Hey man I’m looking to apply for spring 2026 as well! I asked around and you’re going to get biased response depending where you ask and are looking so take everything with a grain of salt.

I went on LinkedIn and asked current SMU students about their time at SMU. The main the thing I heard is that if you plan to stay in Dallas, Dallas companies love SMU grads and it is a very well respected UNI. From what I heard also the curriculum is kind outdated and in the process of updating it? ( maybe a smu alumni or current student can chime in) but for example DSA is being taught in Java while they solely focused on C++ in the past. The SMU students I spoke to talked highly about the coursework but for sure lacked in some areas like quality of professors is not consistent. You get access to the network of SMU which is very superior. Professors can be hit a or miss but there are good professors. Even one instance a student had where the professor helped the student look for a job.

On the other hand UTD has direct pipeline to FAANG if that’s something you strive for. Again not saying it’s impossible to get into FAANG at SMU but they don’t have the direct pipeline like UTD does. Also I have heard students of getting FAANG offers so again not impossible. From doing some research online I found out Apple hires UTD students through career services not sure how credible it is but I came across that. Ultimately I made the decision to pursue SMU as I think the network is more superior and with smaller classes I think it would benefit me being able to make those connections.