Southern Methodist University Top Questions

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The quality of academics at SMU are somewhat variable, but the dedication is consistent. Even in struggling departments, you can tell that the professors really care and try to improve the situation. I've been very inspired by the passion and encouragement from professors. I've only taken science and humanity classes, so I don't know much about engineering, business, or art school classes. I've enjoyed all my classes so far, and all my professors (except maybe two) know my name. Even though I'm taking all the introductory courses, my largest class has had 80 people in it. People participate frequently in the smaller classes, and professors are extremely willing to meet with students outside of class. The Honors College at SMU has been the best part of my academic experience. Other Honors students are competitive in an inspirational, supportive way, and always have interesting things to talk about. We form study groups and make studying fun, since we have to study so often anyway. The Honors College curriculum complements SMU's requirements, which I find to be very well rounded and focused on learning for its own sake.

Academics at my school are challenging. I'm currently double majoring in Business and English, and minority in Psychology. The business school as I have experienced it has been incredible. The teachers know my name, where I'm from, my academic and life goals, and they show a real concern for students. They not only hold regular office hours, but are willing to schedule appointments with students for one-on-one help, and work with you through the class material. This is just as true in the Dedman School (through which I am working on my English major and psychology minor), and is what I hear about the other schools that my friends are involved in. Also offered are the very helpful career services center, advising offices (each school has their own specialized advising program), and the A.L.E.C. Tutoring center. SMU wants its students to succeed, and provides all the resources a student might need, and then some. The academic requirements are challenging, but all the help offered makes every academic goal achievable. I'm even involved in multiple extracurricular activities, including student senate, finance committee, and kappa kappa gamma, but I am able to manage and balance my academic life with these quite easily.

I have yet to be in a large class; however, i've heard they do exist for economics and some introductory business classes because a lot of the kids here have come here for the amazing business school. Foreign language classes and english classes are never really more than 15 students, and math classes are usually around 40. That's provided for a nice variety of where the teacher knows you so well (to the point where you can't miss a class without them knowing) and where you can just sneak into the back ten minutes late and copy notes from the kid next to you without it being a big deal. I don't really see a whole lot of people studying, but i think that differs depending on if you're in one of the specified honors or "scholars" dorms or if you're in a party dorm, like Boaz. I have found that it's really easy to get to know your professors, and when I wanted to learn more about a major, I met with the head of the department and he talked to me himself, giving me more contacts if I wanted to know about different ways to use the skills I would learn outside of the classroom.

SMU has a very academically focused student body. Most students applied to other elite schools, such as Vanderbilt and Yale, but chose SMU because of its balance between academics and social life. Classes are generally small, and the majority of professors know your name and establish a relationship with individual students. Most professors are very helpful and accommodating during office hours, and professors truly want students to learn. Professors in the Cox School of Business have a great deal of real world experience (my current accounting professor was a partner at Earnst and Young), and they provide students with great professional connections as well as firsthand insight into the business world. Students study very often (I study roughly 3 hours a day), but they maintain a healthy balance between campus involvement, socializing, and academics.

The academics usually are either too easy or very difficult. Well at least in engineering.

All Professors know you by your name and always have plenty of office hours so you can reach them at any time. One of my favorite class was Intro to Environmental Engineering (My major) because it gave you real life examples of how we can protect our environment and make it healthier for people to live in.Students are competitive which is great because it helps SMU increase their standards.You don't have to an A+ student be at SMU, if you have other activities or organizations you are involved in, then you would love SMU.

The academics are rigorous and challenging because the professors really encourage high performance in classes. All of the professors know you by name, even if you don't always make the effort to stand out in the class. I have never had a class I did not enjoy, unless it was due to lack of interest in the subject matter. My philosophy classes have been my most favorite because the class participation makes for interesting conversations. Students are competitive to a degree, but everyone seems to be more competitive with themselves than with each other. The communications department is a little more competitive than the others, but the experience gained is worth all of the work. I have spent time with different professors outside of class, whether for events or advice, because they have all been more than happy to talk with me. I feel like SMU has high standards for academics and both the faculty and the students rise to the occassion.

I really don't know why SMU might not have a good reputation in the sciences. I am a double major in chemistry and mathematics, and I am having the best times of my life! The faculty are just awesome and extremely intelligent. They really want to help the students!

