SMU Lands on Most Expensive Schools List
SMU always finds itself on a slew of these “top colleges” lists, and not always for the best reasons (the druggiest list comes to mind).
This week, it’s “America’s REAL Most Expensive Colleges.” The list takes into account the total cost per year, then subtracts the average aid granted to each student. SMU’s “real cost” comes in at $32,643, good enough for #11 on the list. It’s the highest ranked school not found in the Northeast.
Drexel tops the list at $40,491. I’ve been to Drexel a million times; trust me, it’s not worth it. But is SMU? Discuss.
Nice school but a lot of “daddy bought be a BMW and I think I’m Ivy League now” types.
They’re trying. Certainly expending a great deal of effort. Not all of it properly guided, by any means, but effort nonetheless. But the school remains mediocre, and always will, so long as it effectively selects based on ability to pay rather than academic merit, and so long as its graduate programs remain so limited. It’s a difficult cycle to break, like an addiction.
Only the business school and the school of theology are taken seriously anywhere outside Dallas, and even then not so much. But any more focus on the (very good) business school and the whole university is going to atrophy down into nothing but a (very good) business school.
A strong argument could be made (and I believe, has been made in the past) that in order for the university to become a national player it would have to first remove the religious adjective in its name. Don’t see that happening any time soon.
JD hit it on the head with their selection process being solely based on the ability to pay tuition.
I’d like to see them funnel some of the tremendous amount of $$ they spend on acquiring land and building more buildings put into student housing, research and academic scholorships.
When I was there, they called it “Southern Methodist Country Club”. I still have the shirt.
JD takes issue with SMU’s graduate programs, but fails to mention the law school, which is very selective and is taken quite seriously outside of Dallas and Texas. Also, no mention of the Performing Arts programs which are nationally recognized. In the areas of study where graduate programs are offered SMU compares favorably on a nationwide basis.
not bad for the fourth best university in the metroplex.
SMU Law is not taken seriously outside of Dallas. It is taken very seriously here, and it should, because it’s a good school – but it’s ranked around 50 nationally, which is right where it should be.