<p>Hey all. I'm a somewhat recent graduate of UD, and I'm willing to answer questions to the best of my ability. I do not officially represent the school in any way, but I do think I was a pretty typical student and am now living the life of a "typical" grad. Ask me anything, I'll be honest.</p>
<p>Some background info:</p>
<ul>
<li>Graduated within the last 3 years</li>
<li>Arts & Sciences major</li>
</ul>
<p>I'll check back as often as I can.</p>
<p>Sure, I got some questions :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How was your financial aid package? Your stats? </p></li>
<li><p>Do you know what scholarship offers are like for children of alumnus?</p></li>
<li><p>Are you currently working in the Dayton area? How hard/easy was it to obtain a job with your degree?</p></li>
<li><p>Are students at UD really that “Happy”? Does the Princeton Review ratings do the school justice?</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the Honors program like? Is Berry Scholars still around?</p></li>
<li><p>How is student housing? Food?</p></li>
<li><p>Why did you choose to attend the University of Dayton? Was this a good decision?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good questions.</p>
<p>1) My financial aid package was awesome. It was not initially merit-based, but I got some merit aid in later years. UD paid a lot more for my education than I did, so I’m not complaining. My stats were around a 3.0 HS GPA (no weighting, mostly Honors classes), low 30s ACT and around 1400 SAT. I initially did not get into UD; they only let me in through a trial admissions program that I’m not sure still exists.</p>
<p>2) I’m not really knowledgeable about legacy scholarships, as my parents didn’t attend UD. A quick review of the website shows what looks to be a National Alumni Association Scholarship and others. [url=<a href=“Admission : University of Dayton, Ohio”>Admission : University of Dayton, Ohio]Scholarships[/url</a>] No research conducted and no personal experience with those, unfortunately.</p>
<p>3) I worked in the Dayton area after school. It was easy to find a job (note that I obtained my job pre-recession). I don’t know anyone who has struggled. All of my friends are employed or in grad school. I left my job to go to law school.</p>
<p>4) Yes, UD students are that happy. I think PR underrates the school in that category (and every other), but maybe I’m biased ;)</p>
<p>5) No personal experience with the Honors Program as I skated into UD by the skin of my teeth (see above). I knew some Berry Scholars, as far as I know that program is still around.</p>
<p>6) I love the student housing. I lived in all three “old” dorms (Founders, Marycrest, Stuart), but I lived in those before the recent renovations. They’re really nice now. The upperclass housing is probably the best student housing arrangement I’ve ever seen. Most juniors/seniors live in houses right on campus that are owned by the University. I lived in a furnished house with my best friends about a 4 minute walk to class. My cost came out to about $300/mo including utilities, wireless internet, maintenance, etc. I live in a major city now and pay several times that for my student housing, so, yeah, the Housing at UD is fantastic.</p>
<p>I liked the food a lot at UD, but I’m a burgers/fries kind of guy, so I didn’t really experiment with anything fancy. I do know that they had a lot of options, with different theme “restaurants” in the dining halls, daily specials, etc. An interesting fact I read about the dining halls: they no longer have trash cans. All utensils are washable or recyclable, and food waste is composted. I thought that was interesting.</p>
<p>7) I only considered three schools: Miami University, Dayton, and Ohio State. After visiting the three, Dayton was an easy choice. Financial aid made costs the same. I visited Dayton first, and the whole time I was at Miami and OSU I kept comparing those campuses to UD. Eventually, I realized I should just go to UD. I made the right choice.</p>
<p>I hope that answers your questions. If you need more specific info, I’ll try my best to expand on my responses here.</p>
<p>^No, that’s great. Thanks so much for the info!!!</p>
<p>Thanks for offering to provide info. I went to Xavier and I must admit it bugged the hell out of me to find how much I liked UD after taking my son on a campus visit in August. UD is on his short list and merit money is going to play a big part in the final decision.</p>
<p>Hey, Xavier’s not so bad. ;)</p>
<p>I’m happy to answer any more questions about the university, living in Dayton, or anything else.</p>
<p>And one great video to get everyone excited for the basketball season: [YouTube</a> - Top 25 Preseason Video](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCa4A3fIHgo]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCa4A3fIHgo)</p>
<p>Any more questions?</p>
<p>jmeyer-</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Dayton is not a high-interest school on CC, despite its impeccable programs, so I wouldn’t count on many responses anytime soon. </p>
<p>However, please don’t go away. We need a voice for the Uni here on CC, especially since IMO it is one of the most “up and coming” schools in the nation.</p>
<p>Thanks. I had never heard of this site until a fellow law school classmate mentioned it. Maybe it’s not popular at UD for some reason, or maybe it wasn’t around when I was applying, but I’ve never heard anyone at UD talk about it. I’m not sure why that is…</p>
<p>I’ll stick around and check in every so often to answer questions. Finals are coming up so I’m busy, but if anyone has any questions I’ll try to respond as soon as I’m able.</p>
<p>For anyone who is interested in finance, UD was on CNBC today for its student-managed portfolio (~$10mm of the endowment) [University</a> of Dayton - News Article](<a href=“News Home : University of Dayton, Ohio”>News Home : University of Dayton, Ohio)</p>
