<p>Daughter received an invitation to apply to SMU with "Mustang status" - supposedly priority review, etc. Has anyone applied this way (rather than Common App or Apply Texas)? Is it beneficial for scholarships or just a marketing strategy from the admissions department? Thank you.</p>
Did you ever find out sir? I reccently got the same thing
At the risk of sounding a bit cynical, I think it’s mostly a marketing strategy. I couldn’t tell that it made any difference in the application process. And I say that having had an overall very good experience with the process - SMU ended up being my daughter’s first choice, they made her a very solid scholarship offer, and I just dropped her off to start her freshman year at SMU.
This is likely just a marketing strategy but it could be something related to test score or other indicia that they are really interested in pursuing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
My D1 is getting the same thing. SMU is just plain too rich for us. She would never get enough aid to attend.
torveaux – You don’t know that unless you apply. I get the impression, just from the incredible amount of money and capital investment that they are currently sinking into campus, that this school is doing very well financially.
Torveaux, you’re absolutely right about the advertised price - it is intimidating. But I agree with RMKA2013. A few thoughts from my D’s experience (she’s in the SMU Class of 2019) - and naturally it all depends on your D’s credentials and objectives. SMU was a perfect fit for what my D wanted – Top 200 ranking, big city, strong Greek life, D1 sports, warm climate, southern/southwestern location, strong job placement. As for merit aid, as I understand it SMU has both university scholarships (controlled by Admissions) and departmental scholarships (controlled by School or department). Thus aid packages may come out in two parts. Their initial offer fell a bit short of what we needed to make it work financially, so we went back directly to the department (not Admissions), cogently made our case (in relation to her other options), and they upped the ante enough to make it work. I’m sure it helped that she is going into a STEM major where females are currently under-represented at SMU.