Admissions

If you're looking at the School of Mines, get ready for an interesting experience. It's not like High School anymore, where you can get by pretty easily. It's a challenge fitting those who want to be the best of the best.

If you want to go to this school I suggest you study hard and become involved in as many extracurricular activities as you can. This school is all about educating their students as well as enriching the community. Currently I am majoring in Geology with a specialization in Paleontology and I am in the Paleontology Club and its Outreach Committee. Being apart of the Outreach Committee is so much fun! I get to go on school trips to various events and public schools to teach young students interested in Paleontology everything I know so far.
After you get accepted get in touch with your advisor right away, you want to make sure that you are signing up for the correct classes. Your advisor will be your best friend in college, especially this one. They are so helpful!
One last thing, the school makes you rent a laptop from them every semester. If you're thinking of buying one for school don't. It's just a waste of money. You get to keep it through your entire college career so don't worry about giving it back at the end of every semester and having to start all over with a new one. It's a pretty nice laptop too.
I love this school! It is so nice to finally go to a school where I feel like I really belong there and where the students that go there are so accepting of every single person there!

Don't be afraid to ask for help. As an engineering student, I know how difficult some of the classes are. And maybe it's just one topic in a class, but there's going to be something you don't get. Ask for help. People are there to help you learn. Go to class, do your homework, but don't forget to get out of your dorm room and meet new people and go to events and have a blast. This school has a great community so enjoy it.

Be prepared for strong academic rigor and expectations. SDSMT does not have the stress level that students in other school of mines programs experience.

Do not come here thinking it will be easy. This is a tough school that is very serious about learning and preparing for your career. If you have not had a rigorous high school schedule you may not be prepared for what you find here. We do not have a high retention rate because we accept a lot of people who, in the end cannot handle what is expected of them, and transfer to somewhere else. If you are considering attending ask yourself if you are willing to not have a social life and put everything you have into your studies. If the answer to this question is yes, then this may be the school for you!

Be prepared for a full work load! This is a school with relatively high standards and in order to be successful, you will have to put forth your best effort. Both math and science are strongly emphasized in any major you choose. Do your research and determine if SDSM&T is the school for you.

Study up on your math skills. If you're like me and want to study science but aren't great at math the school is great at setting up tutors, plus the math TA's are great (they're usually students majoring in mathematics) but it's still a good idea to brush up on it a little bit. Bring warm clothes!

Research the core curriculum and be as prepared as possible.

You should definitely consider if being challenged in your first semester is something you are willing to do. The learning starts right when you walk on campus, so be prepared and have an open mind to opinions of others.