Southern Methodist University (SMU) vs Emory University

Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Emory University, two prestigious private research universities located in vibrant cities, offer distinct educational experiences. SMU, nestled in the heart of Dallas, Texas, boasts a smaller student body, with an acceptance rate of 48% and a focus on business, engineering, and the arts. Emory, situated in Atlanta, Georgia, has a slightly higher acceptance rate of 22% and is renowned for its strong programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and healthcare. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, attracting students from across the nation and the world. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into the specifics of each university, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.
Emory University logo

Emory University

Southern Methodist University logo

Southern Methodist University

Overview

Location Atlanta, Georgia Dallas, Texas
Campus setting City: Large Suburb: Large
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 95.0% 91.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Methodism Methodism

Admission

Acceptance rate 13.1% 53.1%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $75
Undergraduate: $60

Graduate: $75
SAT range 1420 - 1540 1340 - 1510
ACT range 32 - 34 31 - 34
Students submitting SAT score 37.0% 16.0%
Students submitting ACT score 27.0% 23.0%
Total number of applicants 33,435 15,685
Total number of admissions given out 4,364 8,333
Admitted students who chose to enroll 1,494 1,572
Yield rate 34.2% 18.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Required
Recommendation letters Required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Not required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $75,594 $72,336
Average net price $28,367 $41,986
Tuition $54,660 $53,464
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $9,254

Meal plan: $7,048
Room/dormitory: $10,860

Meal plan: $6,578
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

56.0%
Average amount $44,517
74.0%
Average amount $34,940
Students receiving federal student loan 21.0%
Average amount $5,029
25.0%
Average amount $5,241
Students taking out private loans 3.0%
Average amount $24,114
5.0%
Average amount $29,055

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 7,130
Men 42.2% Women 57.8%
6,908
Men 50.5% Women 49.5%
Graduate students 7,649
Men 36.3% Women 63.7%
5,477
Men 52.4% Women 47.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Low
Out-of-state students 85.8% 59.4%
International students 16.1% 8.1%
Campus local/setting City: Large Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity 4,813 3,403
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from New York Georgia California Texas New Jersey Texas California Florida New York Illinois

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Health Professions
  • Business
  • Legal Profession
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Social Sciences
  • Business
  • Engineering
  • Education
  • Legal Profession
  • Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio 9:1 12:1
Institutional accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome

Graduation rate 90.0% 82.4%
Dropout rate 9.4% 4.7%
Transferred out N/A 12.4%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $172,813
  • Year 2: $162,817
  • Year 3: $170,655
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $131,170
  • Year 2: $134,287
  • Year 3: $154,242
Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $133,992
  • Year 2: $135,250
  • Year 3: $149,929
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $103,815
  • Year 2: $104,440
  • Year 3: $115,844
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $97,878
  • Year 2: $100,571
  • Year 3: $109,263
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $73,250
  • Year 2: $83,177
  • Year 3: $107,288
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $74,396
  • Year 2: $72,711
  • Year 3: $92,305
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $72,076
  • Year 2: $77,283
  • Year 3: $89,530
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,923
  • Year 2: $66,325
  • Year 3: $78,482
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $59,886
  • Year 2: $57,318
  • Year 3: $74,925
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.
Emory University Emory vs Samford University Samford University
Emory University Emory vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Emory University Emory vs University of California-Davis University of California-Davis
Emory University Emory vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
Emory University Emory vs American University American University
Emory University Emory vs University of Miami University of Miami
Emory University Emory vs South University-Savannah South University-Savannah
Emory University Emory vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Emory University Emory vs Boston College Boston College
Emory University Emory vs Harvard University Harvard University
Emory University Emory vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Emory University Emory vs Northeastern University Northeastern University
Emory University Emory vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Emory University Emory vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Emory University Emory vs New York University New York University
Emory University Emory vs University of Rochester University of Rochester
Emory University Emory vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Emory University Emory vs Wake Forest University Wake Forest University
Emory University Emory vs Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University
Emory University Emory vs Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University
Emory University Emory vs Marquette University Marquette University
Emory University Emory vs Stanford University Stanford University
Emory University Emory vs Chamberlain University-Georgia Chamberlain University-Georgia
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Pepperdine University Pepperdine University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of Denver University of Denver
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Georgetown University Georgetown University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Emory University Emory University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Boston College Boston College
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Harvard University Harvard University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Northeastern University Northeastern University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Cornell University Cornell University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Duke University Duke University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Elon University Elon University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of Tulsa University of Tulsa
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Lehigh University Lehigh University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Villanova University Villanova University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Brown University Brown University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Belmont University Belmont University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Tennessee State University Tennessee State University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Baylor University Baylor University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Miami International University of Art & Design-Art Institute Dallas Miami International University of Art & Design-Art Institute Dallas
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of the Incarnate Word University of the Incarnate Word
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Rice University Rice University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Trinity University Trinity University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Marquette University Marquette University
Southern Methodist University SMU vs Stanford University Stanford University