Southern Methodist University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Advertising – Creative Specialization
Minor: Graphic Design
Student Self Identifies as: White Heterosexual Female
Summary
I am part of the SMU Student Foundation, which is an event planning organization. I am part of a student-run fashion magazine called SMU Look. I am also in a sorority.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private school in Austin, TX with a graduating class of about 75 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Advertising – Creative Specialization
Minor: Graphic Design
Extracurricular Activities: I am part of the SMU Student Foundation, which is an event planning organization. I am part of a student-run fashion magazine called SMU Look. I am also in a sorority.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The Student Foundation has been really helpful in making me feel really involved on campus and helped me meet older students and different types of students that I wouldn’t normally interact with on a daily basis. I also feel like I’ve had a lot of really cool responsibilities through that organization.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I have mostly projects for my creative advertising classes where we either work on a campaign or have different assignments to do. I take a graphic design and creative coding class where we have projects. I’m also taking other classes, like an advertising ethics class, where we have research projects, reading, and online questions.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I think they do a really good job of encouraging creative students to think conceptually and use their skills not just to make a project, but to make a concept that has an effect on people. They make you want to work not just for a grade.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s very competitive because it’s such a small program. There are only about 15 people in my creative cohort. But, it is also very collaborative because everybody is super friendly and willing to help. There are a lot of partner projects too. So, there is a level of competition but everyone is still friendly and willing to support each other.
How accessible are your professors?
Super accessible. If you shoot them an email they’ll usually get back to you within the day. They’re also willing to make time for you outside of office hours.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken so far for your major?
Probably Concepting, which is a core class for your first year of the Creative Advertising Program. It’s where we start doing campaigns and learning out to come up with ideas and create concepts.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
For me, I wanted a major that would combine creativity with something that was more solid, like business or another application of creativity that was not just art. I was originally going to do just art but I wanted to be able to get a job while still applying creativity.
Reasons to Attend
1) The people. You make such amazing connections and the people here who are very well connected.
2) Dallas is such a cool and fun city to be in. There are so many cool areas and, being at SMU, you feel very connected. There are so many opportunities here and so many businesses based here. The area SMU is in is also a pro because it’s very safe.
3) The on-campus services, like the dining hall, are pretty good when compared to other schools.
4) The students are very involved and very driven. Everybody is involved with a charity or works as an ambassador for a company or is doing something on top of schoolwork.
Reasons Not to Attend
I don’t have any.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: McElvaney Commons with one roommate
Sophomore: McElvaney Commons with one roommate
How was transitioning from Austin, TX to Dallas, TX?
It was definitely a little bit different. I’m kind of a homebody, so for me, it was a little bit tough to not be able to go home as much. I think the campus started to feel a little bit small and all the freshmen who I talk to say the same thing, they say they feel a bit trapped at times. Since the campus is in more of a residential area, you have to drive to get anywhere outside of the school. With that said, I really enjoy Dallas because there is a lot of variety and a lot of different areas that you can go to.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel very safe on this campus. The campus police department is constantly on campus and is very visible. At night, it also feels safe because we’re in Highland Park, which is very residential and a more affluent area. There have not been any instances where I felt at risk or in danger.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
My friends and I like to go out to dinner at a restaurant, then we’ll go to a fraternity event that they’ll have at their house, and from there, we’ll go to a venue that a fraternity has rented out or a bar around town or something. There are a few different places that we go to pretty consistently that we know that we like. We also go to the same few restaurants once you find your routine.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out?
Usually, Wednesday night, Friday night, and Saturday. It depends. We definitely go out on Wednesday though since that’s a big SMU night out.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It definitely has a big impact on nightlife. You can go to any event if you’re not in Greek life. But, a lot of the times we’re going to a party at a frat house, an event for my sorority, or organizations will host events or rent out bars. You don’t have to be part of the organization to participate in most events, but that’s just what we do usually. [About 43% of students are involved in Greek life.]
How did your nightlife experience differ before you joined Greek life and were less socially established?
I had less of a routine. Now, I go to the same places and see the same people while last year I didn’t have as solid of a friend group or a list of places where I knew I would have fun or feel comfortable.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
We might go to a coffee shop or walk around Lower Greenville, which is a super cute area, or go shopping in the West Village and then get dinner or go back home and watch a movie or something.
How happy are you with the weekend options at SMU? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
It can be a little dull and lonely on the weekends sometimes because I sometimes feel people party more during the week than they do on the weekends. I feel like a lot of people do homework on the weekends, study somewhere off-campus, or do brunch. Also, the weekends are more for parties during the day and those can get kind of crazy and my friends and I don’t always go to them. Something I would change is I would have more chill things to do on the weekends that’s not laundry.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friends in my dorm. McElvaney is super social. It’s one of the older dorms so it’s kind of trashy, but that is where I met my closest friends. We now also live on the same hall and have made more connections through them.
How would you describe the overall social scene at SMU?
Super friendly. There’s a big variety of people who are artsy or sporty or whatever, so you meet a cool variety of people. A lot of my friends are pre-med, pre-health, and engineering while I’m advertising, so it’s fun to have that variety.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
That’s kind of a sensitive topic at SMU. I feel like people are very aware that there is not a whole lot of variety of people racially or who identify as different sexual orientations. I don’t ever feel like people are judgmental of that or don’t hang out with those types of people purposefully, that’s just the way it’s been. I think SMU is trying hard to change that and are putting effort into that, which is cool. [See The Daily Campus article, “SMU initiatives work toward increasing campus diversity” and SMU News article, “SMU moving beyond diversity to Cultural Intelligence.”]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Everyone mixes a ton. If you’re not in a sorority, it really doesn’t matter. You can usually go to the events and hang out with anyone you want. For example, my closest friends aren’t in a sorority and I spend more time with them than my actual sorority sisters.
How do you like the size of SMU in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 6,500] students?
I think it’s the perfect size because it’s big enough where you run into people every day and you don’t feel suffocated by the same people. But, it’s also smaller where you do see friendly and familiar faces everywhere around campus. You’ll be in the same class as a friend from your class last semester but also be able to meet new people in your new class. It’s nice to be able to walk into the library and see a whole group of friends that you know. I really appreciate the smaller size also because I can have a relationship with my professor and get help from people in my class and be close to them.
Careers
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’m learning Java right now and it’s really interesting. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a firm grasp on it, but maybe by the end of the semester I will.