Southern Methodist University (SMU) vs Dartmouth

Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Dartmouth College, two prestigious institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. SMU, located in the vibrant city of Dallas, Texas, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on experiential learning. Dartmouth, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire, is renowned for its rigorous academics and commitment to undergraduate research. With acceptance rates of 48% and 8.7%, respectively, both universities are highly selective. SMU's popular majors include business, engineering, and communications, while Dartmouth's strengths lie in the social sciences, humanities, and engineering. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these institutions' student demographics, graduation rates, and other key factors, and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Dartmouth College	Southern Methodist University
Overview
Location	Hanover, New Hampshire	Dallas, Texas
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	98.0%	91.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	6.2%	53.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $80 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1440 - 1560	1340 - 1510
ACT range	33 - 35	31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	47.0%	16.0%
Students submitting ACT score	30.0%	23.0%
Total number of applicants	28,356	15,685
Total number of admissions given out	1,750	8,333
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,221	1,572
Yield rate	69.8%	18.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$81,501	$72,336
Average net price	$24,078	$41,986
Tuition	$58,953	$53,464
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,569 Meal plan: $6,792	Room/dormitory: $10,860 Meal plan: $6,578
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	48.0% Average amount $56,106	74.0% Average amount $34,940
Students receiving federal student loan	20.0% Average amount $5,066	25.0% Average amount $5,241
Students taking out private loans	37.0% Average amount $5,335	5.0% Average amount $29,055

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,556 Men 50.7% Women 49.3%	6,908 Men 50.5% Women 49.5%
Graduate students	2,205 Men 50.4% Women 49.6%	5,477 Men 52.4% Women 47.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	97.3%	59.4%
International students	17.0%	8.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,733	3,403
First year students are required to live on campus?	Yes	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California New York Mississippi New Jersey Texas	Texas California Florida New York Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Engineering Social Sciences Mathematics and Statistics	Business Engineering Education Legal Profession Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	93.6%	82.4%
Dropout rate	4.9%	4.7%
Transferred out	N/A	12.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $160,724 Year 2: $167,295 Year 3: $180,970 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $111,259 Year 2: $113,015 Year 3: $128,856 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $85,069 Year 2: $87,604 Year 3: $98,252 Public Health (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $77,715 Year 3: $88,684 Engineering Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,341 Year 2: $78,343 Year 3: $81,883 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,277 Year 2: $64,990 Year 3: $81,813 Area Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,302 Year 2: $48,432 Year 3: $80,946 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,095 Year 2: $62,192 Year 3: $75,463 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,013 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $71,100 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $58,996 Year 2: $61,728 Year 3: $70,914	Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,915 Year 2: $111,196 Year 3: $127,135 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,537 Year 2: $120,363 Year 3: $120,106 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,239 Year 2: $101,558 Year 3: $116,891 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $104,021 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $112,196 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,842 Year 2: $101,072 Year 3: $107,302 Computer Systems Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,251 Year 2: $81,491 Year 3: $100,026 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,824 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $99,671 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $81,633 Year 2: $81,554 Year 3: $99,143 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,678 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $89,611 Operations Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $89,319

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Dartmouth

Alabama A & M University