SMU Acceptance Rate and Admission Requirements

May 24, 2022

Southern Methodist University is located in Dallas, Texas. This university is a non-profit private institution that offers a select range of programs to its students. Each year, SMU University admits around 1300 students in different courses.

If you are looking forward to applying to SMU, this article will help you cover the basics of the SMU admission requirements. Read on to know more about the SMU acceptance rate for in-state students, Southern Methodist University acceptance rate for transfer and international students, SMU SAT requirements, SMU GPA requirements, and other SMU admission requirements.

SMU Admission Requirements

SMU requires students to submit their ACT or SAT scores for the application process. SMU’s average SAT is around the range of 1300 and 1480, while the average ACT scores are between 29 and 33. SMU GPA requirements are around 3.68 and 3.89 for admitted students. According to the previous year’s data, of 50 percent of students who applied to SMU, only 23 percent got themselves enrolled. Students can visit the official website of SMU to know more about the SMU acceptance rate, SMU GPA requirements, and SMU SAT requirements.

The SMU admission process is more selective, and the SMU acceptance rate is 53 percent. The SMU’s early acceptance rate is 55.6 percent. Half the students who apply to SMU have an SAT score between 1250 and 1450a and an ACT score between 29 and 33. One-quarter of students who secure admission to SMU have scores above this range, and one-quarter of students have scores below this range.

SMU admission authorities require students to submit their GPA scores and consider it an important SMU admission requirement. In addition, the authorities consider a student’s high school rank, if available, to be an important deciding criterion during admissions.

SMU Admission- Basic Details

Application Deadline – Jan. 15
Application Fee- $60
Common application – Accepted
Early decision deadline – November 1

SMU acceptance rate – Entering Class Stats

Selectivity – More selective
Acceptance rate – 53%
Early decision acceptance rate – 65%

Southern Methodist University Acceptance Rate For Transfer Students

Accepting applications – Fall, Spring, Summer
Minimum credits needed to apply – 24
Minimum SMU GPA requirements – 2.7
Has guaranteed admission agreement with at least one other institution – No

SMU Admission Requirements – For International Students

Application deadline – N/A
Separate application form required – No
Conditional admission offered – Yes
Early decision or early action options available – Early decision and early action both are available
TOEFL (paper) – N/A
TOEFL (internet-based) – Required in some cases
Michigan Test – N/A
IELTS – Required in some cases
SAT – Required in some cases
ACT – Recommended
Advance deposit required – No
TOEFL accepted instead of SAT or ACT – Yes

Southern Methodist University acceptance rate- for Fall 2020

The overall acceptance rate for SMU was around 47.3 percent in 2020. In the Fall 2020 session, the college received 14,000 college applications. SMU receives applications from both in-state and out-of-state students.

SMU Admission Requirements- Data from 2020

SMU ACT Scores accepted in 2020 were between the range of 29 and 33.
SMU Average GPA scores accepted in 2020 were between the range of 3.68 and 3.89.

Is It Hard to Get Admission To SMU?

The SMU application sensitivity is high. This means the school has a high selectivity range for students applying for its undergraduate courses. Many students who can secure admission into SMU, after fulfilling the SMU SAT requirements, and other test score requirements, have their SAT and ACT scores falling in the top percentiles. These students also have high GPA scores.

SMU Acceptance Trends- Past Years and For The Year 2023-2024

Year	Acceptance Rate
2016	48.9 Percent
2017	48.8 Percent
2018	51.2 Percent
2019	47.3 Percent
2020	45.5 Percent

This data shows that the acceptance rates at SMU have stayed the same each year. The 2023-2024 acceptance rate can be predicted following this trend chart.

SMU Yearly Acceptance Rate

2016-2017: 48.9%
2017-2018: 48.8%
2018-2019: 51.2%
2019-2020: 47.3%
2020-2021: 48.5%
2021-2022: 46.04%
2022-2023: 45.5%
Predicted SMU Acceptance Rate for the year 2023-2024: 48.0%

South Methodist University- Comparison Stats

SMU Acceptance Rate- 47.3 percent
National Average- 56.7 percent

The acceptance rate for SMUs is 20 percent lower than the national average of all schools.

