That's what BusinessWeek wanted to know, which is why it interviewed Director of Admissions Patti Cudney for a Q&A that runs more than 2,400 words. No doubt you'll read the entire thing, but toward the end, there's a question concerning the university's image worth noting, if nothing else. Jump for it. --Robert Wilonsky
Are there any stereotypes about SMU that you'd like to disprove?
I think that there is an expectation that SMU is all about people that are Dallas natives, connected to one and other. Some people think we're not interested in bringing in people from different backgrounds. I love going around the country and world and talking to students that have no ties to Dallas and talking to them about the benefits about this community and program. I don't think there is an SMU type. There might be an expectation of that, but there really isn't. When I look at the class picture of first-year students, I see so many people of different backgrounds and with different goals, engaging with each other and making this a dynamic program. There's not a type here; we're looking for lots of different folks. If we're offering something that sounds interesting and you're intrigued, don't feel like there's a reason not to apply. We want people to come from lots of different backgrounds.
