The Unspoken Rules of SMU Group Projects – A Survival Guide
- Jiayi Lee
- Mar 15
- 3 min read
Oh group projects…They are a rite of passage for any student in SMU, but there’s always more to them than what is written on the syllabus. Join writer Jiayi as she shares the ultimate crash course on how not just survive, but thrive in your group projects.
Group projects at SMU are a rite of passage, but there is a lot more to them than what is written on the syllabus. Here is what you would not find in the course guide but will definitely experience at least once.
It always starts the same way — a promising mix of eager faces, fresh ideas, and naive hope that this group project will be different. However, soon enough, reality kicks in: scheduling nightmares, last-minute rewrites, and the age-old struggle of “Who is actually doing the work?”
SMU prides itself on collaborative learning, but if we were being real — group projects here are less about teamwork and more about survival. Here is the ultimate guide to navigating the unspoken rules of SMU group work.
The Groupmate Archetypes You Will Inevitably Encounter
Every SMU student will, at some point, work with these classic group project characters:
The Ghost – Vanishes after the first meeting and resurfaces the night before submission. Their signature move? “Hey, what is the update?” text at 3 AM.
The Perfectionist – Cannot sleep unless the slides have the right font size and alignment. They will redo everything at the last minute, even if it was okay before.
The Calendar Warrior – Loves to schedule “quick” Zoom calls that somehow last two hours. Their Google Calendar is color-coded and terrifyingly efficient.
The Silent Contributor – Never speaks in discussions, but somehow, their section magically appears in the shared document.
The Chaotic Genius – Turns in their part late, but it is so good that no one complains (too much). They thrive under pressure but barely survive deadlines.
Unspoken Rule: Every group has a Ghost, a Perfectionist, and a Calendar Warrior who takes scheduling way too seriously. Identify them early for damage control.
The “What Time Are We Meeting?” Paradox
It starts with one innocent question: “When are we meeting?”, followed by the endless cycle of scheduling suggestions:
“I cannot do Monday, Wednesday, or Friday after 5.”
“I am only free on Sunday morning.”
“Wait, we have something due next week?”
Eventually, someone suggests a time or sends a when2meet link. When no one responds, the meeting quietly ceases to exist.
Unspoken Rule: If no one replies, the meeting was never real to begin with.
The Last-Minute Crisis (a.k.a. The Inevitable All-Nighter)
No matter how organized your group thinks they are, there will always be a moment of sheer panic. Usually, it happens two days before the deadline when someone points out a major flaw:
“Wait… didn’t we need to include primary research?”
“Did anyone check the rubric?”
“We need citations?!”
Cue the frantic messages, the desperate Google searches, and the collective suffering in a GSR until 4 AM. If you have not experienced this yet, you are either extremely lucky or someone else was pulling the all-nighter for you.
Unspoken Rule: No group project is complete without at least one 3 AM breakdown.
The Presentation Game Plan (a.k.a. Who Handles the Tough Questions?)
A group project is not truly over until the presentation is done. Right before stepping into the presentation venue, there is always an unspoken debate:
“Who is taking the Q&A?” (Everyone stares at their laptop.)
“Let’s just pray no one asks about our methodology.” (Spoiler: they will.)
“Okay, just redirect tough questions back to the professor.”
Meanwhile, the designated presenter carries the weight of the team’s academic future, while the rest perfect their “thoughtful nod” technique.
Unspoken Rule: Whoever makes the most eye contact with the professor gets hit with the hardest question.
The Post-Project Debrief (a.k.a. The Tea Session)
The deadline has passed, the grades are out, but one final step remains: the debrief session. Over bubble tea or mala, the group gathers to unpack everything:
“That was a disaster.”
“We carried so hard.”
“Never grouping with them again.”
Unspoken Rule: The real teamwork happens after submission — when everyone finally agrees on who they will avoid next semester.
In a nutshell, group projects at SMU are not just about teamwork — they are a crash course in negotiation, patience, and damage control. Whether you are thriving or just barely surviving, one thing is certain: by the time you graduate, you will have enough stories to last a lifetime; and if you have not encountered these scenarios yet?
Do not worry. You will.