Top 10 Reasons to #Stay4SMU
To be honest, it's pretty hard to narrow it down, so here are the Top 10 (+4) reasons you should #Stay4SMU. Click on each number to find our what SMU students have to say.
- Faculty are engaged and dedicated.
- The student body is diverse.
- SMU has strong connections to the local community.
- You get a leg up on internships and starting your career.
- Academics are top-notch.
- It's not the Dallas you grew up with.
- Home is as close or as far as you make it.
- You can have the traditional college experience.
- It's not the suburbs, but it's not the city either; it's the best of both worlds!
- The campus is beautiful - even The Princeton Review agrees!
And your 4 bonus reasons:
- You can spend your travel funds on something more exciting.
- There's a comfortable familiarity with staying in Dallas.
- We've got big-time athletics.
- You'll be the resident expert.
Faculty are engaged and dedicated.
"Students living in the DFW area should attend SMU because this university offers so many opportunities. The faculty and staff are very respectful and friendly. The instructors care deeply about their students and help them to do their best." Ogulcan Kalkanli, Plano West Senior High School
"SMU has many resources for its students that most other universities don't have. More importantly, SMU has some of the greatest science professors who have come from very prestigious graduate schools and who are very passionate about their research and teaching." Ashleigh Miller, Lindale High School
The student body is diverse.
"Dallas is much bigger once you come to SMU. Not only do you meet other Texans, or people from different states, but you also meet people from other countries. Who knew that beyond your neighborhood there were Italians trying to compete in a bake-off against Thais?" Jessica Leija, Thomas Jefferson High School
"SMU has given me the feeling of being away at college by having me live on campus and by having such a diverse group of students from all around the U.S. and the world. I am constantly meeting new people from new places. Most of my friends here aren't even from Texas." Kyle Skipper, Parish Episcopal School
SMU has strong connections to the local community.
"You can experience Dallas through an educational lens - by using your classes and interests, you can pursue certain communities and issues in Dallas that you would like to be a part of." Elise Waller, Episcopal School of Dallas
"My time at SMU has opened a lot of networking opportunities for me so I am much more aware of the businesses in the Dallas area. There are also a lot of opportunities to help the local communities. Dallas has become a much more connected place for me that I can truly call home." Ricardo Duran, Hillcrest High School
You get a leg up on internships and starting your career.
"Dallas is one of the nation's up-and-coming cities and is a thriving business community. SMU students get the opportunity to start networking in Dallas earlier than most DFW students who leave for college and come back to start their careers." Sarah Blettner, Lake Highlands High School
"The contacts and networking provided through SMU is amazing, which allows you to look at Dallas as not just a place you grew up, but now a place that you can start the new part of your life." Stephanie Gian, Plano West Senior High School
"There's no other city in the U.S. with this much opportunity or growing this fast! Arts, culture, business - there's so much here and still more to come! There is an economic explosion happening beneath that southern big city charm, and SMU is fueling the fire!" Cameron Mills, Crandall High School
"Why leave when you have one of the best schools in the country basically right in your backyard? The most important factors for me were that I wanted to go to a great business school and be in a city with opportunities for jobs and getting involved in a fashion community. SMU has that and more for me, and I know that SMU and Dallas have a lot to offer for students with a wide range of interests and aspirations." Alexandria Small, Ursuline Academy
Academics are top-notch.
"First off, the materials I learn in the classroom are truly thought provoking and it expands my mind to think in different perspectives in order to become a well-educated individual that will help change the world. Secondly, the professors here are highly educated and know their stuff. On top of that, they do care about the students and are willing to work with you if you talk to them." Taylor Souryachak, South Grand Prairie High School
It's not the Dallas you grew up with.
"There's so much more to explore now that I'm in college. I'm not as held back as I was in high school so now I have the liberty to go try new places to eat for lunch, to socialize and to simply find new things! I have discovered so much more about the DFW area than I ever did in high school and it has only become more beautiful." Daisy Jamaica, Skyline High School
"I am much closer to the heart of the city and can easily explore without ever being too far from campus. I thought I knew what Dallas had to offer before coming to SMU, but now I know that it has way more than I can ever experience in four years." Liz Meyer, Coppell High School
"My parents rarely bother me to visit and the amount of traveling and exploring I do keep Dallas feeling fresh. I had never seen the parts of Dallas that I typically hang in now. With that said, it is comforting to know that I can always make time for a visit home if things become too stressful and overwhelming." Sam Park, Lloyd V. Berkner High School
Home is as close or far as you make it.
