Southern Methodist University Top Questions

As a private university in the heart of Dallas's wealthiest neighborhood, it goes without saying that the stereotype of SMU students is that of super privileged rich kids who live off their parents money. While this may apply to some students, it certainly does not apply to all. Most of the students are on scholarships or financial aid and study intense courses. Although the school does revolve around Greek life, everyone has higher intellectual capacities than the stereotype assumes.

The biggest stereotype is that most students are involved in sororities and fraternities. While it is true that a large number of students are involved in greek life, they comprise a third of the student body.

I think that SMU has some of the strongest and most unfair stereotypes that I have ever seen. I was so scared when I was a prospective student and even when I first put down my deposit, however I found the stereotypes to be very much untrue! 1. Southern Millionares University - Well just off the bat this is silly. We have one of the most geographically diverse schools in the country with people from all over the country. About half of the school is from Texas, but over a quarter of the population is from California! Moreover, not everyone is the son or daughter of an oil baron haha. All different socioeconomic backgrounds are represented here. 2. Unfriendly/pretentious people I think people on my tours are always struck by how insanely friendly this campus is! Everyone says hello to everyone and - as a whole - SMU students are a very outgoing, social bunch and want to meet people. I have never encountered anything in the least bit resembling this stereotype and I feel like this place is truly my home 3. Party school/drug or alcohol problem I don't really know where this one came from. There is of course an element at every school in the country that does engage in that sort of behavior, but SMU definitely doesn't have a larger group than anyone else! There's so much to do here other than party because we're in the middle of Dallas - you can literally do anything. 4. Dominated by fraternities/sororities While we do have a number of Greek organizations I feel that I can say as a member of one that it doesn't define our campus. Almost all of us in fraternities/sororities are involved in tons of other stuff on campus and our greek organization is just one thing. Another important thing there is that we do deferred recruitment here. So, you have all first semester to adjust to college, find your friends, and figure out if going Greek is right for you.