Hi there, I’m a premed student. I, unfortunately, applied late to Miami and was not able to be considered for any honors program. I can get into UHP from the spring, however I really love the premedical scholars program, and they only give it to incoming students. So, now is BU’s Uni Scholars (their highest honors) worth dropping for MiamiOH? Also, Baylor costs 10K more than MiamiOH. Thank you
We visited both and were not impressed by Miami of Ohio. Also have 9 other admits, including Virginia, Emory, USC and Babson…but we believe our son is going to Baylor.
He’d apply for Business Fellows but similar type program.
@2020lastone Thank you very much for replying! I’m trying to rule out other options to commit to a college soon. What are some reasons that you guys are choosing Baylor? This will help me make my own decision.
@goldmidnight7 Below is some helpful information for you to consider as an aspiring premed student. I am glad to see that you are utilizing previous poster’s comment for assistance in why to select Baylor v. eliminating Miami. I know several practicing medical doctors who happily completed their undergraduate degrees at Miami. With additional medical school costs looming ahead of you, finding a great match for yourself at a lower cost among all of your potential options is worth considering.
@goldmidnight7 I forgot to add that for #1, above, regarding a variety of opportunities, it is also important should you decide to change majors at some point.
@73743666 Thank you so much for the detailed response!!! I really appreciate the time and care. I actually like both Baylor and Miami. The reason I’m mostly thinking about dropping Miami is because although I got 31K in merit aid, they said they can’t offer me UHP this year due to no space. I also can’t get UASP throughout my four years, so I won’t be a part of premedical scholars. Now, I believe that my application is very competitive for it, and I really don’t want to be missing out on opportunities. Baylor’s University Scholars is their flagship program, equivalent to the Presidential Fellows, and that offers some distinctive opportunities. If given UASP and UHP at Miami, I think I might go there due to it being 10K less, and I feel like I might get a tad bit more aid from Miami if I appeal. I’m also looking at @2020lastone opinion to make sure that if I give up Baylor, I’ll do that knowing all the opportunities I said no too. @73743666 Do you think going to Miami is worth it without UHP and UASP? For context, my stats are (4.0UW, 1510 SAT, 800 chem, 760 Bio)
@goldmidnight7 Miami’s Presidential Fellows is full-tuition, full room and board, plus a stipend–is that the same with the Baylor University Scholars? If so, you are likely in a better position to go to Baylor. Or, wait, I just realized that you said that there is a $10,000 difference between the two schools. Perhaps, you should reach out to Miami and any of the schools you are still considering and let them respond to your concerns that you may not be getting the opportunities that you believe that you would get with Baylor’s University Scholars program. Getting the information straight from the source should provide you a greater perspective about what’s really possible to give you the experience you would like. The answers you find will surely bolster the confidence you have in your decision, whatever institution you choose.
@73743666 Thank you for your help. No, Baylor’s University scholars is not a scholarship program; however, it carries the same prestige as Miami’s Presidential Fellows. Baylor’s University Scholars is an open curriculum program where you are waived from the school’s requirements and are given an opportunity to concentrate in 3 or more different subject areas. I’ve heard that its especially good as a preprofessional degree as it allows you to combine things like biochem, public health, and maybe compsci. That’s the combo I’m interested in. I’m really leaning towards baylor right now. If Miami ends up offering UASP and UHP this year for me, then I’ll definitely consider Miami because its cheaper.
Also, I’m not sure why but I feel like Miami is not reaching out to me. Like I know that sounds weird, but I have had zoom conversations with honors college professors, biology students, and my admissions officer from Baylor. They reached out to me personally and were encouraging me to commit. They even actually increased my aid to decrease the cost of attendance. On the other hand, Miami is refusing to even accept my honors application. Like, I know its a late stage, but I would just love for them to look at my application and then say no, you know. Aren’t they expecting a dip in enrollment due to COVID-19? I thought that they would be a bit flexible, but yea.
