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STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

For many SMU students, scholarships and other aid make the cost of attending this distinguished private university no more taxing -- and often less so -- on their families' financial resources than attending a public university.

SMU strives to provide the financial assistance required for an undergraduate education to any student who is offered admission and who has been determined by the Division of Enrollment Services-Financial Aid to have need for such assistance.

More than 73 percent of all students receive some type of financial aid. SMU has a generous program of merit scholarships, grants, loans, and part-time jobs to recognize academic achievement and talent in specific fields and to meet financial need.

Certain special SMU scholarship programs offer awards to the following types of students:

  • Entering first-year, transfer, and continuation students with high academic achievement or with talent in the arts.
  • National Merit finalists.
  • Dependent children and spouses of ordained United Methodist ministers engaged in full-time church-related vocations.
  • Texas residents.

Primary consideration for merit scholarships and need-based financial aid will be given to the following:

  1. Entering first-year students who:
    1. Complete the Admission Application, with all supporting materials, by January 15.
    2. File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available from high school counselors or on the World Wide Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov, by February 1. (The FAFSA is required for need-based aid consideration.) SMU Title IV code: 003613
    3. Complete the SMU Application for Scholarships (attached to Admission application) and return it with the Admission Application.
  2. Transfer students who:
    1. Complete the Admission Application, with all supporting materials, by June 1.
    2. File the FAFSA, available from financial aid offices or on the World Wide Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov, by April 1. (The FAFSA is required for need-based aid consideration.)
  3. Continuation students who:
    1. File FAFSA or FAFSA Renewal by April 15, after the parents' and student's income tax returns have been filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

To obtain additional information contact this office:

Division of Enrollment Services
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750181
Dallas TX 75275-0181
214-768-3417
enrol_serv@smu.edu
www.smu.edu/enrollment_services

SMU Satisfactory Progress Policy
For Federal, State, and Institional Financial Aid Eligibility

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended October 6, 1983, mandates that institutions of higher education establish minimum standards of "satisfactory progress" for students receiving federal financial aid. The standards given below are also used for state and institutional funds.

Undergraduates

SMU has a selective admissions policy and strict academic standards for continued enrollment. A student admitted to SMU and allowed to continue enrollment is considered to be making satisfactory progress toward the chosen degree, providing that 1) the student maintains a 2.00 cumulative G.P.A. or better by the end of the second year of enrollment, and 2) the rate of degree-requirement credits earned is equal to or greater than the schedule below.

A student whose rate of course completion at the end of any academic year of enrollment is less than that outlined below must consult with a financial aid counselor before financial aid can be considered. Financial aid awards will be made only if there are mitigating circumstances.

  Time Limit for Increment of Degree Requirement Credits
Degree Completion Required to Be Successfully Completed
Baccalaureate 6-12 month Academic years            
  academic years completed 1 2 3 4 5 6
                 
    Percentage of degree credits            
    completed 13 25 43 60 80 100

A student who is denied federal aid funds because that student is not deemed to be making satisfactory progress toward the student's degree goal according to this policy will have the right to appeal to the Executive Director of Financial Aid.