Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    American costs about $9.1K less per year on average than Southern Methodist ($51,726 vs. $60,825, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    Southern Methodist's SAT midpoint is 45 points higher than American's

    SAT midpoint
  3. 3

    Southern Methodist graduates 4 pts more of its students than American (82% vs. 79%)

    Graduation rate
  4. 4

    American's grants cover 32% of its full price on average, vs. 29% at Southern Methodist

    Aid generosity
  5. 5

    Southern Methodist's yield is 2 pts higher than American's

    Yield rate
  6. 6

    American has 1 pts more Pell recipients than Southern Methodist (14% vs. 13%)

    Pell Grant recipients

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

American admits 62%, Southern Methodist 63%; Southern Methodist's yield is higher, at 18%.

Acceptance rate
Southern Methodist63%
American62%
Quad's selectivity
  • Southern MethodistVery selective
  • AmericanVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
Southern Methodist
1340–1490
American
1280–1460
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • Southern MethodistGPA, school record, and prep program required
  • AmericanGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

Southern Methodist and American are about the same size; American has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Southern Methodist7.3K
American7.3K
Pell Grant share
Southern Methodist13%
American14%

Majors and faculty

Finance leads at Southern Methodist, and International Relations and Affairs at American; American has 10 students per faculty member to Southern Methodist's 11.

Students per faculty member
Southern Methodist11 to 1
American10 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • Southern MethodistFinance, General13%
  • AmericanInternational Relations and Affairs18%

What each costs

American costs about $9.1K less a year than Southern Methodist on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Southern Methodist$60.8K
American$51.7K
Aid generosity
Southern Methodist29%
American32%

What each pays off

Southern Methodist's former students earn more, a median $78.4K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 70% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Southern Methodist$78.4K
American$77.4K
Graduation rate
Southern Methodist82%
American79%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got less selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • Southern MethodistGrowing+29%
  • AmericanGrowing+14%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why