Southern Methodist University is known worldwide for the Cox school of business as well as other schools on campus. I am in the Cox school of business studying finance. I love my campus, the classes are small and professors are helpful, friendly, and always willing to help. SMU offers unique courses such as the Business Leadership Institute (BLI), a course where students learn important fundamentals in effective business presentation skills, writing skills, team presentations, and interpersonal communication. Also, SMU professors are experts on their fields of expertise which makes their lectures interesting and fun. Furthermore, students have a chance to learn from many successful professional such as one of the Dallas Fed officer Harvey Rosenblum who teaches a class in Finance and Economics. BLI has been one of my favorite classes at SMU, in this class we had three presentations per semester where the professor tape the students during the presentation and then send comments for improvement. Professor Miao, adds his knowledge and wisdom from this many successful business worldwide to the class. He memorized the name of the students after the first class and from then on you will be expect to be called by your first name, he also help students prepare for impromptu presentation, and the doors of his office are always open to students. He enjoys helping students our and he has written many recommendations letters for me and other students on campus. One of the biggest advantages of being part of SMU are the networking opportunities that this school has to offers. Cox school of business holds career workshops, resume workshops, classes, training, mock interviews, and many other resources that help student land a job before graduation. Moreover, having a staff of professionals create better connections for the students. Professors pay attention to those students that excel in their classes and refer them to organizations or professionals with whom they maintain close relationships with. Students also enjoy the challenge that this school represents. The acceptance rate for the Cox School of business is highly competitive, and students take pride on their school. I personally receive many complements outside of campus from friends and family about my school. In the personal level I can say that this school has pushed me to go above my limits. Every class is a competition. In my finance course only 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the classes can receive an A or A-, this means that every student is doing their best to land on that top 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}. It is very competitive, but it is also rewarding to know that sacrifices pay off at the end. Although, my department represents, challenge, pride, recognition, and competition, it also offers opportunities for growth outside of school. There are many business organizations that focus on networking outside of school. At these organizations students talk about their classes, their projects, they internships, homework’s, and more. I am currently the VP of Programs of ALPFA, an Association of Latino Professional in Finance and Accounting. At this organization we worked together to bring companies to talk to us about their expectations from new employees. They also come to recruit students for internships and full time jobs. Overall SMU has been the best experience of my life. I have grown so much professionally, and I have made so many friends, and have wonderful experiences inside and outside of school. I am proud to be a Mustang.

Southern Methodist University is known worldwide for the Cox school of business as well as other schools on campus. I am in the Cox school of business studying finance. I love my campus, the classes are small and professors are helpful, friendly, and always willing to help. SMU offers unique courses such as the Business Leadership Institute (BLI), a course where students learn important fundamentals in effective business presentation skills, writing skills, team presentations, and interpersonal communication. Also, SMU professors are experts on their fields of expertise which makes their lectures interesting and fun. Furthermore, students have a chance to learn from many successful professional such as one of the Dallas Fed officer Harvey Rosenblum who teaches a class in Finance and Economics. BLI has been one of my favorite classes at SMU, in this class we had three presentations per semester where the professor tape the students during the presentation and then send comments for improvement. Professor Miao, adds his knowledge and wisdom from this many successful business worldwide to the class. He memorized the name of the students after the first class and from then on you will be expect to be called by your first name, he also help students prepare for impromptu presentation, and the doors of his office are always open to students. He enjoys helping students our and he has written many recommendations letters for me and other students on campus. One of the biggest advantages of being part of SMU are the networking opportunities that this school has to offers. Cox school of business holds career workshops, resume workshops, classes, training, mock interviews, and many other resources that help student land a job before graduation. Moreover, having a staff of professionals create better connections for the students. Professors pay attention to those students that excel in their classes and refer them to organizations or professionals with whom they maintain close relationships with. Students also enjoy the challenge that this school represents. The acceptance rate for the Cox School of business is highly competitive, and students take pride on their school. I personally receive many complements outside of campus from friends and family about my school. In the personal level I can say that this school has pushed me to go above my limits. Every class is a competition. In my finance course only 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the classes can receive an A or A-, this means that every student is doing their best to land on that top 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}. It is very competitive, but it is also rewarding to know that sacrifices pay off at the end. Although, my department represents, challenge, pride, recognition, and competition, it also offers opportunities for growth outside of school. There are many business organizations that focus on networking outside of school. At these organizations students talk about their classes, their projects, they internships, homework’s, and more. I am currently the VP of Programs of ALPFA, an Association of Latino Professional in Finance and Accounting. At this organization we worked together to bring companies to talk to us about their expectations from new employees. They also come to recruit students for internships and full time jobs. Overall SMU has been the best experience of my life. I have grown so much professionally, and I have made so many friends, and have wonderful experiences inside and outside of school. I am proud to be a Mustang.

They're better than you think. It's a big school but you get what you're paying for.

SMU has great and amazing academic opportunities. There's so much but you have to go out and look for them. Sometimes there's so many you become numb to all the ads that you wont do any.

classes at smu are all completely different. some are really small and personable but some are in huge lecture halls and your professor doesn't know your name unless you make it a point for him/her to. some take attendance, some are total bullshit classes where you just show up on the day of the exam. theres a huge variety of classes so students come away each year knowing lots of random (but useful) things. a lot of people major in business because the business school at smu is one of the best in the country. another popular major is communications.

business school is top knotch, engineering is really good, classes are small

Class sizes are usually smaller discussion style classes, but the rigor of courses is honestly up to the student. You can make your degree as easy or as difficult as you wish. If you are willing to learn, the faculty generally love to help you on your way in any way they can. The best and most unique class I have taken was a class on feminine divine (goddesses) which was taught by a professor who understood how to make class interesting, yet challenging. He would use pop culture references in a way to help students understand without trying to seem like he was trying too hard.

Small classes most of the time. Professors may not not your name but will recognize you as a class member. Hate English... Love CCPA and Buisness School classes. Education at SMU is most definitley geared toward getting a job.

I enjoy classes when teachers call out the people who are not working hard or focused on their academics. I hate when other students waste the teacher and other students' time. I wish we could take more than one class with teachers we specifically enjoyed, it's too difficult to get to know teachers over your four years here, which causes challenges when consideirng who to get recommendation letters from.

Academics at SMU, depending on the major, is difficult and challenging. As an anthropology major I know many of my professors and other staff members are some of the leading experts in the field worldwide. It is very comforting knowing that I am being taught and mentored by these people. The professors are almost always available to talk to whether about the class or other topics related to the field. The requirements to get into SMU are difficult, especially if you want scholarships but I think its good that they just dont let anybody in.