Southern Methodist University Top Questions

My classmates are passionate, energetic individuals who care not only about their personal success but the success of their peers as well.

I have not taken any classes at SMU but I am more than excited to start this fall.

About 45{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the undergrad students are from Texas, but we have students from all over the world. I feel that students dress up for class a bit more than you would find at your average university. Four out of every five students is recieving financial aid of some sort. You will find people of every race, religion, economic status, and political belief here.

Like I said in the stereotype section, students at SMU are pretty diverse. That is a racial and interest-based description. We have a lot of international students and students of different races and backgrounds. I think that makes for a much more interesting student body. This diversity is most evident in the classroom and in student organizations outside of the greek system. Unfortunately, my impression of the greek system here is that it is predominantly white and wealthy. Everywhere else, it is much more comfortable for students with different ethnic or financial backgrounds. SMU also has growing support fort he LGBT community, especially through the office for Gender Pride Initiatives. I honestly was really worried that I wouldn't fit in at SMU because I had heard the stereotypes before I came. I quickly discovered that those stereotypes were just based on a very visible SUBgroup of the student population. I found so many more people that did not fit that description in my classes and activities. In my experience, different "types" of students interact pretty well together- in the dining hall, etc. I think SMU still needs to become more blended though- most of the time there are pretty clear divisions in large social settings.

SMU is very diverse when it comes to the student life. No one would feel out of place at SMU, there is always a place for everyone, it could be in a sorority or in different clubs around campus. Students wear what they feel comfortable in. I usually wear shorts and a t-shirt but on some days I wear dresses, skirts, because I have to go to work right after class. Yes different types of students interact all the time, the group of your friends will always be diverse. Students come from different states, and some are international students that have the opportunity to study at SMU for four years. Students do not talk about how much they make, unless you talk to your friends about how much you would like to make in the future.

Most students here are incredibly rich and conservative. They use their parents' credit cards to satisfy their designer brand obsessions. They're very money focused, and yet don't really understand that it doesn't grow on tree. Unfortunately, that makes up most of the student body, but there are also a handful of athletes, theater kids, dancers, and nerdy awkward kids. None of these groups interact much, though. I feel like if you come from the upper-middle class suburban home, you might feel out of place. Or perhaps, like me, you'll just be extremely shocked at the beginning with the exorbitant amount of money most people spend here. Most kids here are Christian, but not overtly so. It'll usually say that on their facebooks, but they won't actually go to church on sundays. If you want to get involved with that tho, there are more than four big Christian groups on campus (1 Catholic, 1 Methodist, and 2 Protestant/Nondenominational). The school is located in the south, so it isn't uncommon to run into at least one person while you're here who is a die-hard Christian and will speak their mind about it to anyone. Almost surprisingly, I have met a lot of gay guys here, and most people are really accepting of it. The only people i've met who aren't accepting of the gay population would be the fraternity scene. If you're openly gay, it's pretty much guaranteed you won't get a bid from any house. I have, however, heard there's a huge underground gay circle with guys in the fraternities who aren't open about it, and some even have girlfriends as covers.

Find your social norm and you will be happy.

We have students from all over the world!! We have very intellectual people and people that just want to have a good time!! As for clothing, some people enjoy dressing up while others just wear jeans and a tshirt and call it a day! Students are politically active because there are always students trying to get others to sign petitions to help the school or stop government from harming our future! There are quite a bit of Republicans, but then again, there are a lot of Democrats as well. Most students are from Texas area, but there is a huge sum of students from around the country as well.

There is a good mix of all sorts of ethnicities, races and religions at SMU, although it is predominantly a Christian based private institution. No student would feel out of place because all of our programs and majors are highly respected in Dallas and the country. There is a great mix of liberal arts as well as more traditional degrees in business and science. Although cliches and groups exist everywhere, there is no hostility to interact with different groups of students on campus. Generally everyone is friendly and welcoming to different people and ideas. Most of the students come from Dallas or Texas, but there is a mix of students from all over the country as well as internationally. Since the school does rank on the higher end of tuition prices, most of the students have wealthier financial backgrounds. Many of the students are politically active, if not at least aware of the world and our surroundings. The general population is conservative in leaning, but there is a broad spectrum of political ideas and beliefs.

The students here are good looking, but sometimes they are not friendly enough, as in they dont smile back when I smile at them.