Last month, D from the Mid Atlantic region was accepted to SMU EA with very generous merit and BBA Scholars (which includes direct admit to well ranked Cox B school) and she has been accepted to other EA schools (with merit too). She has visited each school and likes each, but unfortunately due to geographic and logistical constraints, some school visits could only occur when school was not in session.
The visits/websites offer her great objective academic opportunity data, but now she is trying to quantify her options based on social fit. Very few kids from her region attend SMU, so in order to get a feel for potential college peers at each school, she has joined accepted students Facebook pages from Admissions invite at each school. This process is helping her decide which accepted student events to attend in the spring. SMU’s FB page (and CC posts) is substantially quieter than others (for example, Tulane’s has probably 8-10 times the activity).
She is concerned that based on the limited profiles she’s seen, she might not find her people at SMU. We’ve read a lot of testimonials on CC and the info session which suggest that SMU is large enough that there are all types of students at represented at SMU. Yet most profiles she observed project the historically stereotypical SMU student profile. As a result, SMU is falling in her list, despite the very favorable academic opportunity for her. Other schools’ Accepted Students FB pages show great representation of many different student types.
My DD from Southern California was accepted EA. She visited campus in the summer. While she was impressed, there weren’t many students on campus at the time, so she has the same issue. SMU offers on-campus events for admitted students in the spring. If SMU is still on my DD’s short list, we’ll likely make a trip to validate culture fit.
At this point, you’ll see mostly stereotypical students in accepted student groups as they are happy to be there. Most non-stereotypical applicants are still waiting for acceptances and aid/merit packages from colleges they really want to attend. For such applicants SMU is a necessity not a priority. If dream school acceptances or financial packages won’t workout than they’ll shift focus towards SMU.
My daughter has accepted her spot in the SMU class of 2023, with a generous merit scholarship and BBA Scholars as well. She has been talking to many students who are also in the incoming class of 2023 on both FB and Instagram.
I’m wondering what makes someone project a stereotypical SMU profile? My daughter has a 4.5 GPA at a very competitive high school in mostly AP and honors courses, a 34 on her ACT (35 superscore), and fell in love with SMU’s campus and the atmosphere of students who appeared overwhelmingly happy and well adjusted when we visited. Maybe if your daughter reaches out to some other students, she’ll find her people, even if they look like a “stereotypical SMU student.”
I really think you need to visit an Admitted Students Day at SMU or a regional event to see all the potential students - not just on FB. My D was accepted as well, and it’s one of her top schools. She has gone on FB and has made several friends on Instagram. But that is part of her personality - she is really outgoing. My two older daughters would have never dreamed on putting themselves out on the FB group as they are both a little bit more shy, so there are probably a ton of people looking, but not posting. My D also said it seems to be unusually quiet compared to other schools - but that could be because it’s on the smaller side? Good luck!!
One more comment about Facebook. My DD considers FB as a place for old people. Needless to say, she’s not on there. I suspect that might have something to do with the lack of activity. Now, Instragram is another matter.
One comment about social fit. My DD attended a regional networking event this week in LA, organized by SMU, for prospective students. The big take away from my DD was how many of the attendees had a “preppy” vibe. Not exactly her crowd.
@Screenname409 DD is current Freshman BBA Scholar/Provost (4.5 gpa). I did notice this lack of social media for SMU. Not just FB but even THIS site. The SMU forum is DEAD compared to some of the others.It did make it difficult to get a feel for the college.
Why? Still a mystery. I can say DD is having a great time. She has had no trouble finding her ‘type’, which is students who are serious about their studies but still want to have fun. Her friends are ethnically and degree diverse so they have lots of fun. SMU is a great attraction to businesses and employers wanting to be in front of SMU students. There are always ‘taste of’ events, career fairs, themed events. Each commons has a faculty in residence and every Sunday afternoon they have a get together involving food and discussion. OR, if you are looking to party with some really rich kids, that is available too.
Educationally, we could not be happier. DD has NEVER had an issue speaking directly with her professor or adviser, it is highly encouraged to do so. There is a large ‘tutoring’ facility with experts in all her courses. Keep in mind, this school is $277,000 and many pay full price, so they have high expectations and they are met, and scholarship students get all the same benefits.
Being a BBA scholar is a very big deal. There are only 100 or so, and there are MANY students trying to get into the business school that are not BBA and it is very hard to do so. BBAs have a leg up.
My DS got accepted at SMU for Comp Sci and this is his top choice. He also got admitted to Purdue, TAMU, CO school of Mines, Baylor. He is not on FB at all, and he hardly posts on IM.
@gingytx - my daughter is a 2nd year Comp Sci major at SMU and would probably be happy to talk to your son if he has any questions. Feel free to message me. She had zero CS background from HS but decided that was what she wanted to major in - it has been tough (very tough last semester!) but she is doing well. I’ve been reading nightmares about trying to get CS classes at other schools due to a nationwide shortage of CS teachers with maybe larger CS programs, etc. (seems to be a big issue at Mines). She hasn’t run into this at SMU although she has faced “full CS classes” at registration but they opened up space for her. I think this has been a good fit for her.
I’ll add to this thread to say that my daughter had a really hard time finding her “people” at many of the accepted students’ days she went to at other schools. With May 1 drawing near, I put her on a plane by herself to go to SMU’s (I had a friend nearby that put her up at her house and drove her to campus). Anyway, on her own she was forced to meet people since she didn’t have a parent to hang out with. By 10AM she already had met a fun group of kids and texted me back home saying she was ready to commit. My point, accepted students’ day will probably answer a lot of questions about fit.
@azmomof3 thank you for the info. Do u mind sharing how she got them to open spaces for closed classes? My DS scholarship is based on gpa 3.0 and he must also finish in 4 years (5 years if doing coop) so class availability is also impt for him to finish on time. Thanks!
@azmomof3 do u mind asking ur DD how large an avg CS class is? One reason we like SMU is it is a smaller school compared to the larger state schools. Thanks
@gingytx - I just texted her to ask and she said that “yeah you can usually email them and they make more spots, since they are required by major. if there are still other classes available, then yeah they’ll make you take another one but if there are no spots left they open them.” and “i’ve been in classes that have about 20 people, but then i have some that are up to 80 (I think that was the JAVA class 1st semester freshman year which is open to all majors), but those are the big lecture halls - also know most of the people in my classes (at least the ones that want to be known)”
My DD has the same scholarship situation and the first time she told me the classes were all full I freaked a bit and told her she had to go protest somewhere, ha ha…and it all seemed taken care of the next day with a simple email and nothing else. The CS faculty advisor that she was assigned starting her sophomore year (there might be just one) seems to really care about her as a person and really had her back on a situation last semester unrelated to engineering, which I appreciated. He’s a tough teacher - and failed a number of students - but those that put in the work are graded fairly.
We attended an Engr/CS admitted student event this weekend with our DS at SMU. I was concerned about “fit” and diversity (or lack thereof). I am happy to say the kids looked like your typical average student. While some may look “preppy” than others, everyone we met were nice and approachable. I would hate to discriminate against kids whose parents are blessed enough to afford them nice things. SMU felt like our DS would enjoy his time here. The SMU videos on youtube and various groups on Instagram/FB also help get a feel of what is going on there beyond admission events.