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whoa - not so fast. Duke is not a benchmark school - they are close to Ivy in their admissions selectivity. Most of the people there are sad and uptight - but just talkin numbers alone.

THe number of applications matters a ton. This NEXT years freshman class will be the result of sifting through 40% more applications - average SAT and likely average grade points will move up markedly. You have to start with a bigger applicant pool to be able to be more selective. I do agree - it matters who they are - for example TCU has application numbers well higher then ours and ends up with a far lesser student on average.

Just saying - all things staying the same moving your application pool up 40% is going to make everything move up - and SAT is waaaay more important as a measure then grades - you think the guy with a 4.0 from Woodrow worked as hard as the guy with a 4.0 at St marks?

To tie this back to football - there is at minimum a very strong correlation to the increased visiblilty of the school through football success and the increased number of applicants. not really rocket science.

Think what you want...I was at a SMU dinner here in chicagoland last thursday where we discussed our benchmark schools and how we are taking steps to be competitive...All of those schools where mentioned....

Niemi frequently brings up U of C and Northwestern in his Chicago area talks of what he wants SMU to become and represent in Dallas....

I don't disagree that most often those kids are sad and uptight and SMU is trying to find a balance, but the top jobs all recruit at those schools, and while SMU is at the top of the regional schools, on a national level it isn't there yet. We need to find a good balance.

The new dorms will be nice and a great boost for campus life. Good for the greeks too as many guys will choose to live in the house rather than dorms. All dorms will be faculty in residence and have frequent lectures, class space, ect. It is a step towards Duke, Vandy, Northwestern, Emory, ect. Freshman quad and boaz will be modified to accomadate as well.

The SMU fundraisers all understand the importance of athletic improvment relative to the increase in applications. They are smart people trying to help us get better in all areas.

Samurai Stang wrote:

Stlhockeyguy02 wrote:Our four year grad rate is really laughable...especially considering the bench-mark schools we "measure" ourselves against.

TCU
4-Year Graduation Rate: 50%

Texas
4-Year Graduation Rate: 51%

Texas A&M
4-Year Graduation Rate: 45%

Tulane
4-Year Graduation Rate: 59%

SMU
4-Year Graduation Rate: 59%

The actual figures disagree with your claim.

An additional three examples are included below for the purpose of providing amusement:

Houston
4-Year Graduation Rate: 12%

NTSTC
4-Year Graduation Rate: 18%

UTEP
4-Year Graduation Rate: 4%

very interesting...but irrelevant because it's who YOU (let' be honest lots of people on here share this misconception) think we actually compare ourselves to.

every time i've been in a meeting on this subject with sr. administrators i keep hearing "Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice" over and over again.


and to be honest 4 yr grad is a silly thing to measure by because a significantly large minority (if not the majority) of college students never graduate in 4 yrs.

Add USC to the benchmark schools. I know I was down to USC and SMU and somehow chose SMU.

i would agree except for the fact that they are in califonia

mustangxc wrote:Add USC to the benchmark schools. I know I was down to USC and SMU and somehow chose SMU.

USC considers SMU its Texas branch. It has always brought me amusement.

Funny how we never got around to playing any games if this is indeed the case. Hmmm???

I personally have no problem with not being Duke or Rice. Have you seen those schools? It's where America hides their ugly and socially awkard children for four years.

Get used to it. Duke has been a benchmark for SMU for quite some time now. SMU admin is moving to get as many ugly and socially awkward students with high SAT in here as possible.

I'm a fan of this, as it'll make me look better at alumni events by comparison!

I wonder if in 20 years the school will change the Cox commercial to say "SMU. The alma mater of the Dallas unattractive elite."

I propose a blue-ribbon commission to explore ways to ensure a healthy level social awareness among incoming students.

Stlhockeyguy02 wrote:I wonder if in 20 years the school will change the Cox commercial to say "SMU. The alma mater of the Dallas unattractive elite."

I propose a blue-ribbon commission to explore ways to ensure a healthy level social awareness among incoming students.

Mandatory screenings of Animal House every other Friday.

mustangxc wrote:Add USC to the benchmark schools. I know I was down to USC and SMU and somehow chose SMU.

I asked HB Pony Daughter why she even applied to SMU when their FB Team sucked and she was a USC Legacy?

SMU strongly recruited her, and when I finally visited the campus I saw the similarities, that is when I started to be a Pony Fan.

She made the correct choice.

Now I find myself touting SMU here in socal.

Amazing transformation!

Samurai Stang wrote:

mustangxc wrote:Add USC to the benchmark schools. I know I was down to USC and SMU and somehow chose SMU.

USC considers SMU its Texas branch. It has always brought me amusement.

If anybody considers us their Texas branch, it should be Vanderbilt. Their people founded the school.

Wasn't it estimated that our 2009 Hawaii bowl was worth around 30 million in marketing exposure? This in turn leading to the increase in applications that have been talked about here so far. Dr. Turner knows these things, and he should use them to the advantage of the school and raising academics.

Direct Link to the podcast...

R. Gerald Turner, President, Southern Methodist University