<p>I really just stumbled onto Dayton the other day when I was poking around schools for DS#2 (current hs junior). It really does come off as impressive on Princeton Review! This kid <em>might</em> have an interest in business, so I think Miami is on the list. Any other direct comparisons between M of O and Dayton?</p>
<p>I think he (DS=son, right?) should visit both schools to make a decision. Most students, I think, can tell where they’d rather be after a campus visit at both schools. They’re similar in a lot of ways, but different in some important aspects.</p>
<p>I’m busy for a few hours but I’ll come back later to give my perspective and maybe explain why I chose UD over MU.</p>
<p>Great. (And “DS” is another one of those annoying CC acronyms. “Darling Son”. You’ll all see “DD”, “DH”, but, hmmmm. . . never “DW”!)</p>
<p>As I mentioned in an earlier post, I visited Dayton before Miami and OSU, and found myself comparing the MU and OSU campuses to UD’s. I really loved UD’s campus, facilities, and people when I visited, so I had the UD-glasses on when touring other schools. Also, these are my opinions and are obviously individual and personal, so visiting students could have completely reversed, but equally valid opinions. Your mileage may vary, etc.</p>
<p>Campus / facilities
The campus is mostly red brick and ivy with cobblestone walkways, with pockets of modern buildings that mostly fit well with the overall theme. Similar in a lot of ways to Miami, actually. But a few things set UD apart. First, while both the MU and UD campuses are based around the 100+ year old red brick buildings found throughout campus, I generally found the interiors of the beautiful old buildings to be much nicer at UD. It sounds lame, but having a clean, modern space with adequate electrical outlets, wireless connectivity (I concede that this was a bigger deal when I was visiting schools in the earlier part of this decade), decent lighting, comfortable common areas, etc can make a difference in mood and productivity, especially at this time of the year when everyone is studying for finals. This isn’t a knock on Miami; Miami really does have a beautiful campus.</p>
<p>I haven’t been in a Miami building in ~3 years, so I can’t speak to how much renovation has been done there, or how functional the buildings are now, but that was an impression I had when I visited the schools.</p>
<p>OSU had a completely different feel for me than MU and UD. I think the size was a big factor in this. Even though OSU felt smaller than I expected it would, it was just too large for me personally. Many people will obviously feel differently.</p>
<p>Let me give some background so you can get some perspective: I’m now in law school at a top-10 program at one of the top universities in the world, and honestly, I find myself missing the facilities at UD. Don’t get me wrong, we have great facilities here, but they’re not what I would expect from a school with several times as much money as UD. The seats are uncomfortable and the lighting isn’t great in most classrooms. Honestly, I never thought of myself as someone who cared about this sort of thing, but here I am. The paragraph above is influenced by my current situation, as I probably didn’t focus on facilities nearly as much until I started spending all my time in sub-par buildings ;)</p>
<p>I have one final point: Miami’s basketball arena is terrible, and UD Arena is legendary. If you’re a basketball fan, this is beyond dispute. 
:)</p>
<p>Surrounding area / town:</p>
<p>I also considered the surrounding area of each campus I visited. I’m not a big college-town type of person, but I love the traditional campus feel. I found that UD had a good balance between these two competing interests. The campus is sort of its own bubble about ~1-2mi south of downtown Dayton. In the middle of campus, you’d never know you were so close to an urban area, but if you want to get away there are plenty of things to do in Dayton that don’t exclusively involve college students. It’s harder to find those events in smaller college towns. This is another point that is a completely personal consideration, but I offer it for whatever it’s worth.</p>
<p>The People:
Another difference I noticed between the campuses involved the attitude of the current students/administration/faculty. When I toured UD, random students stopped our tour group to say hi to the tour guide, offer their own perspectives, tell us how much we’d love it at UD, etc. A professor walking by said hi to our tour guide. It all seemed very genuine, and not corny or planned or anything. At the other schools, I just felt like current students wanted us to get out of the way (I was in a much larger tour group at Miami/OSU than at UD, so I don’t necessarily blame them, we were totally blocking the pathways 
). I also found some of the stereotypes about Miami (J Crew U) when I visited; pastel popped collars as far as the eye could see. To be fair, I may have just noticed this more because I was aware of the J Crew U/preppy reputation MU has, but I thought students at UD and OSU seemed a little less “preppy” to me. A preppy campus certainly isn’t a negative in itself, but it affected my perception of how comfortable I would feel and how well I would fit in, rightfully or wrongfully.</p>
<p>Reputation:
I’m not sure how accurate my assessment here is, since several members of my family attended Miami and now live in Cincinnati (I don’t live in Cincy), but I get the impression Miami has a better rep in Cincinnati than UD. I don’t think it’s because of any difference in quality, but rather for these factors:</p>
