Southern Methodist University Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Bora

Yes it is accurate about most of them being rich kids, but that should not affect your decision since mostly everyone is really nice and are willing to talk and open up.

Kate

Unfortunately, yes. Most of the students are exactly as the stereotype describes, but

Jeremy

Sort of

Quinn

Yes they are accurate.

Reese

see above

kevin

Status is big, lots of people with money, but stuck up is not really so true

Sara

many people are very, very rich, but there are also many people who are simply there on scholarship; there are a blend of snobby and normal people (a blend that would be found anywhere); while the majority of campus is greek, you can get along without being one yourself, although you may feel pressured to become one

Jessica

wealthy: there are wealthy students but by no means is it the entire student population snobby: NO...there are unpleasant people everywhere, but i would say SMU has more nice/sincere people than other places ive been/visited

Blair

stereotypes stem from some truth, so yes

mari

Partially. Lots of weathly people but not everybody is. Greek life is important but just as many people are not involved in Greek life as there are involved. Drugs and alcohol are everywhere and a very large number people are doing them on a regular basis without consequences if caught.

Benton

Yes

Becca

it depends on the people you decide to hang out with. being an athlete and a member of the Greek community, i have friends who fit the 'SMU stereotype' as well as people who are totally different from the 'typical' SMU student.

Marisa

yes

Jesse

Partly. Yes, the majority of the students come from wealthy families, but that does not mean everyone. Snotty, some are. All into the party scene, some. It all depends on where you choose to look. At any University you will see the stereotypes more if you limit yourself to looking in that direction. Just open your eyes a little wider and you will see that there are people like minded that will become some of your best friends.

devon

of course there are people who are extremely rich and huge snobs, we go to a school that costs $40,000 per year there are bound to be people like that. but on the whole, no most of our school is not like that. people may dress well and drive nice cars but they are some of the nicest people i know here.

Alexis

Honestly, this stereotype is more true than I could have imagined. But, it is definitely not true of everyone. It took some time but I was able to make last friendships with people who are genuine and don't care only about money and fashion.

Leigh

These stereotypes are completely inaccurate. When I came to visit SMU, the people I met were so nice and inviting. They made me feel so at home, and I fell in love with the school.

Jessie

To an extent. There are exceptions to every rule. I am greek and I have found the stereotypes to be of the few and not of the whole. Basically, it depends on you and the friends you choose and the groups you identify with.

Julia

Not entirely.

John

These stereotypes are not true, and they detract from all of the great things the school offers. I have met some of the greatest people I've ever known at SMU and a few who are spoiled by their parents, however they are still great people. The greek community is also a great social outlet, that is conscious of it's reputation and is making great strides to change it.

Ryan

Not for the most part. I mean, stereotypes are based on truth, but this is not the majority of SMU Students.

Katherine

on the surface, yes. However, there are lots of people who do not fit the "typical" mold.

Jennifer

To a degree. There are normal people, the ones who have souls, out there, you just have to find them.

Hannah

There are some individuals that make the stereotype accurate; however there are very few.

Terry

Yes and No. 50 50 both ways...depends on the stereotype at hand.

Charlie

It is true that most SMU students come from a wealthy family, but there are some people who come from a more "normal" background. The stereotypes about everything being designer and name-brand is also very true. SMU does not represent a typical economic setting that you will find in the real world... it represents the upper upper-class for the most part. Also, many students do party/drink a lot. It's been hard to find people whose idea of "fun" do not involve alcohol, drinking games, going to a bar, etc.

Jennifer

Mostly

Cody

In reality, SMU is a very tough place to be if one does not hail from the lifestyle to which most students are accustomed. However, having joined a sorority and gone through with many of the stereotypical traditions associated with SMu, I can say that if one puts in a positive attitude, one receives a positive expereince. I love my sorority, and I had many amazing times socially at SMU that did not involve wasting money or engaging in illegal/asinine activities. Academically, it's not as challenging as I would have imagined for the expense, but I had some fantastic professors and I believe that I received a good education during my tenure.

