SMU Costs More Than Ivy League’s Yale

by Sydni Brass

Yale University is ranked the number two university in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. SMU is ranked 68. It’s much tougher to get into Yale than SMU, and Yalies are more likely to have graduated at the top of their high school class.

Yet, it costs more to attend SMU than Yale:  $37,230 at SMU versus $36,500 at Yale.

Those figures, which exclude room and board and other fees, come from the College Board, which gathers data from higher education institutions around the country. SMU’s tuition is also as high, or nearly as high, as at most other Ivy League schools ranked in the nation’s top 10, including Harvard and Princeton.

So why, in a city where the cost of living is fairly low, are we paying more for an education that may arguably be not quite as good?

Jose Bowen, dean of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, said a lot of what students wind up paying in tuition has to do with the size of the university’s endowment. Harvard, for instance, was able to radically change its tuition structure because of its large endowment after criticism that not enough poor students could afford to attend.

“The biggest difference is the size of endowment and the way schools can structure costs and scholarships,” Dean Bowen said.

Nine percent of students in the United States attend universities, including SMU, with tuition and fees of more than $33,000, according to the College Board. SMU senior Taryn Baker is concerned about SMU’s high cost.

“Students who graduate from SMU get less job opportunities than Harvard grads and most make less money than Harvard grads do,” she said. “I don’t think it’s fair we’re paying Ivy League prices when our future income probably won’t be as high as theirs.”

Other students, though, say that they are getting their money’s worth at SMU.

“We’re paying for a private education and a great atmosphere here so it doesn’t bother me that it is in the Ivy League price range,” said junior Samuel Marasco.

Patricia LaSalle, SMU’s Associate Vice President for Public Affairs, provided information gathered by Cambridge Associates, which provides research to universities, showing SMU is more expensive than Yale and Princeton. Harvard students, on the other hand, pay a little more than SMU students.

In recent years, SMU has been dubbed “the Harvard of the South” due to a more selective admissions process attributed to a larger applicant pool. In 2004, SMU admitted 64.3 percent of its applicants, while in 2008 it admitted only 49.7 percent of applicants.

Still, that’s not nearly as selective as Ivy League schools where they admit only a fraction of students. For instance, SMU admitted 53 percent of all the applicants who applied for the 2009-10 school years. Yale admitted only 8 percent.  At Yale, 96 percent of its students graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class. At SMU, only 43 percent of students graduated in the top 10 percent.

While there has been an increase in selectivity over the years at SMU, it is matched by an equally steady growth in tuition. Between the academic years of 2003-04 and 2008-09, there has been an increase of more than $8,000 per school year.

“SMU is in Dallas and our classes are small.  We have wonderful programs that Harvard does not have like Advertising, Journalism and fantastic arts programs,” said Bowen of SMU’s intrinsic value.

SMU is currently the most expensive private school in Texas, with tuition that is higher than Baylor University and Rice University.

In a letter to SMU students in December, 2008, President R. Gerald Turner wrote that “SMU’s tuition and fees compare favorably to other national universities.”

President Turner did not respond to interview requests for this story.

In the fall of 2009, SMU increased its tuition by nearly 6 percent. But due to the economic downturn, administrators have decided to increase tuition by a smaller percentage than in previous years starting in the fall of 2010.

Regardless, students on a tight budget or who are working their way through college still struggle to make it through four years without the burden of heavy debt from college loans.

Some students may not believe that the debt is worth it for an education that may not be as respected as an Ivy League degree.

“I had no idea we pay an Ivy League price to go to here. I don’t think our education is comparable to the education students get at Harvard and we definitely don’t have the Harvard reputation,” said SMU junior Anna McIngvale.

Opinion Blog: Deep in the Heart of Texas Politics

Posted by Elizabeth Siebman

In Texas, Tea Party activists and Democratic Party candidates are sounding anti-incumbent messages. With a particularly vicious Republican primary election this year, the Texas GOP will need to quickly reunite after March 2, to maintain its prominence within the state.

Texas’ political landscape is predominately Republican Party red. The party controls both seats in the U.S. Senate, 20 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and over 130 seats statewide. After GOP wins in New Jersey, Virginia, and Massachusetts this past year, the Republican Party is positioning itself for numerous wins during the 2010 midterm elections nationally.

