<p>Hey guys. I got in. Now that I have to decide which college I want to go to, I need to know some more information. I was wondering what is SMU's social life like? Is it considered a party school? Any comments would be great!</p>
<p>As far as I know, it's got some good parties, but I wouldn't consider it a "party school." It depends on the kind of student you are- there are a great deal of frat/sorority type people, and then there are a gorup (a lot smaller, of course) of honors/studious students.</p>
<p>What if you're a combination of both?</p>
<p>pdseai06,
My D IS a combination of both. She's in a sorority and she's in honors, is a winner of a full academic scholarship, is active in the performing arts as well as leadership activities.</p>
<p>She is a sophomore now and seems to really settled in there. Originally she was thinking of doing a year abroad, but now "doesn't want to be gone that long". While she has ample opportunities to party, she makes sure to carve out significant study time to keep up her grades at the level she expects of herself.</p>
<p>I think she feels that being at SMU is a good balance.</p>
<p>The common perception of SMU students is rich, snobby, stuck-up. To what extent is this true?</p>
<p>Also, academically, are the kids competitive to the point where it's dog-eat-dog?</p>
<p>lot of highland park and flower mound(where i live) kids, so probably is a little stuck up from an outsiders view. but theyre still friendly. however, they dress in the latest fashions and thats a big deal. otherwise kids at smu seem to just go to deep ellum and drink</p>
<p>My D is very competitive--but just with herself. She doesn't feel that competitiveness is an issue and she's taking a pre-med curriculum. She sees lots of very bright students there....brighter than she is, in her opinion. But has literally never complained about this. (and she does whine quite a bit to me about things!)</p>
<p>She was initially a bit concerned about the snobby rich stereotype. And indeed, there are those there who definitely fit that image. She is quite middle class, doesn't have the latest Gucci bag, and has found many friends who are like her. Generally, I do believe that many private universitites will have this element within its student population (including my son's school--Tulane). But the key is whether there's enough of the "other" kinds of kids around that are more like "you". She says there are absolutely some of both at SMU. And plenty of kids that she feels quite comfortable with. She's made some of the best friends of her young life there.</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments! I appreciate it very much!</p>
<p>Is anyone here an actual student at SMU? If so, I'd really like to talk to you. Thanks.</p>
<p>i can get u talking to a few. gotta a few buddies who go there. a lotta kids from my high school wanting to be dallas business elite go</p>
<p>I’m an actual student at smu! feel free to ask me whatever!</p>
<p>I’m an SMU alumna. Happy to answer any questions.</p>
<p>Are there any fraternities that aren’t crazy with the drinking, etc. at SMU? Which ones are known for having high GPAs?</p>
<p>You have all first semester to get involved on campus and find out what’s up with fraternities and sororities. I’d encourage your to keep an open mind on Greek life until you get to know people in each house. That’s really the beauty of deferred recruitment!</p>
<p>Hi, can someone who attends SMU tell me what kind of campus activities go on besides greek life and the pre-games? Maybe like, movie nights, dorm socials, etc etc etc. I havn’t really gotten that vibe my few times on campus so I would like to know if SMU has alot of those types of activities. THANKS!</p>
<p>Are there any places you can walk to uptown such as bars or popular places in Dallas? Are there many house parties?</p>
<p>@wellwhoaBoulevarding and Greek Life are definitely the largest campus social activites but other activities exist. There are always concerts, performances, etc. going on at Meadows. Program Council sponsors some interesting activites like open mic nights, free movie screenings (ex. I saw 50/50 one week before it came to theaters), Sing Song (different groups on campus put together singing acts revolved around a theme), R2B2 (an Indian dance competition), etc. Each community (dorm) puts on activites–attendance to such events really varies from hall to hall. Based on my experience, themed communities (Arts-Mary Hay and Payton and Honors-Virginia Snider) have more dorm stuff going on than the others. It’s important to note though that campus can be dead at times on weekends. There are always parties off campus on weekends, but there is often little going on on campus. It’s busy on weekends of home games, otherwise a lot of people go home on the weekends because they’re from the metroplex. Sometimes you have to create your own fun.Once you make a solid group of friends movie night sort of stuff will become common. School was cancelled for nearly a week in February due to snow/ice. I spent almost the entire week watching a bunch of movies with friends in our dorm and braving the ice to eat off campus in Snider Plaza with them. Hope this helps in your decision!</p>
<p>That is very helpful actually, i did get the vibe that campus would be dead some weekends and making your own fun would be common. I wasnt planning on going greek, so campus activities are kind of important to me. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Are there any places you can walk to uptown such as bars or popular places in Dallas? Are there many house parties?</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a sophomore currently enrolled at SMU, and I can’t think of a single dead weekend! I’ve always wanted to go to Billy Bob’s (a honkytonky bar with two stepping in Fort Worth), but every weekend there’s something keeping me from going! On any given day there will be something from a fashion show to a lecture series with Katie Couric. Dallas is such an amazing city and it’s so fun to explore it on the weekends. SMU has discount sports tickets that I’d highly encourage everybody to take advantage of! I’ve been to multiple Stars games, Rangers, and the Mavericks. You can also go explore uptown if you’re looking for a more sophisticated bar. The Katy Trail is a very popular place to go running or jogging and people often stop for brunch at one cute restaurants located along the trail. The Arts District also has great restaurants and nightlife. In my experience I don’t know a SINGLE person who leaves on the weekends. I even stayed here over summer school because I couldn’t leave SMU.</p>