Robin

pretty close, yeah. While obviously that does not account for everybody, it does describe a very signifcant proportion of the student body.

Casey

These stereotypes are not accurate about every girl, of course there are your rich, bitchy, stuck up girls but what school does not have that? I know more then less girls that are down to earth and genuine girls. There will always be the girls who fulfill the stereotypes everywhere. The boys are not all sons of major oil companies. Eventhough SMU is not slacking in its fair share of wealth, there are down to earth, fun, amazing guys along with the ones that think they are hott stuff for being very wealthy. There are these stereotypes at all schools, yes SMU has their very big share of bombshell girls and wealthy guys, but all in all it has the same stereotypes that can be found at any other college as well.

Jaclyn

This stereotype is only partly true. There is definitely a population of SMU undergraduate students who drive nice cars and party every Thursday and Friday. Though you might live with these people in a dorm or participate in a philanthropy with them, there are definitely other equally prominent populations on campus. Other groups include the "religious people", the "pre-meds", etc.

Ali

Of course these stereotypes are not true. Yes, the majority of students come from wealthy families, yet this attributes to the fact that this school is very very expensive to attend. Greek life is very big here; however, a lot of students decide not to go greek and they have have just a great of a college experience as students to do go greek. College is what you make of it, it doesn't really matter where you go, as long as you have fun and do well.

Ainsley

only a minority of smu students are pretentious, snobby and spoiled, and labeling the entire school or student body as such is completely inaccurate. collegiate athletics remain among the worst in the nation.

Jen

there are those kinds of people at smu, but they in no way make up the majority. if that is who you choose to associate yourself with, you can find them, but that isn't who i am and i love it here, and feel like i fit in completely

Rachel

To some degree, yes. However, with any university there is going to be new people and customs that you run into and become adjusted to. SMU has an air of sophistication and education that has been enlightening and a great opportunity for me to experience. As for the courses and grades, the classes that I have taken have been not only intellectually challenging, but also interesting as well; I have had to work for my grades.

Rachel

NOO!!!! Sure there are nice cars in the parking lots but you would never know which car belonged to who. Everyone is nice and yes there are people with money but you can not tell them from anyone else.

Andrew

While most of us are very wealthy, there are a couple outliers. And yes we are a party school.

Rob

for the most part yes.

Morgan

The stereotype does exist. This stereotype is on hard to spot, but MANY types of people with various backgrounds are much more prevalent.

Charlie

no. there are a lot of wealthy ppl here, but some actually have class. its the rest of them who create the negative stereotype. and not EVERYONE is wealthy.

Darren

yes, for the most part

Travis

Overall the campus is pretty wealthy, and Dallas is relatively expensive. There are a couple idiots walking around campus, but I indulge in extremely intelligent conversations every week. Classes are much more difficult than you would think, and more demanding than a lot of schools that may be ranked better. Some kids are snobs, and some do use drugs. For the most part, even the wealthy are down to earth. The drug problem isn't as bad as rumors imply. Those looking for drugs find it, so just stay away. I definitely saw drugs more at my high school than I do here at SMU. The drugs, in my experience, have never been a problem. As far as stereotypes about partying go: Yeah, we party.

Brittany

They are accurate to an extent. They are not 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} accurate, but they do hold true for a majority.

Blake

Sadly enough for about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the population it seems to be an accurate description.

Haley

In some cases, but usually no.

Phillip

They can be, and in many cases are true. Some students counteract the stereotype, and for some it doesn't begin to apply.

Emmerson

YES!

Blake

Yes. SMU does a great job of selling itself as a 'competitive' university with great opportunities to network in Dallas. While this stereotype might be true, it also requires you to be a wealthy social climber. During the tours and information sessions SMU students and recruiters will try to make it seem like everyone can find their place at SMU, but they are only trying to combat people's negative impressions and sell the school to you.