In a New York Times article from August 2009, the incumbent governor, Rick Perry, likened the election to a “civil war, brother against brother.” Perry wants to gain the votes of Tea Party activists by questioning the policies in Washington, at the executive and legislative level. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina, a newcomer to statewide politics and a Tea Party activist, are taking on the current governor for the nomination. Hutchison is campaigning against current Austin policies and politics and is hoping to gain momentum from independents and the anti-incumbent movement. However, Medina is winning support among Tea Party activists. Recently, polls show Medina holding around 20 percent of the vote. Republican debates have demonstrated this “brother against brother” mentality. Candidates point fingers regarding causes of problems but maintain that they can solve Texas’ issues.

However, while the Republicans fight against each other for nomination, Democrat candidates, Bill White, former major of Houston, and Farouk Shami, owner of the hair care organization Farouk Systems, are advocating for a change in Austin. They point to corruption at the executive level, a weakening education system, and problems that have not been solved within the current administration. The anti-incumbency fervor that has risen could prove useful for Democrats.

The civil war that has erupted over the governor’s position must come to an end and the sides must unite behind one candidate in order to reunify the Republican Party. The GOP needs to show voters that they represent Texas’ interests and they want to further those interests and produce results. If the sides do not reunite, then Texas might add a bit of blue to the political mixture in the November election.

Video Preview: SMU vs. TCU Rivalry

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Courtenay’s Cuts: Session 3

I’m going to borrow a line from the Misfits this week and say “Texas is the reason!” All my selections for this week come to us courtesy of musicians from this very great state.

OLD
Janis Joplin – Cry Baby (1971)

Hailing from Port Arthur, Janis is not only one of the best in Texas but arguably one of the best American artists. You can hate her voice, but you can’t deny it is unique. As always, I’m a sucker for the blues, and this gem from her 1971 album Pearl is blues city. Check it out.

NEW
John David Kent and the Dumb Angels – My Girl (2009)

I can honestly say this song finally got me to dabble in the Texas country scene of today. And I’m glad I did! John David Kent comes from Celeste. Some trivia for you Ben Kweller fans out there (another Texan worth mentioning): JDK was the drummer in Radish, a band of which BK was also a member of. All I can say is listen to this song! You’ll love it. Then you can go check JDK and the Dumb Angels and Somebody’s Darling out at Granada this Saturday (9/12). It’s gonna be a fun time – those who buy tickets get the new Somebody’s Darling CD for free! Talk about recession fun.

BORROWED
Buddy Holly – I’m Looking for Someone to Love (1957)

Buddy Holly is in this category not for what he has borrowed, but for what his very influential place in the history of rock and roll. So he’s not the borrower, but the lender. I know it’s a stretch, but just go with it! A Texas list would not be complete without Lubbock-born Buddy Holly. This is a fun little ditty.

BLUE
Blind Lemon Jefferson – See That My Grave is Kept Clean (1927)

Does it get anymore classic blues than Blind Lemon Jefferson? Listening to this song gives me chills – there’s nothing bluer than death. This one really hits home for me. I suppose his mysterious death only 2 years after the release of this song may something to do with that as well. This song has been covered by many different artist, including Bob Dylan, but my favorite is still the original.

by Courtenay Paris

Exxon Mobil Company Expecting Billions in Investments Despite Quarterly Drop

By Katherine Helms
khelms@smu.edu

Exxon Mobil Corp. announced Thursday, April 30, that its first-quarter earnings fell 58 percent from this time last year. The company, based in Irving, Texas, acknowledges that this drop is greatly influenced by the downturn in the economy, but has expectations to still invest $29 billion in multiple projects by the years end.

“We’re managing this business through the downturn as we have in the past and we’re very pleased with our position in the industry when this thing turns around,” said investor relations chief David Rosenthal in a conference call.

Exxon is the largest publicly traded petroleum and petrochemical enterprise in the world. The company has three main units: upstream, downstream and chemicals. Upstream handles the exploration, development and production of oil and gas, basically meaning it is in charge of finding and getting the oil out of the ground.

Downstream handles the refining of oil and gas and getting it to consumers, and chemicals takes products from the refining process and uses them to make a wide variety of products such as plastics, rubber, alcohol, and adhesives. All three of these companies are integrated.

