<p>I love SMU but I'm worried about how small it is for social reasons/ how students hangout in the city instead of just walking to bar in a college town. Is the small community a downside of SMU besides class sizes? SMU is only a little less than 3 times bigger than my highschool, so I'm afraid it will be too "cliquey" and similar to highschool. Also, I know a lot of people go to downtown Dallas to hangout at night. Is the transportation a pain or easy? Is this better than a "college town"? Let me know!</p>
<p>SMU is a mid-size school, which, in my opinion, brings together the best elements from both worlds and creates a sort of middle ground. You have a community that is small enough to feel like family (especially with living on campus) but it’s also large enough that you meet different kinds of people from all walks of life. As a student, I made new friends each year through classes and campus involvement, but I also retained the same core friendships that I made as a first year student living in the res hall! I don’t think SMU is very clique-y and students flow pretty easily between friend groups. </p>
<p>Most people hang out in Uptown, SMU Blvd or Greenville rather than Downtown. Transportation is very easy. A lot of people have cars and share rides very easily. We also have the DART (the largest light rail system in the US) which costs SMU students $5 for a full four years. There’s a free trolley that runs through the Uptown area which is a good way to get around from the restaurant/bar areas to the museum/gallery areas. Students often just walk to anything around SMU Blvd or Greenville, or they split an Uber/Lyft. </p>