Well, I am kind of used to all the snob stuff. I've grown up with a trust fund and a River Oaks membership all my life, yet I think I have escaped becoming that big of a snob. I feel comfortable with people like that (even though I spend time with people of all social stature.... except for poor people... I HATE POOR PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!11oneone!111) and paying for it wont be that big of a problem. I have wanted to go to UT all my life but Im not sure I want to just be a social security number in a class, rather I would like to be able to talk to my professor with him knowing my name. What did you study while you were there, desihooper?
Listen, the whole big class thing is a lie perpetuated by smaller schools looking for students. Sure, there are gonna be huge classes and weed out classes, but usually, they will be intro classes. When you get into classes for your major, they shrink drastically.
I had some good friends go to both TCU and SMU. I liked SMU campus. It had that old Northeastern college feel to the campus. I do know that you spend a ton of money at both schools and don't really get that much better of an education as you would from UT or A&M. My friends were ALWAYS struggling with money even though they had big scholarships. The class sizes are smaller, but once you get into your major at a big school the class sizes shrink down to normal. Both have a lack of any kind school spirit. Most people go Greek. Once thing I noticed about TCU is it was abou 60-65% girls. I always thought that was neat. Didn't know if SMU was the same. Give it a try. If you don't like it, transfer.
Gonna have to defend UT here for a second. UT gets a bad rap for being a big school, but you do get a quality, intimate education if you pick the right major and you get through the failouts. Once you hit upper division, classes get smaller and auditoriums are replaced by lecture halls, class rooms, and sometimes just a conference room with one table. I was a government major, and over half of my upper division classes had 30 or fewer people. Not that it matters how big your class is. The only way you're going to get to know your professors is by going to their office hours regularly and participating in class, things which aren't dependant upon class size. People who do this get great reqs and get to meet faculty who are leaders in their fields. UT is a research institution, so if you're interested in graduate school, it is an excellent choice to get your hands dirty as an undergrad. As far as Schmoo goes, I had a friend who went there for a year on scholarship, and transfered to UT. She was hispanic and from El Paso, and she just didn't fit in. She said the campus was 90% Greek and very, very rich.
I had several relatively small classes my freshman year at Texas Tech. My math and history classes, for example, had fewer than 30 people in each. My physics class was fairly small, as well. The big classes I had were geology (though the geology lab had about 25 students) and Introduction to Business. My economics classes were in big rooms, but I took them in the summer, so there weren't many students. I don't remember what all else I took early on, but I did have some small classes in the first year. But dealing with the big-school bureaucracy was a nightmare (and that continues. As I write this, I've been on hold with UNT for the last 42 minutes). (EDIT: May not be clear, but I back up the idea that the classes get smaller as one gets deeper into the major. I was trying to note that I went to a relatively big school my freshman year and even then had several smallish classes).
SMU is good. I'm actually going to be a freshman at SMU this year. Actually, I've been here the whole summer in this stupid provisional program.
(Southwest) Texas State University is the greatest university in all the land. a lot less snobby than SMU.
Not EVERYONE at SMU is a snob! In my opinion, it's not as snoby as everyone thinks. My point of view could be a little skewed, though...
Even though I dont attend the school, it is obvious to me that not everyone at the school is a snob. I want to know if its a good school and if its worth the money. The admissions office told me that the tuition cost does not even cover the real costs that SMU spends on a student. Also, I am thinking that going there might be worth it even if it is just for the connections you make.
