which is better: SMU or Southwestern

<p>which school would you say is better in texas, SMU or southwestern?</p>

<p>whoa, apples and oranges. southwestern supposedly has one of the toughest workloads in the nation, and lots of kids go to med or law school. its close to austin, and is a great school. smu is a pretty good school, lots of rich kids, and its not NEARLY as texan as other schools (tcu, a&m, etc.) i would say the kids at southwestern are smarter and probably care about their education more, but i would personally rather go to SMU. its probably more well known throughout the south, midwest and southwest</p>

<p>i agree with the above.</p>

<p>No question - overall, academics at Southwestern are better. They have amazing research grants and opportunities. They are very strong for pre-med, pre-law, social sciences, art, natural sciences.</p>

<p>However, if you're interested in majoring in business, communications or theater, Southern Methodist has the stronger programs.</p>

<p>thanks, well i want to major in communications, so hmmm...which one??? i'm gonna apply to both, so i'm in a pickle if both accept me</p>

<p>Southwestern has less than 1,300 students. Endowment per student ($278 million/1300 students compared to $807million/11,000 students at SMU) much, much better at Southwestern; so you get more pampered. Southwestern is older, cheaper, more academic, and more personal than SMU. Big question: Can you stand four years of a student body as small as Southwestern's? SMU will give you a more varied experience.</p>

<p>I'd give SMU the advantage when it comes to communications. But really, both are fine for communications. If you're accepted to both, spend the night at each and see which one "feels" right for you. Good luck!!!</p>

<p>Hey,
I've gotten mail from Southwestern, but have visited SMU twice. Be careful about the college visit stuff. You should totally do it, but when I visited first off they lost my request and had to shuffle me around and then I ended up staying with some not so awesome people plus the regular liberal arts classes were a bit boring. The girls I stayed with were very into early marriage and Tiffanys. Not to say that's a bad thing, I even like to wear my Tiffany's, just be careful and don't form your opinion completely when you stay there. During my visit I had to get away from that set of girls and really see the campus for myself. I must also say that the Cox School of Business is completely awesome. So cool if you want to do buisness communications and marketing -- you should think about it and look at the whole campus, not just part of it. E-mail me or reply to this post if I can help you with more info. Good luck!</p>

<p>Susan, good advice. SMU has that "rich kid" reputation but one of my daughter's friends who is decidedly NOT into fashion or sororities is a freshman there this year and has found her own niche of friends. She's happy with her choice. So your advice to visit and spend time really looking at ANY school is a good one.</p>

<p>TColgate: SMU IS VERY TEXAN. If you go there and talk to more than 5 students you'll see what I mean.</p>

<p>A lot of kids from my high school go to SMU and love it. It is a very good school. That being said, Southwestern is a shooting star. It is an incredible school. SMU is not as preppy as it used to be.</p>

<p>I personally don't think its very Texan. they draw a lot of kids from oklahoma, missouri, and the rest of the midwest. TCU on the other hand is completely full of texans. when a TCU rep came to my school they had to move it to the gym because so many kids came. when SMU came, all 3 members of my senior class were very comfortable in the college center. of course SMU is gonna be somewhat texan, but thats to be expected because texas kicks so much ass. i dont think its as Texan as TCU, A&M, UT, or Tech</p>