D graduated, on-time, May 2019. I thought it might be useful to some here to have the perspective of the parent of a recent graduate.
Overall my D had a great experience at SMU. Up’s and down’s of course but in total SMU was a great fit for her and as a parent, I’m very pleased with her four years on campus.
Pluses and minuses:
She made some great friends from all over the country. Yes there are lots of students from Texas, but I was pleasantly surprised with the geographic diversity of the student body.
SMU pitched that it was set up to facilitate double majors, multiple minors, etc. D graduated on-time with two majors (one in a STEM field) - she worked hard but fitting in both majors did not require any major contortions on her part.
SMU faculty was generally very good (a few duds but that would be the case anywhere) - small class sizes, very accessible for office hours (which my D took full advantage of in a number of classes).
D loved the class she took at SMU in Taos - said it was one of the best things she did at SMU.
D had a very good study abroad experience (although the study abroad office was not particularly helpful other than for distributing brochures).
A vibrant Greek system was one of her criteria when picking a college - rush was stressful but she had a great 3.5 years in her sorority, and learned a lot about leadership, and getting along with people with different backgrounds, resources, objectives, etc. She had friends in other sororities as well as friends who were not in a sorority, including one of her best friends.
Going forward, D had a very good job offer, but decided to attend an excellent Masters program in her field, with a very generous scholarship from her new school.
Many of the commons buildings (dorms) are fairly new, and both the new and old ones meet all the basic needs. However, the RLSH (Residential Life and Student Housing) office is in my opinion not well managed - I could write an entire separate post on their mis-handling of various housing issues. And appealing to VP for Student Affairs, who they nominally work for, is… - well, I’ll just say not useful.
Feel free to PM me if any of these topics pique your interest.
A few additional comments:
The campus is beautiful, and they continue to add new buildings and other improvements.
D did not have a car on campus all four years - which was a good choice both logistically and financially, given the very walkable campus, the amenities nearby at Snider Plaza, and Uber/Lyft for off-campus activities.
The football pre-game/tailgating traditions - “Boulevarding” in SMU parlance - are great fun for the students, alumni and families.