“The Southern Millionaire’s Club.”
If you are a student at SMU, you’ve probably heard this nickname before. However, the image of rich white kids from the South perpetuated by the stereotype is not a true picture of SMU students.
Currently, 72 percent of 6,228 undergraduate students receive some sort of financial aid, according to Marcia Miller, the associate director of compliance and reporting at SMU. SMU allots $40 million to financial aid each year.
Miller believes that the numbers suggest the stereotype that SMU students are wealthy is incorrect because 3,000 students applied for aid last year.
“We have close to 40 percent of the undergraduate student population on some type of need-based aid, and we’ve seen an increase of about 300 students needing aid since 2009,” Miller said.
The financial aid office is always available to help students procure aid and answer any questions students and parents have about completing the forms. Miller recommends that all students, even those from wealthier families, apply for aid and fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
“We help people realize their dream of completing school here,” Miller said.
Mollie Royal, a freshman marketing major and communications minor at SMU, receives $45,000 in aid a year from scholarships, need-based aid and student loans.
How did Royal obtain so much aid? By pushing herself academically. Ranked seventh in her high school class, graduating with a 4.2 GPA and 18 college credits under her belt, Royal works hard to do the best she can scholastically. She also works a part-time job to help pay for school expenses, such as textbooks.
“Getting aid makes me want to do better and prove to the school that I deserve that aid,” Royal said.
Cost was a factor when Royal applied for colleges, as it is for so many students. Her parents encouraged her to take out loans and apply for scholarships. Is the high tuition cost worth it? “Yes, it is definitely worth it,” Royal said. “I like the atmosphere here. It’s a lot more high class than other schools.”
Zachary Ahmed, a sophomore financial consulting major and finance minor, is another student who combats SMU stereotypes. His need-based aid and loans cover almost his entire tuition cost. Ahmed filled out the FAFSA and SMU’s own need-based aid application, the College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS).
“I was surprised freshman year at how much aid I got,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed also researched various loans before applying to SMU, and receives the Texas Beyond Time loan, which is available to all Texas high school students. If he finishes school within four years, his loans will be treated as grants.
Like Royal, Ahmed is a hard worker, and thinks that SMU is worth its high costs.
“You can’t get a better opportunity to show your skills and what you’ve learned,” she said.
Another common misconception associated with the SMU stereotype: all females (and many males) are part of Greek life and these students are predominately white.
Despite receiving neither financial aid nor scholarships, Surayya Nagji bucks the stereotypes surrounding SMU students. She is a member of the 21 percent minority population on campus and a member of the 65 percent of females on campus who don’t participate in Greek life.
Nagji, a math major, initially attended Syracuse University to distance herself from home. But when homesickness set in, she made the move to UT Arlington, and finally, to SMU.
Nagji doesn’t regret her transfers.
“You experience things and learn things and realize everything happens for a reason,” she said.
Nagji made a deal with her parents in order to pay for tuition: she has to keep an average of 3.2 at all times. Every year, she fills out the FAFSA and applies for scholarships. Her parents will only pay for eight semesters, so finishing within a time limit is important.
Nagji, like Royal, believes the education at SMU is worth the high fees.
“SMU professors are so much more involved in your life here than they are at UT Arlington,” Nagji said. “Math and science teachers are more accessible and easier to talk to.”
Royal, Ahmed and Nagji illustrate that wealthy white students are the exception to the SMU student body, not the rule. They strive to do something with their education, and don’t take the opportunities they’ve been given for granted, proving that SMU is not the “Southern Millionaire’s Club” that some people believe.
