Admissions

Find out your counselor and sit down with him, talk to him, share your fears, weaknesses, ideas and they will try to help you throughout everything. Make sure you are on time and on track and everything should work out. Help can come in different ways and if one is determined to achieve the impossible then they can, because they believe that it can happen and we are powerful in our faith.

Bring earplugs! And definitely bring a foam mattress pad. You will thank me your first night.

If you are doing your laundry on campus, I recommend doing it in the mornings on the weekend before everyone else is up, or in the mornings on weekdays when everyone else is at classes.

Keep an eye and ear out for scholarships and work-study/job opportunities -- going to this school is expensive, and every little bit helps! You might have to network with the people on campus to actually find anything, though.

Be prepared to work hard! For most teachers, A's are not easily granted. But if you work hard, they'll respect you and help you out all they can.
Take some time out for yourself. Go see some friends or check out an event before you put your nose to the grindstone. And check out great relaxation activities around finals week.

Don't feel too uneasy when visiting a campus. Apply to many open houses as possible.

Be prepared, things move really fast and you'll be pretty busy most of the time

The dorm rooms are HUGE and like a hotel (unless you're in Baran, which is the oldest res hall). So bring whatever you think you'll need. It will most likely fit into your room.

If you have a strict sleep schedule, then bring a noisemaker to block out the noise. Like most res halls, the ones at SMU have thin walls that don't really block out the noise. Baran is especially loud, since it has concrete walls that make it like an echo chamber.

Spangler is BY FAR the nicest res hall. It's for upperclassmen, except for the first floor, which is called the Norcia Leaders Floor. It's a leadership floor for freshmen. You have to apply to be part of it. Definitely consider this. Parsons (the freshmen hall) is okay. It's the newest res hall on campus, but since it's a freshmen hall I think it will be trashed the fastest by the students.

For future students make sure you go to the orientations weather you are a new freshmen or a transfer student, I did not attend and I struggled in my 1st semester finding resources and things like that. Also, get to know your professors, they are all here to help you.