Congratulations on being a finalist for the Presidential Scholarship at SMU. If you get it, it has some amazing benefits. Go to the SMU scholarship finalist visit with an open mind. SMU has some great academic programs and a gorgeous campus. Dallas is a great town, and there are lots of shops, restaurants, etc. very near the SMU campus. My daughter and her Rice freshman roommate were both finalists for the SMU Presidential back in 2017, and they both got in Rice. They didn’t know each other at the time. I hope that bodes well for you. Both of them chose Rice over SMU, but finances weren’t an issue for either of them. Rice was my daughter’s dream school too.