So my son is set to from HS next May. It appears he is listening to mom and will decide between SMU and TCU. I have two questions for those in the know.

1. Which school has a better academic reputation both in Texas and US?
2. Maybe for the younger posters, which do you think will be an overall more "fun" and enjoyable college experience.

He is a pretty typical kid. Wants to study finance or economics. Conservative. Loves college sports and since these are both pretty small schools, I would imagine he would pledge a fraternity (against my better judgement).

Actually, I would say TCU is pretty conservative when it comes to most of the rich white kids that attend.

Historically, SMU has been stronger, but TCU's business school is strong and has been rising.

I think they are so close academically, it should come down to culture and feel. Both schools take their 'feel' from their home cities. If he likes the Fort Worth culture and the stock show and football, go TCU. If he likes things a bit more cosmopolitain and doesn't care for sports, SMU.

Since you mention sports, I think he would be happier at TCU.

Smu better reputation

Definitely a lot of year round skiers at SMU. I agree tho very plugged in to the business world in Dallas.

I would post on the business & investing forum and ask the folks who make hiring decisions which grads are better prepared in their opinion.

Good luck to your son!

I attended TCU and graduated in 2015 with a degree in Strategic Communications. Looked at both TCU and SMU and originally was going to be a business major but couldn't pass Calculus at TCU so settled on Strategic Communication.

Both are fantastic universities. SMU has better business connections in Dallas, NYC, and Houston. TCU has better connections in Fort Worth, Austin, Chicago, and California.

If your son loves sports, cowboy culture, and a smaller city feel, TCU is the school for him. If he's looking for the big city atmosphere and a dominant Greek life, SMU would be the school for him.

I was a member of BYX, leader of a homeless ministry organization, and interned off campus for a media company. Loved my time at TCU and the friends I made. Many of which now work all over the country. I ended up at an AdTech firm called Simpli.fi as an account manager and am now on the consulting side of the company. If your son needs a good word in a couple of years for an internship, PM me! I don't think I would've ended up there if I had not attended TCU.

Thanks Crotty andt TA1992. Great advice. I would say he is 50/50 but for some reason I can help but think TCU would be a better experience for him.

SMU by a mile

SMU for reputation. The only reason anyone out side of Ft Worth knows about TCU is that one year when they had a decent football team.

I'd assume they would be about the same for a frat based social life.

Thanks, Duncan. I will say, so far TCU has been much more welcoming and accommodating, etc. From what I can tell that do a really good job on selling the "horn frog" experience. I was also surprised to read that nearly 60% of incoming SMU freshman are from California. I still find that hard to believe.

BoDog said:

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Thanks, Duncan. I will say, so far TCU has been much more welcoming and accommodating, etc. From what I can tell that do a really good job on selling the "horn frog" experience. I was also surprised to read that nearly 60% of incoming SMU freshman are from California. I still find that hard to believe.

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SMU is the SoCal back-up school.

I'll give you the same advise I give everyone else.

Step one: figure out what you want to do.
Step two:get on LinkedIn and figure out where people who have that job/attended that grad school did their undergraduate degree
Step 3:apply there

The primary driver for where you kid goes to school is how well it sets him up for the next step. But balance that against the cost.


The most challenging part is step one. Mostly due to the shifting job market and kids' ignorance of what you can do with a specific degree.

Pick the cheaper option. Both schools are on the same level.

Good advice. Having just gone through this last year, there's a lot more to it than name status.

I wouldn't rule out anywhere before spring break. That's the time where you really find out what schools have to offer. Most schools are arrogant, some are desperate, but some Look better every day. Ours made the choice that was obvious by the end of spring break and it has been a perfect fit. If he went by name status, or settled for in state, it would have been a mistake.

His legacy roommate from Dallas Highland Park flunked out. Not that that's a bad thing. High school achievements open doors, but you have to take care of business. He maybe should have chosen a local CC until he was ready for the responsibility. That's a tough choice, more so with a high achiever.

Hecubus, mind me asking where you son decided to go?

BoDog said:

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So my son is set to from HS next May. It appears he is listening to mom and will decide between SMU and TCU. I have two questions for those in the know.

1. Which school has a better academic reputation both in Texas and US?
2. Maybe for the younger posters, which do you think will be an overall more "fun" and enjoyable college experience.

He is a pretty typical kid. Wants to study finance or economics. Conservative. Loves college sports and since these are both pretty small schools, I would imagine he would pledge a fraternity (against my better judgement).

