what is a good LLC to live in? Please say what dorms watch are located in.
bump
There really is not a “best” LLC per say. Many freshmen choose to go to the Redhawks Traditions, but this LLC does not have as much structure as others will. Also, I believe next year they are partially doing away with the LLCs, where you can choose to not be in one.
Do you know if most students use the roommate search tool to find a roommate or if they go with a random assignment?
Also, do you have any idea if the Men in Engineering LLC is popular for Engineering students, or if those engineering students also choose RedHawks Traditions?
We just put down the deposit for Miami, and there are only 25 other students looking for roommates on Miami’s online site. I am wondering if my son is a little behind in this whole “finding a roommate” process!
Thank you SO much!
@OhioIllinois Based on my daughter’s school it seems a lot of kids still have not made a final college decision. So I don’t think your son is behind in the process at all. I’d like to know the success rate of the Find a Roommate tool vs Random Assignment. Unless you really know the other person any process is somewhat random!
My son is an OOS engineering freshman who did not use the search too. He ended up in a designated triple in Tappan Hall, the freshman Honors Dorm. Both of his roommates are also OOS. He gets along great with both of them. On roommate will be going Greek next year. The other roommate and my son plan on rooming together for the next several years. So random works pretty well too.
@Beaudreau Thanks so much! I really appreciate the information. On another note, I this information on the Miami website regarding Freshman Orientation in June:
"One common misperception is that students who attend later orientation sessions will have significant difficulty registering for classes. In reality, seats in the most common first-year courses are released for each orientation session, so students who attend later sessions are not at a disadvantage. "
Did your son find the above to be true?
Also, at Freshman Orientation in June, can the students sign up for particular professors for their classes, or do the advisors make the freshman schedules? Thank you!
The locations of the LLCs vary from year to year. Some of the larger ones, spread across several dorms. Miami doesn’t want students to pick LLCs based on location.
That said, some LLCs stay put - like Honors in Tappan and Emerson. Celebrate the Arts is usually in Collins.
@OhioIllinois My daughter is a current freshman and attended orientation in mid June. She did not have many issues scheduling classes, although her advisor did have to force ad her to a class. Students and parents meet with advisors on day one to discuss and explore their desired schedule. Students are free to pick the classes and professors they need/want. Actually scheduling takes place on day two and students do this with the help of an advisor. But, classes do fill up and I know many students had to pick a second or third choice.
@OhioIllinois - My son’s orientation session was June 17-18. He was able to sign up for all his classes and had a pretty decent schedule, pretty much MWF.
I don’t know about particular professors, but I don’t think my son really researched this ahead of time. So far, he has been very happy with his professors. All have been at least good, and some have been excellent. The Miami emphasis on undergraduate education seems legit.
@Beaudreau We just returned from visiting campus and our tour guide said there’s no shortage of housing for frosh/sophs, and that there are just doubles, not triples! Do you know if your son is an anomaly, or was our guide misinformed? Thank you. My D does not want 2 roommates and that is driving her away from the UC schools.
There are definitely triples in certain halls. I believe the newer renovated halls have moved away from triples, but the older, non renovated ones have singles all the way to quads.
@zenmommy There are definitely triples and quads in some dorms, however I think most rooms are doubles. If your D ends up at Miami, she will be able to specify her room type preference when she signs up for housing. My D ended up in her first choice LLC and with the room type she requested.
@zenmommy - Yes there are some triples (and some singles). My son’s room is in Tappan, one of the older halls that has not been renovated. The room is larger than most rooms in the dorm and is a designated triple.
UPDATE: LLCs are not as huge as I thought, redhawk traditions (the one I picked) was scattered across campus. I wish I was in Outdoor leadership, as they go on camping trips and retreats. Overall, LLCs are only fun depending on your resident hall.
Update on LLC’s - I wish we knew this information last spring …
I can comment on this question now that my freshman at Miami has finished his first semester. Beware of the LLC’s at Miami. There were no LLC’s when I was at Miami, and I’m not sure why Miami implemented them without researching what causes success and failures of LLC’s.
Most freshmen choose “RedHawk Traditions” as their first choice. We know this from talking with other freshman as well as reviewing the roommate search tool that Miami operates in the spring. Most of the kids looking for roommates have RedHawks Traditions as their first choice. Unfortunately, Miami doesn’t believe in honoring a lot of these requests, so recognize that you have a good chance of getting your second choice.
For those that end up in the RedHawk Traditions LLC, you will have many opportunities to bond at sporting events, and you will even have buses from the dorms to the games on family weekend … while the rest of us fight the crowds and park three miles away.
On the other hand, if you are like my son and don’t get RedHawks Traditions, be prepared to be disappointed when you see how boring and uninvolved your LLC is. My son had “Environmental Awareness” as his second choice; it sounded appealing because the description talked about camping and other outdoor activities. (The reality is that there is one camping trip, and if you have a conflict … well, that was your opportunity to go camping for the year.)
The Environmental Awareness LLC is in PEABODY HALL, which is literally the worst dorm on Miami’s campus. It is geographically far from everything and extremely old. The hallways are very wide, and the rooms are spread apart. There are only two floors in this dorm, and there are a few other random LLC’s there (Compass is one that comes to mind). This means that the kids don’t get to know each other as well as a typical Miami dorm, as they are spread out and not even in the same LLC. There is also a rumor that the dorm is haunted. Google this, and you will find it on many websites.
As a Miami alum, I am very disappointed with Miami’s approach to LLC’s. It’s ridiculous to offer one “desirable” LLC - RedHawks Traditions - that most freshmen choose as their first choice. Then, these lucky “RedHawks Traditions” kids get special treatment - special athletic seating, fun competitions between dorms, etc. Contrast that to the small LLC’s which end up in old dorms in lousy locations. It’s bad enough to be in an awful location with no real LLC
programing; it’s even worse when you see how much fun the “popular” LLC on campus is having.
I’d also be careful with the older dorms at Miami if you have asthma or environmental allergies. Our younger daughter had to leave Peabody Hall after 10 minutes on Family Weekend because her asthma flared up. I guess this is to be expected for a building that was built in 1871. (The bathrooms are really old, too.)
In Peabody, several of my son’s friends have transferred out of the dorm during or at the end of first semester because it is so bad. This makes the environment even worse for the kids that remain in the dorm.
Here’s my two cents to Miami’s administration: If most incoming freshmen wants “RedHawks Traditions” - and who wouldn’t want preferential seating at athletic events with school sponsored competitions - then meet all of those requests or don’t have that LLC at all.
Miami recently reintroduced general housing which does not require the choice of an LLC. For this year at least, those students were placed in brand new renovated dorms. I would NOT choose Environmental Awareness as a first or second choice; that has been housed in the awful Peabody Hall for the past few years. As I mentioned earlier, Compass (Career Exploration) is also in Peabody this year.
My son is a freshman and had a much different experience with his LLC. He is in the outdoor leadership LLC and they live in Anderson hall. Their LLC is all one floor. He has been very happy with the LLC overall and with the fit of people together. Maybe it’s the personalities that are drawn to the outdoor adventure activities, but they seem to get along really well. He has commented that it isn’t the case with some of the other dorms. Maybe this is luck, maybe it is that these personalities have a common denominator that fits together well. I would say that there probably isn’t always a right answer or a best LLC, it’s what is right for your student combined with chance of who else chooses it.