SMU vs UW

Colleges and Universities A-Z Southern Methodist University
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<p>Hello, I will be applying to these schools this year</p>

<p>UT-Austin (reach I'm not top 7%)
USC (reach)
UGA (match but it is apparently harder to get into if you aren't instate)
Texas State (safety because I am an auto-admit)</p>

<p>I have a waiver for four schools and only have enough money to pay for one admissions application fee. Which do you think I should apply to, University of Washington or Southern Methodist University?</p>

<p>out of my criteria for picking school, UW and SMU don't fit as perfect as the other schools on my list. my criteria was</p>

<p>Near water, warm most of time (USC,UT)
More than 30K students (USC,UT)
Racially diverse (USC)
cheap or known for good financial aid (USC,UT,UGA)
Football school (all)
not religiously affiliated (all)
in a large and vibrant city (UT. USC)</p>

<p>logically, both schools should no longer be considered but i guess I'm willing to make exceptions. Is there something that you think makes one school more worth applying to than the other? If I apply to UW it will be a reach school. if I apply to SMU it will be a safety. I will applying for either journalism or broadcasting journalism. </p>

<p>Thank you</p>

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<p>Hi @newsie2015,</p>

<p>I think you should apply to SMU. Here are some reasons why:</p>

<p>-Dallas gets very similar (warm) weather as Austin gets. No, we aren’t near the ocean, but White Rock Lake is 10 minutes from campus and a great place for sailing, kayaking, or biking/jogging near the water.
-We have a smaller student body, yet we still have the traditions and resources of a larger school. Your journalism classes will usually have 15 people in them which will give you the chance to shine and be known!
-80% of our student body receives financial aid of some sort (merit and/or needs-based aid). Especially if you think your stats line you up to have SMU as a safety school, then you are very likely to receive a nice scholarship.
-Dallas is a large and vibrant city! We are a top 5 media market, have the 3rd highest concentration of fortune 500 companies in the country, largest arts district, and great opportunities for fun (concerts/sports/etc) and professional internships/jobs!
-The Journalism Complex has state-of-the-art computer equipment, a dynamic broadcast studio and a convergence newsroom in which student media content is produced. </p>

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<p>Most of the schools that you have mentioned are large schools - and SMU is not in that category. So what you need to decide is would you be happy at a smaller school. My son turned several different campuses - he knew when he stepped on UT’s campus that it was way to big for him - he felt more comfortable at the medium size schools like SMU. </p>

<p>And not sure what your grades/test scores are but the admissions requirements have been increasing a lot in the past couple of years - I know that the average SAT score went up 25 points for the last class admitted which is a pretty large leap.</p>

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<p>@Wrestlingmom‌ the SAT score go up by 25 points nationwide or just at SMU?</p>

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<p>The SAT average score at SMU for the class of 2018 went up 25 points from the previous year’s class</p>

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<p>Last year, SMU’s average SAT was a 1308 out of 1600 (CR + M). They will superscore your SAT. Lilly hit the nail on the head with her match-up of SMU to your list! </p>

<p>Near water, warm most of time - Dallas is sunny about 95% of the year but we still have seasons, which is nice. As Lilly pointed out, we are minutes from White Rock Lake as well as the natural beauty of the Trinity River (you can even raft down it!). </p>

<p>More than 30K students - As a mid-size school, SMU brings together the community feel and academic setting of a much smaller school, with many of the resources that you would find at a larger school. It’s the best of both worlds!</p>

<p>Racially diverse - Currently, SMU sits just shy of about 30% racial diversity. SMU students come from all 50 states and from outside of the U.S. as well. About 8% of the student body is from another country. </p>

<p>Cheap or known for good financial aid - 80% of students receive some form of support to be at SMU and the average financial award is about $26,000 per year. Last year, SMU awarded $88 million in scholarship money.</p>

<p>Football school - Well, we are a Texas school, after all! SMU loves football! Boulevarding to celebrate game day is one of the biggest traditions at SMU. Although SMU struggled this year, we have a new head coach, several top recruits who have already committed, and high hopes for the coming season.</p>

<p>Not religiously affiliated - SMU was founded by the Methodist church just like Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, et cetera. However, the education at SMU is completely secular and there is no religious or chapel requirements. You do not have to be religiously affiliated to attend SMU and we welcome students from all religions, denominations and non-faiths. </p>

<p>In a large and vibrant city - Dallas! HELLO!</p>

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