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Grow a pair!!!!!! Tell he and his mother you'll pay for any school as long as it's Texas A@M. Both tcu and smu are jokes!!!!!!!

Ha, not a chance. As long as the Marxist (Sharp and Young) are running the show... not another dime!

Ha. I will try again. Lost a good friend, an uncle, and the boy's girlfriend was critically injured in a car crash just before she was to leave for NYU, all in the last month. We also managed to move the boy into an apartment in Madison Wi with four roommates. The sophomore slums.

He started his second year at UW and will be classified as a senior by the end of this Fall semester. He works in a research lab on the top floor of the chemistry building, made the MUN travel team his first semester, managed to get his CNA certificate and spent the summer on the Covid front line at an assisted living center. They recorded 30 Covid (half patient, half staff) cases and only one fatality. A whopping $14/hr, less than his friends made in fast food, in the worst job I can imagine plus full Covid garb. He is pursuing an L&S honors BA, Chem Honors BS, BioChem BS, Biology honors minor, and a global health minor. He is considering adding a business minor.

UW beat everyone else by a mile in what they had to offer. They were on the radar because our son thought they had a better chemistry program than UM and NW. It was a surprise to us all. We learned how much they had to offer during the process. It started with a scholarship offer before acceptance. All honors classes in a top research flagship that really likes him was/is the perfect fit. It's very similar to his high school experience at Westlake. Every AP credit transferred, he got credit for all math, physics, and foreign language requirements in his degree plan. He only had to take one English class for the L&S honors degree. His classes are all small, extremely challenging and filled with over achievers.

He applied to a lot of name prestige schools, but none were ranked as highly in his main field, none had the research opportunities, none took all the AP credit, none had the total college experience, and all cost more than twice as much. That was my first trip to Madison. We are having brats, cheese curds, and Schneider Weisse for lunch.

Duncan Idaho said:

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SMU for reputation. The only reason anyone out side of Ft Worth knows about TCU is that one year when they had a decent football team.

I'd assume they would be about the same for a frat based social life.

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Which year are your talking about?

2008 TCU finished #7 in the country
2009 TCU finished #6 in the country
2010 TCU finished #2 in the country
2011 TCU finished #13 in the country
2014 TCU finished #3 in the country
2015 TCU finished #7 in the country
2017 TCU finished #9 in the country.

Or maybe it was the five times that TCU attended the College World Series

2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

So shooting from the hip. You live in Texas, you know the universities general reputations.

Can you tell me what TCU and SMU are generally good at? What do they do better than public schools? Your son might not fit the mold of the normal private college kid, but for the rest of his career he will be given snap judgements on resumes for it. You really don't want to be a big fish in a small pond, if your kid can't pull an amazing GPA at a smaller private school, thats a tough hole to climb out of when job hunting. Even then, a smaller school benefits greatly from jumping to a better graduate program/incredible opportunity in industry.

I've volunteered for recruiting efforts at the company I work for. I'm telling you right now that every Fortune 100 recruiting division has schools they intentionally target, and ones they don't waste their time with. Its all about the pool of quality applicants. A&M is seen as a great resource for generally smart kids who are hard workers. There are definitely other universities whose reputation is pumping out smarter kids, but that hard worker/generally sociable reputation goes far. Jobs are fought against a nationwide pool. You haven't shared your son's major or career aspirations, but go look at what companies their career day's bring in.

Is your son's first steps in their career going to be more about what he knows or who he knows? If he goes to SMU/TCU, do you think he's going to fit in with the private school/greek crowd?

I've got a technical degree here's my ranking of schools in state I would send me kid to if they swore off A&M:

-Texas




-Texas Tech (Please no)
Wouldn't even consider private schools for a technical degree but if I had to:
-TCU
-SMU
-Baylor

If you can't convince them to come to A&M, and they don't have the academics to get into Texas or A&M, I would seriously consider other SEC schools like Auburn.

Interesting assessment, however, inaccurate it may/may not be. Having done our "research" I feel that I have probably 2 dozens emails from people I network with (in an assortment of industries) that speak very highly of both SMU and TCU grads-though I am not interested in debating the merits or strengths of either school.

None of the bigger state schools do anything for him. Frankly I love A&M, but if I could do it all over again I would have gone to a smaller school as well. It is just a different experience-good, bad, or indifferent.

Personally, I would choose SMU, but you see what you like.