"SMU has so many organizations you can join that take up a lot of time and you'll be so sidetracked with those and your new friends that you won't even miss home. And if you do you can easily go home on a Sunday for lunch. There is so much that SMU has to offer that honestly, home feels like it is states away. I absolutely love being so close to home and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else." Elizabeth Rose, Rockwall Heath High School
"No long road trips or plane rides. Forgot something? No problem. Just go home, grab it, and come back. If someone were worried about being too close to home, they shouldn't be. SMU's campus feels very different from the rest of Dallas." Lauren King, Lovejoy High School
"Living in the [Residential Commons] was great. It allowed me to have a little bit of freedom but still be close enough to home to have a home cooked meal every once in a while." Darci Martin, School of Science and Engineering at Townview
You can have the traditional college experience.
"SMU does its best to make you feel welcome and give you the full college experience. The way they do this is by letting you know what is going on around campus, the students and faculty members making sure you're involved, and by having a variety of clubs and activities for everyone." Noe Marroquin, Ranchview High School
"SMU is a close knit community that through its academic rigor and engaging student life, gives me a "going away to college" feeling." Jonathan Patino, Bryan Adams High School
"Involvement is everything! Living on campus really establishes that feeling of being away at college, as well as getting involved in campus organizations that keep you on campus in that SMU sphere of influence." Rachel Gardner, Prestonwood Christian Academy
"SMU provides so many organizations for you to join so when you're having so much fun and making so many new friends, it doesn't feel like you're still in your hometown." Jacquetta Cannon, Lancaster High School
It's not the suburbs, but it's not the city either; it's the best of both worlds!
"Dallas is much more exciting and I respect it more [than I did in high school]. It is the perfect mix of big city life meets small town comfort meets southern hospitality. It is just the right amount of comfortable. You learn so much about Dallas (ranging from the good things about the city to its flaws) that you would have never noticed before." Hena Rafiq, Ranchview High School
"SMU is like a little bubble in Dallas. The campus is very safe and hosts lots of cool events. But being in Dallas, it is not hard to go out in the big city!" Alexander Porter, Prosper High School
"Being at SMU does not feel like being at home. I'm living on my own, on campus and in a university environment all the time. I'm still in a familiar city, but I get to see a new side of it, which makes it feel as though I'm in a different place entirely." Sydney Frodsham, McKinney North High School
"Moving from the suburbs to almost downtown (in the bubble) has given me a brand new perspective to this city. The opportunity is very inspiring, especially given the fact that I'm surrounded by such like-minded (and extremely intelligent) individuals. It's hard to describe. It's an incredibly unique experience for this school, its surrounding areas, and especially Dallas." Damien Zuniga, Mesquite High School
The campus is beautiful - even The Princeton Review agrees!
"SMU's beautiful campus is a good enough itself reason to attend SMU, but the amazing people you will meet, organizations, and the comfort of being close to home is what makes me love it so much more! SMU is a world of its own and one of my best choices." Sarah Mahmoud, Richland Collegiate High School
"SMU is nestled into a nice little corner of Mockingbird Lane and is a little world all to itself. Inside the campus grounds you're transported somewhere else echoing the Ivy League schools of the East Coast." Thomas Labrador, Plano East Senior High School
"Campus isn't Dallas. Once you pull onto Bishop Boulevard, you're in another place entirely. The hustle and bustle of the city is blocked out by the gorgeous trees and stately buildings. So sure, I may only be half an hour from my parents’ house, but it feels like they're states away." Gabrielle Hakes, Prosper High School
You can spend your travel funds on something more exciting.
"Travel costs aren't such an issue; I feel [they] should be part of the decision process. It can really add up over the course of four years. Being at SMU, the most travel cost one might have to worry about is maybe an Uber ride from some off-campus location back to campus. Plane costs are really large by comparison especially if one plans to come home frequently." Alexander Baughman, Jesuit College Preparatory School
There's a comfortable familiarity with staying in Dallas.
"There's a lot more liberty once you're in college but it feels nice to know where different places are at in Dallas. I don't get lost in the city and I know how to get around in my own car or through public transportation." Daisy Jamaica, Skyline High School
We've got big-time athletics.
"We have a great basketball team to root for! The basketball games are always exciting to attend and tailgating for the football games is always fun on game days." Ricardo Duran, Hillcrest High School
You'll be the resident expert.E
"Being that I'm from Dallas made it much easier to make new friends. Keep in mind many people from other states and/or countries need your help to get around and since you practically know where everything is, you're their number one go-to." Shuntavia Hearne, South Oak Cliff High School
"The best thing about being from DFW and staying here for SMU is it makes it so easy to make friends as a freshman because everyone comes to you for suggestions on cool places to eat and hang out!" Juls Barns, Highland Park High School
"A big addition to the SMU social life is all the fun things that you can do in Dallas. Especially being from here and knowing what to do, you can introduce people who are new to the area to a whole new experience." James Crews, Bending Oaks High School