Bruce Bullock, director of Maguire Energy Institute, explains that Exxon Mobil’s results, along with those of other major oil and gas companies like BP and ConocoPhillips, generally reflect an environment of much lower crude oil prices, lower natural gas prices, and a reduction in demand globally for the commodity. Exxon’s upstream earnings fell to by $5.3 billion; about $4.4 billion of that drop was the result of lower crude oil prices, while the plummeting of natural gas prices resulted in a decrease in $500 million.

“Exxon Mobil is an extraordinarily rigorous and disciplined company. It takes a long-term view and invests its capital in a very disciplined manner so it will do well in down turn. They are acting no differently. As evidence, its first quarter capital expenditures were up 5%,” said Bullock.

The earnings for the first quarter this year totaled $4.6 billion, which is down $6.3 billion from last year’s first quarter results. But this is not the first time the company has felt the heat. The last time Exxon Mobil had lower earnings was in 2003 when it reported a net income of $3.65 billion in their third quarter.

Vic Pyle is one of Exxon Mobil’s in-house attorneys and explains that because of the company’s “long term and disciplined approach” it does not overreact to market swings. Meaning, it does not overspend on exploration and capital investments. When prices are high excess money is not spent, and it does not cut back when prices are low.

Pyle explains that the company has a business model that it follows which combines a consistent, long-term perspective with disciplined capital investment and it focuses on operational excellence to maximize shareholder value.

“Our global, integrated operations allow us to ensure good return on investment over a range of economic conditions,” said Pyle.

During Thursday’s conference call, Exxon Mobil officials discussed new natural gas projects, for example the Qatar liquefied natural gas project, which is projected to be running at full capacity by the end of the year. Other projects discussed included natural gas shale projects in Canada and Germany. Rosenthal explained that these major project startups “demonstrate our continuing commitment to bring additional oil and gas supplies to the market.”

“All I would like to say here in closing is we had a very good quarter operationally. Our plans are progressing as we expected,” said Rosenthal at the conclusion of the conference call.

Once the oil market recovers, Bullock believes that Exxon Mobil will benefit from increased production volumes from these projects and from price increases.

“They are generally recognized as certainly the best managed major oil company from a financial standpoint,” said Bullock.

Campus News Blog: Texas Job Market Continues Downward Spiral

Posted by Nicole Jacobsen

The state of Texas’ jobless rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent as 47,100 more people lost their jobs in March, according to an article from The Dallas Morning News.

Good news for some – the unemployment rate in the state of Texas is still well below the 8.5 percent national average, but most feel the economy is still sinking, giving them no hope of landing a new job. Take for example the hundreds of college graduates, especially journalism majors. Talk to any number of them at SMU and chances are maybe one in 10 will have a job when they graduate. For undergraduates, getting a summer internship has proved to be much more challenging than in years past.

For those seeking an internship, many students are being sent automated e-mails saying the company is either not hiring or not taking on summer interns, leaving students scrambling to enroll in either summer school or apply to grad schools.

In terms of jobs in the Dallas area, according to the Texas Workforce Commission:

– In March, the biggest job losses at the state level hit construction, which shed 18,800 jobs; manufacturing, which lost 11,900; and professional and business services, which lost 11,600.

– Texas employers added 5,800 jobs in the trade, transportation and utilities category in March, plus 3,100 in financial activities. Government employment was unchanged in March from its level the previous month.

While the future doesn’t look too bright, there is hope on the horizon as our economy looks to recover from this slump.

All Fired Up for Black Tie and Boots Ball

Posted by Kaci Koviak, 7:28 a.m.
More than 11,000 people are expected to attend the Texas Black Tie and Boots inauguration ball Monday night. The rumor is true . . . Texans do it big!

All 21 students from SMU were given tickets to the event for free. Only one stipulation: We have to give up two hours of our night to help out the with event. I think that’s a pretty good bargain for the chance of a lifetime.

The ball will be held at the Gaylord National, located on the banks of the Potomac River in Maryland. It’s absolutely gorgeous. We have a Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, but this one is a lot newer and seems to be a lot bigger.

We showed up for orientation Sunday and got a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation for an inaugural ball. Members of the staff were working non-stop.
I can’t wait for Monday night when everyone will put on their dancin’ boots, eat some barb-b-que and celebrate the presidential inauguration Texan style!