Tuition at SMU does cost more

[bubba pony]

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/collegec ... ecost.html

SMU $ 34,210
TCU $ 24,620
Baylor $ 25,493
Rice $ 29,586


I went to SMU a long time ago (Jerry Levias was a senior when I was a freshman) and all 4 years cost $12,000 total. I couldn't afford it now.

[mrydel]

I was there at the same time but thought it was higher. I do recall it went up every semester like clockwork, and apparently has continued to do so. Mine was paid for by the Athletic Department so it did not bother me. It bothers me now that I have college kids including one at NYU.

[Dutch]

a buddy of mine who's a USC alum said that all of his SC buddies are sending their kids to SMU now b/c it's a bargain compared to SoCal. he said it's up to $42k/yr.

[MrMustang1965]

a buddy of mine who's a USC alum said that all of his SC buddies are sending their kids to SMU now b/c it's a bargain compared to SoCal. he said it's up to $42k/yr.

Can any of them play football or basketball?

Baylor will increase its tuition for next year, as described in the following article from the Saturday, Oct. 29 issue of the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Tuition and fees for Baylor University undergraduate students will increase by 7.8 percent for the 2006-07 school year.

The move came Friday during Baylor regents' annual homecoming meeting, traditionally the time they decide tuition. Regents voted to increase undergraduate tuition and fees from the current $21,070 to $22,714 a year, officials said Friday. Tuition alone is to increase 8 percent from the current $19,050 to 20,574.

Tuition and fees also will increase by 7.8 percent for graduate students and 6.3 percent for George W. Truett Theological Seminary students. Law students will see a 12.5 percent increase, officials said.

Baylor interim president Bill Underwood said he told regents the increase is needed to boost faculty and staff compensation after three lean years. According to Underwood, faculty and staff got a 3 percent pay raise this year, but last year no raises were given due to budget cutbacks.

“We simply concluded that that level of tuition and fee increase was absolutely necessary if we are going to continue providing the quality of education that we are committed to providing to our students at Baylor University,” Underwood said. “Any time we raise tuition we do so reluctantly, and that was true in this case.”

The increase is also an effort to restore cuts in recent years to capital budgets to pay for classroom, lab and office equipment, and to catch up on deferred business maintenance, he said. The university is also having to absorb a $2.4 million annual increase in energy costs.

“The increase was the minimum we could do and feel good about the quality of services we are providing our students,” Underwood said.

The increase comes a year after regents raised tuition and fees by 6.4 percent to the current level. According to the College Board, a nonprofit association which administers tests including the SAT, private universities overall raised their tuition and fees by 5.9 percent for the current school year.

Texas Christian University in Fort Worth currently charges $21,280 for a year's tuition and fees, an 8 percent increase over the 2004-05 school year. Southern Methodist University in Dallas charges $26,880 in tuition and fees, a 6 percent increase from last year. Officials with both universities said rates have not yet been set for the 2006-07 school year.

Austin regent Randy Ferguson, head of the Baylor regents finance committee, which recommended the increase to the full board, said he is not sure what effect the tuition increase will have on enrollment next year. This year Baylor enrolled 3,168 freshmen, a record class size.

“There's great concern about the cost of Baylor,” Ferguson said. “It's not taken lightly, and the finance committee is deeply concerned about that and aware of the burden that our tuition can be on some families.”

The news drew mixed reactions from students Friday afternoon.

“It's a lot of money, but then it's a private school and I like that the classes aren't that big, and you expect (higher tuition) to an extent,” said biology freshman Samantha Spears.

Nicholas Citro, a sophomore majoring in music performance, said, “Obviously I am not thrilled. It seems like that's becoming a trend now. I get a scholarship and that helps, but it's really going to make it difficult for some who are thinking of coming here.”

Katie Weiss, external student body vice president and a junior political science major, said she and other student leaders met with Underwood and regents to air their concerns about an increase.

“We understand after it was explained to us why we had to raise tuition this year, but we urged the regents and the presidents to pursue other avenues of funding instead of on the backs of students,” Weiss said.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/ne ... ition.html

[Nacho]

Let me set the record straight about USC. Their average SAT is 1350 and GPA 4.0 for entering freshmen. If anyone "chose" SMU over USC it probably had more to do with the fact that they couldn't get into USC. The average SAT at SMU is 1200 and the GPA is 3.4.

[White Helmet]

I actually thought about both USC and SMU. I choose SMU because I'm a home grown Texas Kid and didnt want to go all the way to California. I would not have had a problem meeting the USC minimums though.

[couch 'em]

Was it that you didn't want to go all the way to California, or was it more SMU's proximity to Adair's?

[White Helmet]

Adair's is just an extra selling point, Im pretty damn sure theres not a place like that in SoCal.

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

Don't forget there wouldn't have been any honeyblonde for you to intake if you had gone to USC.

[White Helmet]

But there would have been plenty of blond honies to take in...

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

Don't let a certain someone see that statement.

[Pony_Fan]

I actually thought about both USC and SMU. I choose SMU because I'm a home grown Texas Kid and didnt want to go all the way to California. I would not have had a problem meeting the USC minimums though.

I went to USC for a year and a half. I didn't like it. The school is nice but the area surrounding it is awful and there is no college atmosphere surrounding the campus. My car got broken into 3x...it's not really safe. Most people live on the beach and commute. When football was not going on in the spring, the campus is totally
empty on the weekend. Yes, the chicks are hot but they also have a larger student body. SMU has some of the hottest chicks for it's size, no doubt.

[No Cal Pony]

Obviously came across this late, but just had to throw this in. I chose SMU over usc. I grew up in a LA suburb that fed a number of kids to usc or ucla. Nearby La Canada High is the second or third in sending kids to sc. Anyway, usc is good, so is SMU. Yes, weekends around sc are quiet, but you are in LA. Why not take advantage of that fact. Also remember a lot of kids come from nearby, so they go home. Reminded me of SMU when I was there.

I went to SMU because it was a better deal, and equal education in my estimation. Plus a better class and student to faculty ratio for my programs.

To judge on the facts, SMU is $23,846 tuition. usc is $32,004 tuition. SAT average for SMU is 1100 - 1300, and usc is 1260 - 1430. Not huge difference. usc's academic advantages come primarily from graduate programs, including a Medical school, which SMU does not have.

I just wish that SMU would half as dedicate themselves in the athletics as usc does. That is the most painful aspect. Granted usc grew in population, and is in LA, but SMU needs to understand that poor athletics relects on the school. I was the chairman of the LASR program after I graduated. Try going to LA area schools and recruit kids when our first level of knowledge is a crappy sports program.

I know I'll hear it when sc wins three straight nat. championships. Aargh.

GO PONIES!

[lugus830]

I graduated from SMU in '02 and I believe that it was about 23k and was about 21k when I started in '98. Education is just another area where increases greatly outpace inflation just like healthcare.

FYI, ya'll mentioned only private schools. Public schools are increasing at an alarming rate in the last few years since the state allowed public schools to set thier own tuition rates on top of the state mandated rates. For instance, my wife is close to finishing her second degree at UNT in Interior Design and the base tuition rate jumped 42% a year ago. Sure, it is still a he!! of a lot less than SMU, but and increase in a increase.

[lugus830]

Ignore the spelling errors as I am trying to type fast since I am at work!