions to ask what happened re: your letter.</p>