Acceptance Rates of Nearby Colleges-

Texas Woman’s University – 93.2 percent
Texas Christian University – 47.2 percent
Southeastern Oklahoma State University – 73.7 percent
Baylor University – 45.3 percent

SMU Admission Requirements- Details

Students must submit their high school GPA Scores.
High School Class Rankings are recommended, not required.
School Records must be submitted.
College Prep Classes are to be submitted by the student.
Recommendation Letters are required.
Standardized Test Scores, like SAT, ACT, and GPA, are required.
TOEFL Exam scores are required.

Fall 2020 Details – Number of Applicants, Percentage Accepted, and Total Enrolled Students

	Total	Male	Female
Applicants	13,959	47.4%	52.6%
Admitted	6,601	47.7%	52.3%
Enrolled	1,544	51.0%	49.0%

SMU average SAT and ACT Scores- Fall 2020 Data

SAT	Score Range
Critical Reading	640-720
Math	660-760
Total Score	1300-1480

SMU SAT scores- SATs on the 1600 scale

1200-1399- 44.46%
1400-1600- 41.32%
1000-1199- 14.05%
800-999- 0.17%
400-599- 0%
600-799- 0%

ACT	Score Range
English	29-35
Math	27-32
Composite Score	29-33

SMU Acceptance Rate

SMU has an acceptance rate of around 47 percent. This indicates that out of 100 students who apply to SMU, only 47 percent are granted admission. The SMU SAT scores of admitted students lie between the range of 1300-1480, while the ACT scores of admitted students are around 29 to 33. The GPA scores of admitted students are around 3.60.

The application deadline for SMU is around January 17 each year. The application procedure followed at SMU is simple. There are a total of four steps involved in the SMU admission process.

They are given below –

Step 1 – A prospective candidate must apply before the deadline. The student needs to visit the University’s official website and fill out the application form. The student can also contact the University and seek help regarding the admission procedures. If a student does not wish to apply online, he can also visit the university administrative office.
Step 2 – In the next step, the student is required to submit the SAT and ACT scores. A student can look into the previous year’s SMU average SAT scores to know if he will get selected or not.

Next, the student should submit the enrollment fee and submit the following documents –

In an essay or personal statement highlighting their personal achievements etc., candidates can include anecdotes from their personal life to highlight their personality traits.
Transcripts – A prospective candidate should submit high-school transcripts.
Official Test Scores – This is not mandatory. However, if some students wish to submit their scores, they can.

Step 3- In this step, a candidate needs to confirm their attendance. They will also be allowed to select their housing and go through complete financial check-ins, like reviewing accounts, tuition costs, scholarships, etc. This step also includes making the first payment and viewing the housing and lodging plans.
Step 4 – This is the final step in the admission process. Once the candidates get selected, they can register for the courses at the University.

SMU SAT Scores- Required

SAT Range	1280-1460
Applicants Submitting SAT	39 percent
SAT reading 25th	630
SAT Math 25th	650
SAT Composite 25th	1280
SAT Reading 75th	710
SAT Math 75th	750
SAT Composite 75th	1460
Average SAT Score	1370

Students need to submit their SAT scores to SMU to begin their admission process. The average SAT score of students who get admission to SMU is 1390. In some cases, the University can consider students who have SAT scores falling below 1390. Nearly 39 percent of students submit their SAT scores to SMU admission authorities.

SMU ACT Scores Required

ACT Range	29-33
Applicants Submitting ACT	63 percent
ACT English 25th	29
ACT Math 25th	27
ACT Composite 25th	29
ACT English 75th	35
ACT Math 75th	31
ACT Composite 75th	33
Average ACT Score	31

Students, to secure a seat at SMU, need to get an average ACT score of 31. The accepted range of ACT scores at SMU falls between 29 to 33. In some cases, students who have an ACT score of 29 can also get admission to SMU. Fifty-five percent of applicants submit their ACT scores to SMU.

SMU GPA Requirements

The GPA score required for getting admission to SMU is 3.7. It is highly competitive, and a student must have an average GPA of 3.25 to get admission into this University.

Final Word

The acceptance rate at SMU is moderately selective. The university requires students to meet their average SAT, ACT, and GPA score requirements. The SAT and ACT score requirements of SMU are moderately competitive.