Southern Methodist University Admission
Southern Methodist University Undergraduate Program
Southern Methodist University Application

The Facts

Southern Methodist University is a rather moderately sized, private university affiliated with the Methodist church located in Dallas, Texas, and is home to over 5,800 undergraduate students and approximately 4,745 graduate and part-time professional students. The university is actually divided up into several smaller undergraduate colleges including schools of business and management, engineering and applied science, humanities and social sciences, as well as fine arts. The school is perhaps best known for its performing arts program, and the university boasts several professional-caliber theaters and other performance facilities. There is also a terrific visual arts program, and the campus has a world-class art museum filled with some of the most important Western artists of all time. The school offers its students a wide variety of many mostly preprofessional majors, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of business, finance, psychology, advertising, as well as political science.

Admission to Southern Methodist University is quite competitive, and the number of applicants has been steadily increasing with each passing admissions cycle. Last year, over 6,200 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 4,060 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 1,400 of those admitted actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1090 to 1280, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 23 to 28. Additionally, over 65% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.48.

Southern Methodist University has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 12:1, and it is rare to find an undergraduate class with more than 25 students. Most of the professors get rave reviews when it comes to accessibility and willingness to help students out, however, there are the exceptions that seem to be more interested in their own careers and research. There are plenty of research opportunities available, and some students even have the option of spending a semester doing various types of field work in New Mexico.

The Social Scene

The city of Dallas, Texas, is a vibrant urban community that offers students all the amenities of a major metropolis including world class museums and performances, plenty of shopping, restaurants, bars and clubs, as well as efficient and affordable public transit. However, most students do own cars, and say that it makes life a lot easier, particularly when it comes to doing banal errands around town like getting groceries.

There are a large amount of fraternities and sororities at the school, and Greek life is very popular, and pretty much governs on campus social life. Partying is definitely rampant at the school, and drinking is a very popular social activity.

The dating scene is surprisingly diverse; the student body has students from every state and about 100 countries throughout the world. Our guess is, no matter who you are, you’ll be able to get a date.

What’s Good

“There is a good sense of community and belonging here, even though the school is kind of large.”

“The party scene is terrific, and trust me, you will never be at a loss for weekend activities.”

“Dallas is a great city, and it seems like there is always something interesting going on 24-7. Plus, students get discounts everywhere we go.”

What’s Bad

“There can be a lot of unhealthy competition here, particularly within the preprofessional majors. It feels like everyone is competing for the same job.”

“The Greeks are kind of obnoxious, and if you aren’t involved, you tend to feel like a social outcast.”

“Some of the core curriculum classes are really boring, and just feel like a review of stuff I learned in high school.”

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