@goldmidnight7, my son applied early and was invited to Miami Honors program. Full disclosure, I had a bias FOR Miami. My college fraternity was founded there and I was excited to make the trip as a parent. That didn’t last long. We found everything to do with Miami was a mess. When applying, they then wanted you to do a separate honors application but didn’t have dates right…the university didn’t know how to use common applicationwith their honors program. I’m a parent of an applicant but found myself telling them how to make the applications work so it wasn’t messed up and showing them online how other colleges were doing successfully what they weren’t able to figure out. The campus was supposed to be beautiful. Meh. And it takes a major effort to get there. We went to Redbrick tour in our city and went to a day on campus. Presentations were “predictable.” On campus, it was surprising that the fountain at the dorm didn’t work, the microphone didn’t work at the presentation etc. TO your previous point, their follow up was late and uninspired…they flat out didn’t care. Our recruiter was a bit smug and not service oriented. Contrast, Our Baylor recruiter has answered 10 emails i’ve sent same day. The associate dean of the business school told us to call him anytime directly. The Invitation to Excellence was the best recruiting event of 14 colleges we intended. Over staffed, precision execution, very cordial and transparent. AN ability to connect with the whole university on one night and people came ready to work. The next day, as a parent, i found myself tear up several times…thinking perhaps they will help me raise my child to be a strong person with a good life. At the end, my son got into many of the finest academic universities in the country and those that would be perceived much greater than Baylor. But he didn’t pick them even though his bias was to attend a school for status and respect. After Covid social isolation, my son was so sad about being alone and not having social engagement, that he asked himself…where will i be happy, where will I have a good life, where will I fit in, perhaps meet a spouse, be cared for and supported, where will I have access to professors and a myriad of other similar questions. With 11 admits and a waitlist that converted, he chose Baylor. I was stunned…I wanted him to pick the best school but knew he wouldn’t be happy there and rather, he picked the best school for him that met his needs. With 12 schools to pick from btw, he considered 11…Miami was the only one that didn’t have a chance.
@goldmidnight7 I think Miami is very strict about their deadlines with the honors program. I have also heard their enrollment numbers are not down much at all.
Our dealings with them since last summer have been stellar. @2020lastone, your description is vastly different from all our experiences. My student will be in the honors program and one of the UASP. Also, one of 15 chosen as a Presidential Fellow. The parent/family pages and assistance have been great. My student has loved the accepted student FB page and really loved getting to zoom into some current classes with her chosen major.
@3xPink If you don’t mind, can you share your student’s stats and extracurriculars?
@goldmidnight7 My student has not given me permission to do that so I will speak in generalities. Definitely a top 1-2% for ACT. All A’s with 9 AP classes. National recognition for 2 varied activities. Many state level awards. 100 plus volunteer hours. Numerous leadership positions at school and city level. Very active in the arts plus forensics/debate. No sports since 9th grade. We don’t qualify for anything need based so Miami’s merit was a huge draw. It was a perfect fit beyond that and we were going to find a way as OOS to make it work no matter the PF outcome. I am sorry you missed the Honors/UASP deadline. I know some of the UASP are stronger than others as far as how much they do. Our student is not pre-med, but there is a physician in our house and they were very impressed with several pre-med students who spoke during a general session at Make it Miami and at a UASP presentation. Seems like their med school admission stats were pretty high.as I am sure Baylor’s are as well. Since Miami is very undergraduate focused and has few grad students, underclassmen can get involved in research from first year. Campuses are so different so I would think you need to determine which one fits you best. Good luck in making your decision. If you feel like you aren’t getting all the help you need, go straight to their director of admissions. She is awesome and would definitely help you get to the right people.
@3xPink Thank you very much for telling me this! I wish I really applied earlier. It sounds amazing. I have spoken to the international director and admissions counselor yesterday, and they said: “If you only applied earlier, you would have qualified”. I think I’ll be sticking with Baylor’s University scholars program. The open curriculum really draws me and I don’t think I’ll be happy at Miami without UASP.
@goldmidnight7 It sounds like that might be the best decision for you. Baylor is an awesome school. I don’t think you can go wrong with them! Best wishes to you!