D not yet committed to any school, but we have thus far been so impressed by SMU based on communication, personalized mailings both from the U and specific departments, and merit awards. They seem to be the most organized of all the (14) schools to which D has applied, which has consequently moved SMU to the top of her list. Who else is getting more and more excited about SMU as the months roll by?
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SMU is my daughter’s first choice. I agree that they are organized and sending lot of emails. However I am not happy with the delay in financial aid package from them. My daughter was accepted under EA and didn’t receive any merit aid. We were told that by Jan. end, we will be notified about the aid. When I called the admission dept. a few days back, I was given the email address of the person who is handling the financial aid. My daughter wrote an email to her but didn’t receive any reply! We cannot afford the fee unless we get at least a decent need based aid from SMU. I am telling my daughter not to be very optimistic about it now. The admissions dept is good but not happy with the financial aid dept. regarding communication.
I’m sure it will come soon - good luck!
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Thanks dear
I am, as is my daughter. She actually kind of applied to SMU as an afterthought because they had a free application period. However, it is currently her first choice based on the size of her merit scholarship, personal attention, and the campus itself. Not only is it beautiful and in a city we love, it is very accessible, which is important because she has a degenerative disease which can be painful, sometimes requires surgeries, etc. Now just waiting to see about other admission offers, honors college admissions elsewhere, scholarships, etc. She has made it to the interview round for the Presidential scholarship at another university, so lots to consider. This whole process just takes so long…Anyway, I hope she ends up at SMU, but I guess we will see. Pony up, right?
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My daughter just found out she’s a finalist for Presidential scholar. Email arrived to her today. Virtual interviews this year but option of paid trip to visit campus if she wants.
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Awesome! Congrats! My daughter just received notification today that she is a finalist for the Hunt scholarship! Things are getting exciting!
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Did anyone else receive an email about the President’s scholarship? Does this mean they all went out yesterday?
Another student from my daughter’s school is also a finalist and received notice yesterday as well. They are doing virtual interviews this year on March 12. But the finalists have the opportunity to visit Dallas with flight and hotel paid for at their convenience between March 1 and May 1. This is optional of course and they don’t expect those not comfortable traveling to do so at this point.
Curious, did she apply for the Hunt, as well?
Actually no she didn’t .
Hey guys! Just curious, does SMU give out scholarships other than the full tuition Hunt and Presidential (I think that’s what it’s called)? And if so, how much do these awards usually range from?
I know my daughter received a scholarship her Senior year. President of Meadows just called her in his office and said we’re giving you a $5,000 scholarship this year. It wasn’t anything she applied for and we were completely surprised. Little things like this is why we adore SMU. Once you’re in, they really take a personal approach to be involved with their students!
Also, incoming all 3 of my children had received grants from SMU- so not a scholarship but a considerable amount that offset the private school price tag to near equivalent to a state school.
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There are other scholarships that def help with the price tag and some specific to the individual schools as well. Son wasn’t expecting the level of opportunities at SMU though it was not initially not at the top of his list, he recently did the campus tour and came away very excited about SMU.
Here’s a link to SMU’s site that does a good job of outlining all the potential scholarships (including those that can be combined).
https://www.smu.edu/Admission/Academics/Honors/MeritScholarships
Son accepted but hasn’t committed yet but so far SMU also seems most organized and visit went great this week. Next up are visits to A&M (accepted) and Rice (unofficial visit, they aren’t open and still waiting a decision). Curious if anyone knows of any threads here or otherwise with discussion about A&M vs. SMU as comparative schools ?
Would love to hear what your son thinks of A&M. My daughter was accepted and eager to visit. She and my husband visited the College Station campus this week and both said it was depressing and ugly. They said all the buildings were beige and looked like army barracks. I was upset to hear they didn’t like it since the academics are top notch and the price is more affordable than SMU. In my opinion, the academics at SMU and A&M are comparable. SMU wins out with smaller class sizes and A&M wins out with much cheaper tuition.
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Perfect description I had of TAMU as well, dreary…SMU and BAYLOR are gorgeous but didn’t get into TAMU so decision was made for me. Now I just need to decide on Baylor vs SMU and it’s killing me!!
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SMU is better than Baylor except for medical program. City Dallas is much better than Waco in many aspects.
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If money talks, there is always another version of stories.
After visits to both SMU and Texas A&M last week, it’s too close to call. Son like the campus more than he expected (but did mention he thought some of the campus felt a bit older but he did like that it was more of what he was expecting a college campus to be like). On the second day, he wanted to skip Rice and spend more time at A&M, so we toured the new Zachry engineering complex (absolutely amazing) and that’s where he’ll spend most of his time and the rest of the campus that seemed to ease his concern. We also discussed how some of the dorms had a military barracks feel to them. He’s leaning more to SMU for some non-academic, personal reasons (closer to home, proximity to Downtown/Deep Ellum). This decision will be down to the wire looking at affordability (SMU adds $15K a year after merit over A&M), major related considerations (A&M with the edge, though they both have the same offerings), class size (SMU with edge). Great… another 4+ weeks of debate (LOL).
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