Attracting High-Achieving Students

Scholarship support is crucial in helping SMU attract and retain top undergraduate and graduate students, and can be life changing for student recipients. Thanks to support for The Second Century Campaign, SMU donors gave annually to hundreds of scholarships and created 689 endowed scholarships. The number greatly exceeds the University's original goal of creating 500 endowed scholarships during the campaign.

The range of academic scholarships offered by SMU has broadened to include general University scholarships as well as those that support specific studies, majors and interests. Together, they make SMU more accessible to students from diverse backgrounds, including many with substantial economic need.

New Endowed Scholarships

Increasing the number of endowed scholarships enables SMU to attract and retain the best students nationally and will continue to help the University compete for top students well into the future. View the full list of endowed scholarships.

Increased Expenditures for Scholarship Support

Support for The Second Century Campaign has enabled SMU to significantly increase scholarship support, crucial for recruiting and retaining top students.

Rising Admission Test Scores

The average SAT score of SMU's first-year students has risen steadily and as the University has increased its ability to attract top students nationally. (SMU also has experienced a rise in ACT scores, with the average score up from 27.5 in 2008 to 29.0 in 2013.)

Comparison of Average SAT Scores

Prestigious National Awards

One reflection of SMU's student quality is the increasing number of students who each year are recognized with highly competitive national awards. In the most recent year, students won a record five Fulbright grants, and were multiple finalists for Rhodes, Marshall and Truman scholarships.

Comparison of Student Increasing Ethnic and Geographic Diversity

As the test scores and other measures of student quality at SMU have increased, the University also has become more ethnically and regionally diverse. From 2010 to 2014, the percentage of ethnically diverse and international students increased more than 7 percent.