Southern Methodist University Top Questions

The honors program is good because the classes are small and discussion based. The political science department is probably the most academically rigorous. A lot of students get academic scholarships, but there still seems to be too little focus on learning for learning sake. A lot of people want to go into business.

It is hard to fail a class at SMU. However, it is even harder to earn an A. There are some easy blow off classes and there are ones where you are thankful to receive an C. Largest class I have ever taken consisted of 50 kids. You may not have to attend every class to do well but if you want the teacher to know your name and have respect for your academic success, you better plan on attending. I have had teachers Id love to take out for a beer and teachers I wished the worst upon.

Professors do know my name due to either my cynical retorts in class and my test scores, which are so bad that a muffled chuckle from the professor, as he is handing back tests, tells me that he will DEFINITELY remember me! My favorite class would have to be the one I ended up dropping Spring Semester my Freshman year. It was Gen. Chem. at 10am. I never went, but when I did I had the best time ever. My teacher probably hated me, but it taught me one very important thing...NEVER take a class before 12.

Professors will get to know your name, especially if you go to their office hours, email/talk to them outside of class, etc. If you show that you're interested, they'll take an interest in you. The type of education you receive is based on what classes you choose. You can choose to take all easy classes just to get an easy A, but you won't be challenged. If you want to get an academically prestigious education, you need to seek out the hard classes and maybe give up the A, but you'll learn a lot more. A lot of the Honors classes are great, because they are smaller, you get more individual attention, and they are discussion-based, which helps you learn the material better.

As a psychology major, there usually is a lot of group work and participation, such as presentations. I've always loved psychology, its very interesting and any of the psychology courses at SMU are great and I highly recommend them! Im also in the Premed program therefore, the students in my class in the Premed program study alot. Again, we are all "in the same boat" so we all help each other constantly. Every professor in biology, chemistry always are at hand by email ALL the time, and offer office hours for one on one help. SMU is definately geared toward preparing students to getting in the best medical and graduate schools, as well as getting the best jobs. I feel I have had the best education at SMU.

All of my professors knew my name. I loved Creative Writing, Elementary logic, Geology, and any Film and Digital media classes.

Classes vary from 15 to 150 students, but most professors are very accessible and if you make the effort to contact them, they usually respond. Business school requires 3.3 GPA for admittance after two years at SMU. You can usually get a B or C by doing minimal work. An A requires a lot more effort. Students do have intelligent conversation outside class, but discussion of social activity is much more common. Students are competitive and you will never feel like a loser for studying instead of partying despite the huge party atmosphere. It is generally understood that you are almost guaranteed a job at graduation because of all the connections SMU has especially in the Dallas area.

I know every one of my professors names, they so far have been very good and i can't complain. There is the variety of how much students study just as in every school. I studied really really really hard in highschool and i came to college thinking i was going to be riding easy, SMU is actually alot more challenging then i thought. Most of the students just party like crazy and come back and some how make good grades, but i would go out and have fun then be up until crazy hours studying and getting my work done, first semester is either be social or make amazing grades. If you can accomplish both you are a superstar. You can go to office hours which are really helpful but other then office hours you dont spend time with your professor outside of class often! The education at SMU is geared towards preparing you for whatever job you want to pursue, you also learn just for the heck of wanting to learn things that you as an individual are interested in.

I am a double major with a biology (BS) and psychology major. The biology (pre-med) is much more difficult than the psychology so I suppose one can make college as "easy" or difficult as desired.

SMU is challenging. The Professors are wonderful and have such a passion for what they teach. Most classes are small, with only 20-30 students in each class. Some of the freshamn level classes are bigger, but for the most part, the classes are small and there is a lot of student participation in the classes. The professors, for the most part, are willing to meet with students outside of class. Business is probably the most popular major at SMU and it takes a minimum of 3 semesters to get into the business school. SMU's education is definitely geared toward getting a job in the future, no matter what major you choose, you will gain so many connections into the job market from going to SMU.