With worries of storm surge and hurling off shore winds beginning off the Carolinas coast line last week, the College Sage needed a distraction – and what better distraction than a college road trip out west! This unexpected trip proved fruitful as the weekday tour while students are in session gave us a one-on-one experience to ask all the questions we could think of. Here’s what we found!
“Pony Up” at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)
SMU was founded in the early 1900s in the prestigious Park Cities neighborhood of Dallas. Close to all the upscale amenities at Highland Park and Uptown, these lucky 6,321 undergraduate Mustangs don’t have to go far for the best dining, shopping, arts, sports, and conveniences a big city can offer. Yet being outside the city center, the campus is intimate and the Residential Commons programs makes it easy for freshman and sophomores to make strong relationships (juniors and seniors generally live off campus). Greek life is a big part of the SMU scene, involving close to 50% of the college community.
SMU houses five individual schools of thought within the overall university. We used the opportunity to meet one-on-one with admissions advisors in the Cox School of Business, one of the most competitive programs at SMU. Students can apply for the Business program while applying to SMU. Those students selected for direct entry to the business program generally have and ACT of 32 and strong grades within a rigorous high school curriculum. Students who are accepted to SMU but not into the direct business program can reapply sophomore year after excelling at an Extended Subset of business requirements and after earning a 3.5 overall all-college GPA.
If business isn’t your thing, there is plenty to choose from. From humanities and sciences, to engineering, arts and education and human development, SMU meets the needs of almost any major you might want. Application options are also wide open – from non-binding Early Action, Early Decision I and II and Regular Decision, SMU is prepared to be as flexible as possible to bring students on board with a goal of making them into “world changers.” Over 75% of students are awarded scholarships from the pool of $125 million plus of possible awards. So “Pony up” and check out all that SMU has to offer.
Horn Frog brings good luck at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX)
When the College Sage tour guide at TCU welcomed us to rub the horn frog’s nose for good luck, we couldn’t resist doing so for all those potentially in harms way from Hurricane Florence. The College Sage found TCU to be super lively as the Game Day trucks were pulling into campus to set up for the weekend football celebrations. With nearly 9,000 undergraduate students, the TCU campus was buzzing from game day preparations to the annual Career Fair, we were able to catch all the excitement.
TCU offers an Honors College for top students. Those successfully gaining acceptance had an average ACT of 32 and strong grades. The Honors College requires an additional application after applying to the college overall. Accepted students are welcomed with a weeklong Frogs First orientation. But by then you’ve probably already made friends. That’s because TCU also holds a 3-9 day Frog Camp with various options to discover what it’s going to be like as a Horned Frog. Housing is spread along 37 residence halls that are all new or newly renovated. Like SMU, the campus is far enough outside the city to feel contained, but close enough to downtown Fort Worth to use the city center.
Affording TCU is helped by the college’s healthy pool of scholarships and grants. Over 65% of students receive scholarships or grants ranging from $10,000-21,000 per year. With over 119 areas of study, you’ll have no problem finding your dream subject. Top majors include Business, Journalism, Health Sciences and Nursing and the Fine Arts. TCU aims to “Lead On” to a bright future.
Be Boulder at University of Colorado (Boulder, CO)
Every time I think I’ve seen the most beautiful college campus, I’m surprised again. The University of Colorado at Boulder campus was shimmering on this stunningly blue sky day when the College Sage visited– which I guess should have come as no surprise given that Colorado is known for its 300 days of sunshine per year – more than San Diego or Miami. Colorado makes the list as one of the ten healthiest states in America and it’s easy to see why when the nearby Rocky Mountains are calling your name. With students zipping by on bikes and skateboards, you couldn’t help but feel the active lifestyle within the CU Boulder community. It’s a perfect fit for an adventurous student. While students take their studies seriously, they also have rock climber’s paradise, 145 miles of hiking trails, South Boulder Creek and 300 miles of bike paths, and the gateway to many ski resorts around them.
CU Boulder has 29,000 undergraduate students spread across its seven colleges. And while CU Boulder may seem easier than many large universities today to gain entrance with a 80% overall admission rate, its engineering and business schools are much more competitive. We were told on a tour of the Leeds Business School that its admission rate is about 25% with mid 50% ACT scores of 28 to 32. Engineering is the most competitive school to gain admissions with an ACT composite range of 30 to 34.
CU Boulder recently initiated a tuition guarantee program thereby reducing college costs in three ways: eliminating course and program fees, increasing scholarships and reducing textbook costs. When touring the Leeds Business School we were impressed to see how you could check out textbooks daily in the business library so no need for that extra $500+ of expenses. Out-of-state students are automatically considered for scholarships. The top 1-3% of admitted students will earn scholarships of $55,000 total over four years, while the top 25% are eligible for $25,000 assistance. Other scholarships are available for Arts & Humanities students as well.
The College Sage has many students who love the big college feel of UVA, UNC and UGA. We’re putting CU Boulder up there for consideration. Watch this space as CU continues to – “Be Boulder.”
