<p>So I got into Southern Methodist University with two scholarships that add up to $10,000. I also got into the honors program. Would Vanderbilt still be a better place to go even though I dont have the honors program? I am considering graduate school for either law or medicine. </p>
<p>Also, does anyone know about any honors programs at Vanderbilt?</p>
<p>Like Vandy, SMU has skyrocketed in terms of quality of education in the past 20 years. When I was in school, SMU was essentially just a “wealthy kid” haven of preppiness. Come to think of it, so was Vanderbilt 20 years ago. Both schools have moved well beyond that phase.</p>
<p>Academically, Vanderbilt would be an A- and SMU would be a B+. Our company recently hired a superstar employee who attended undergrad at SMU and graduate school at Univ of Texas. She raves about how strong their undergrad programs were/are. The quality of faculty and VERY small class sizes were things she particularly noted. She said that SMU was far more engaging an experience than Texas (too large). I suspect Vanderbilt is like SMU in terms of faculty engagement.</p>
<p>Dallas is a larger and more cosmopolitan place than Nashville. Both are very livable cities where you can live very cheaply (just look across Central Expwy in Dallas). There is also an enormous SMU alum contingency if you want to live/work in Texas.</p>
<p>If you are interested in law, I would give the edge to SMU (great law school also and a real feeder to Univ of Texas and other law schools). For medicine, Vandy would be a clear choice.</p>
<p>Can’t go wrong either way. Good luck.</p>
<p>I would choose Vanderbilt given these two. Plenty of people go to SMU Law from here, especially if they’re considering going (back) to Texas after grad school. You would have a stronger pre-med track at Vandy than SMU.</p>
<p>When it comes to fit, there isn’t that much separating the two schools, this basically comes down to whether you prefer Nashville to Dallas or a regional school versus one with more national recognition. The student bodies are very similar.</p>
<p>The Honors program here basically consists of one “Honors” level course a semester and doesn’t really mean much (except maybe bonus points on your resume). If you really want that type of atmosphere, SMU would provide it (although the quality of education in their honors program is probably similar to Vanderbilt).</p>