Southern Methodist University

Date: Nov 09 2007
Major: Computer Science (This Major's Salary over time)
The stereotype might be true. There are lots of rich people here. I feel I am just upper middle class, and I don't really notice how rich some people are unless the flaunt it. Girls do wear designer bags and designer clothes, but they do not neccesarily dress well. Some people wear nike shorts with ugg boots. There is usually a party, but sometimes they isn't or you have to find it yourself rather than it being blantantly obvious (busses and music) like it usually is. You will meet many different types of people. Unfortunately, like in most situations, asians are with asians, blacks are with blacks, etc. I didn't really notice before (I've lived in Texas much of my life) but my friend from Colorado complained about the clique-ness of this school. That is, people are less open to going out with people who are not part of their friend group. There are tons of friends to meet and you will make friends, garunteed. There are too many different types of people at SMU to not make friends, but perhaps you will dislike the clique athmosphere or you may be like me and not care/be used to it. Academically, I am frustrated. There are good professors and bad. I recommend going to a website and asking people to find which professors you want. If you're an entering freshmen, the counselour will not give you much choice, but you can change things on the smu website after you meet the counselour. Some things are very frustrating such as taking a class at a different college. Ie. there is a lot of red tape to go through to get something done (making a club, making changes for your hall, taking a course at another school, etc). Some people will not help you unless you go there in person or show persistence, but most faculty are very helpful. I might be biased. Every faculty I've met has been helpful and nice except one, so don't worry. Good faculty. On the street, students are helpful. Ex: If you're lost or want to know where something is, they will usually slow down and help you. I like SMU. My only complaint is I wish I had worked harder in highschool to get more money, the bad-ness of their extracurriculars (ex: I love to dance, but there is no dance team and their drill team is not even really a drill team. The football team is quite sorry. Etc. but if you love soccer, swimming, tennis, and other sports that America does not pay attention to, this is your school. Our other teams are fantastic!), and the difficulty to make change. I advice taking as many AP exams or doing as much dual credit as you can before you come to the university. It will be your only opportunity to do things freely. After you enter the school, they dictate what you can do academically outside the school. On top of that, you'll be able to register before most people if you enter with more hours. If you're a communications or math major, classes fill up fast! If you're a physics or philosophy major, maybe you're okay. And let me reitterate the social aspect, if you're used to everyone being open to actually spend time with you, this may not be the place for you. If you're used to meeting people and having some be open and some needing warming up to, you'll be fine. Usually people are eager to meet you the first few months. Also, when trying to decide which dorm to live in, do not buy the "It depends on what you're looking for" bit. There are crappy dorms, but there are also some amazingly nice ones! We have a tanning pool, too. So as you can see, many pluses and minuses to SMU. Rush happens 2nd semester so you have time to settle in, those of you wanting to go greek. If you're on scholarship, I recommend you come here. If you're not on scholarship, you should save some money and look for a school that can top SMU.