Southern Methodist University Early Action / Early Decision for Fall 2025 Admission

Colleges & Universities Southern Methodist University
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Take it for what its worth 3rd hand but there is a SMU Redditt thread where 2 people said they called and were told next Friday.

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I wish these admissions offices would release some data prior to the decisions, so we have some context for what to expect (UGA does this and it helps a lot).

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UGA is one of the most transparent and organized AO office. Love them.
It sucks though that for EA they primarily filter only super high stats - most of whom would not even enroll.
I’m sure most of their yield will actually be from RD, but it’s a little too late for many great yet deferred OOS applicants, who’d have already made up their mind by the time their RD decisions are released.
I’d much rather have them take another 4 weeks and accept/reject more OOS applicants. Just my personal opinion.

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Agree 100% (mom of a kiddo that was deferred from UGA).

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Has anyone heard anything new regarding a possible EA release date?

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The 2023 numbers that SMU reported in their common data set show that they received 7,646 early action applications and accepted 6,202. I heard they received a 40% increase in early applications so if that’s true, I guess that would mean they received roughly 10K applications. Their yield is usually about 10%. It will be interesting to see if this year’s increased applications changes the way they handle early action. These numbers make us hopeful, but the increase in applications is concerning for those who students where SMU is their top choice. Fingers crossed!

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Also did test optional here despite having a pretty good SAT score in my opinion. We were told not to submit the SAT score because it could result in a lower merit scholarship (since they are competing with the reported 1400-1500 scores) and it was not necessarily needed for admission. Hope that advice we received holds true. Looks like only 32% of enrolled applicants submitted scores in 2023.

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Not a word. I know a few reported on Reddit that they called the admissions office last week and were told it would be December 21st. That is a Saturday which does not make much sense, particularly given historical release dates. I suspect they meant to say “by December 21st” since that is graduation day and the end of the semester. I guess that means it could be any day this week.

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Same thinking on our part too. No idea if it was the right decision, let’s hope so! Good luck!

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Out of curiosity, does your student’s application portal still show “awaiting SAT score?” I thought that was strange since we were test optional. But perhaps it is just in case my student changes their mind. She did receive an email saying her application was complete last month so I am not too worried about. Good luck to your kiddo also! This is a stressful week by far.

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Huh. No, it says “click here to report ACT or SAT scores” and there’s a check box but nothing on the checklist itself?

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When is SMU EA notification?

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Did your son report any AP scores? I ask because on the common app, it asks something like, “Do you wish to report any SAT or AP scores?” My daughter checked yes because she wanted to report her AP scores. When she printed out the submitted common app, it just says “Yes” for testing so am guessing that’s why that option appears. Otherwise have no idea lol.

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oh I’m not sure if he did or not, maybe not and that’s why the difference. Would make sense!

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When we visited SMU the admissions officer for Meadows said students with SAT scores below 1460 should not submit. They said doing so would be detrimental to your application.

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I’ll be glad when schools stop test optional policies. It unnecessarily inflates the submitted scores. Either require or refuse to take them. It’s crazy when kids who scored in the 90th percentile are not submitting.

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I agree. My S25’s SAT score would have been great 10 years ago and now its questionable at best for good schools.

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We didn’t submit scores either-- the SMU scores look so incredibly high but that’s only because so few applicants report them. Then, the next year they get even higher for the same reason. It looks great for the school on paper but it doesn’t really mean that everyone at SMU could achieve a 1490 on their SAT. It’s misleading.

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Any word on when EA notification is? This week hopefully??

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I would think they would have to release this week if they’re sticking to December.

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