Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas
- Private nonprofit
- Suburb
- 7,277 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 63%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $39,816per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 84%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $90,03710 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
All entering first-year students at SMU are assigned to one of 11 Residential Commons, where they remain affiliated throughout their time at the university.
Source: SMU Residential Commons - Residence Life and Student Housing - Student Affairs
SMU's Mustang Scholarship, given to selected admitted students, combines with their other awards to cover full SMU tuition and fees.
Source: Mustang Scholarship - SMU
Access SMU provides merit scholarships to meet full financial need for Texas students who receive Federal Pell Grants and SMU merit scholarships.
Source: Access SMU | SMU
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 63%About 6 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1340–1490Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 30–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Southern Methodist University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: College Scorecard. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $39,816full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $88,892sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $69,722Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 84%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 91%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $90,03710 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $18,750federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 7,277Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 18%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 16%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Marquette University Milwaukee, WI — admits 81%
- Gonzaga University Spokane, WA — admits 82%
- University of St Thomas Houston, TX — admits 90%
- University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN — admits 85%
Also worth a look
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL — admits 65%
- American University Washington, DC — admits 62%
- Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT — admits 72%
- Elon University Elon, NC — admits 66%
- Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT — admits 65%
- Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA — admits 64%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Southern Methodist University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.