<p>I really can't decide :(
I have a full ride to SMU, President Scholar, Honors Program, so many business connections in Dallas (Family and I currently live in NC) and a ton of people I know in SMU.</p>
<p>My parents can afford Vandy, and its a better school. Should I go to Vandy because its a better school? </p>
<p>What about Grad school... Going to SMU as President Scholar vs graduating from Vanderbilt as a reg run of the mill student... I want to go to Stanford for Grad school...</p>
<p>Can anyone encourage me to go somewhere or give me there opinion?</p>
<p>You’ve got two great options. I’d go with personal preference between tennessee and texas, and weigh the costs. Vandy is a pretty hard opportunity to pass up after all. I don’t know as much about SMU to be honest</p>
<p>Yeah I think Vandy is a hell of a name…and the fact that you don’t even know of SMU is very telling, I think. But isn’t Vanderbilt more of a Med school? I’m looking into either poli sci or business.</p>
<p>I know Vanderbilt has a premier med school and hard/life sciences, but I’m pretty sure their econ is very solid too. I don’t know rankings of business school by heart, but I’d bet that those departments are quite stellar.</p>
<p>There is really not much comparison between Vanderbilt and SMU. Unless money is a real issue, Vanderbilt is the obvious choice. UNLESS- you plan to stay in the Dallas area after graduation. If you don’t, then SMU is off the table.</p>
<p>So far in my young life, I THINK I wan’t to stay in Dallas… I don’t know for sure. </p>
<p>Here’s the thing, if I get into an ivy for grad school, will it even matter that I went to SMU? like right now my heart tells me SMU and I feel vain worrying so much about reputation, but my goal is to get into Stanford for gradschool…
Gahh this is so tough</p>
<p>Grad school will mainly depend on your GPA and grad entrance exam scores. It’s a little soon to be planning for grad school, but it sounds like SMU is where you should go. Just make sure you do very, very well there.</p>
<p>“Grad school will mainly depend on your GPA and grad entrance exam scores. It’s a little soon to be planning for grad school, but it sounds like SMU is where you should go. Just make sure you do very, very well there”</p>
<p>Right. You will need to be top 5%, maybe 10% at SMU to compare to a 50% at Vandy. I assume since you mention business contacts that the grad school you want is MBA? If so, SMU all the way. Your connections in Dallas will get you the internships, and then job, and then rcommendations out of your employer, to position you maximally for MBA admissions, which is: GPA, GMAT, employer recommendations, each about equally weighted. Remember MBA programs want to see 3-5 years of stellar employment performance prior to the MBA.</p>
<p>the b school at smu is ranked higher than vandy. if your set on business go to cox. both are fabulous schools though. i have family in both dallas and nashville and the students are always very active in the community. while smu is known for having a strong alumni (some would say a pro above vandy) i’m sure that at vanderbilt it would be a similar story- just maybe it’s not spoken about quite as much?</p>
<p>You must be a very smart kid to be able to get a Pres. Scholar at SMU. However, If your parents can pay the cost of Vanderbilt, I would go there because its overall reputation is several steps higher than SMU’s. Also, Vanderbilt will give you a much better shot of getting into Stanford for grad school.</p>
<p>For business, SMU’s Cox School has an excellent reputation. Also, my daughter is working in PR in NYC (she is not a SMU grad) and I was surprised at the number of SMU grads who have obtained jobs in her field, even in this recession. BTW, SMU also has a very strong performing arts school.</p>
<p>if money really is NOT an issue this is a no brainer - Vandy. SMU is not in the same league as Vandy. Not even close. The ONLY thing keeping it in the conversation is that scholarship, but if mom and dad have NO trouble with affording it. GO COMMODORES!</p>