<p>1) There are several times as many Miami grads in Cincinnati than UD grads. Remember that there are several times as many students in the Miami University System as there are at UD. Another part of this is the fact that Cincinnati is essentially Miami’s home market, since Oxford isn’t really a market in itself, while UD has an actual city to itself. Another part is that UD, being private, has a more geographically diverse student body (I believe about 60% of apps and about 50%? of UD students come from outside OH, MU has a much more OH-focused student body). Dayton grads may disperse across the country more than Miami grads, but I have no evidence of this at all, just anecdotes.</p>
<p>2) And, Cincinnati is loyal to Xavier, its Catholic school. UD and XU are rivals, so the city is just generally more focused on Xavier news, sports, etc.</p>
<p>Outside of southern OH, I don’t think there’s any difference. I live in a major city now and I don’t think anyone is drastically more familiar with one school than the other. People are definitely more familiar with Ohio State, but that’s not surprising.</p>
<p>I have friends from UD working for big banks (err… maybe not anymore, ), in selective grad programs, Peace Corps, etc. You can do all of these things from Miami, UD, OSU, etc. For most students at any of these three schools, the name on your diploma won’t open any more doors than the other two would have. It’s the other factors, like grades, internships, recommendations, etc. that will make the difference when interviewing or applying.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don’t have much personal knowledge about the business schools. I think OSU’s is the best, but I really don’t have any basis for that outside of rankings… I have no new information to give - sorry!</p>
<p>So, I hope that’s a decent run-down of why I chose UD. Keep in mind that different students can have completely different impressions of schools after visiting, so it’s really important to make a trip to both schools before getting too far into the application process, in my (humble) opinion.</p>
<p>If you have any further questions, I’ll try my best to answer them. Good luck!</p>
<p>Jmeyer did a great summary. Personally, most of the people at my school and other schools, including myself, strongly prefer UD and its campus enviromnent over Miami of OH. </p>
<p>From what I have obsereved on campus visits to both Miami and UD, Miami is snobby, pretentious, and not a healthy atmosphere in which to grow, while UD really lives up to PR’s write-up. IMO, Miami earned its titles of “little race interaction” and “alternative lifestyle is not an option” due to its bad atmosphere, and its significant drop in its USNWR ranking refects the severity of this problem. Miami is also significantly more “party-oriented” and less focused on academics. </p>
<p>However, I am not a student, and being the child of alumnus from both schools, I can say that this is just what I have observed from having close contact with both schools over many years. I cannot speak for OSU.</p>
<p>I’ll weigh in on this thread since my S and I visited both before deciding on UD. He’s a freshman this year. Miami is a very LARGE campus. Very spread out, lots of quads, bus system to carry you between classes. UD is a compact campus and very easy to get around especially from Founders Hall (freshman dorm) about a 2-minute walk to classes. Miami is a public school and offered pitiful OOS money. UD offered great merit aid and a surprise engineering grant on top of that. Miami is in the middle of nowhere. UD is in Dayton, but sadly the city is becoming vacant. The Greyhound bus station just moved out of the city to the northern suburbs. What used to be a convenient walk is now a $25 taxi ride. Miami is big on ice hockey. Their football is nothing to speak about since Roethlisberger. UD is awesome in basketball. I’d say a visit is necessary to figure out what appeals to your S. I have a D in jr year of HS now and we’ve just started the hunt! Good luck!</p>
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</p>
<p>The Greyhound bus station moved northwest of the city to Trotwood, home to the former Salem Mall and my attitude toward life (spent many good years there). T-Wood is actually faring worse than the central city, which has been making some good strides recently.</p>
<p>(A Good Source of Recent Developments: [The</a> Official Dayton Development Thread (Kettering, Beavercreek: 2009, house, university) - Ohio (OH) - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/dayton/817499-official-dayton-development-thread.html]The”>The Official Dayton Development Thread (Kettering, Beavercreek: house, university, mall) - Ohio (OH) - City-Data Forum) )</p>
<p>The RTA Trolley Bus System can easily take you from the bus station to UD, and it is very cheap (think like a buck or two round-trip). Dayton is one of only five cities left in the nation to have a trolley bus system, which keeps transit cheap and reliable. Many cities, with the with the rise of gas problems, have been looking to install similar transportation systems, such as Cincinnati an hour south.</p>
<p>Speaking of transportation, I noticed Dayton had a ride board. I haven’t seen one since I was in college eons ago. Maybe that’s not what they call it, but it’s a place where students can post if they need a ride home or if they have a car and are willing to give others a ride home. It’s a great idea!</p>
<p>^Yeah, they do have a “ride board”, in the basement of Kennedy Union by the bowling alley. You are right, it is a great idea, but I thought other places had them too???</p>
<p>(seems like I saw one at Miami the last time I was there :/)</p>
<p>The Ride Board is a classic at UD. It even made the list of notable sites in this video [YouTube</a> - Where the hell is Matt UD Edition](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cwYhOKnQuA]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cwYhOKnQuA) at 1:07</p>
<p>(For those who don’t get it, the video is based on this famous internet video [YouTube</a> - Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY))</p>
<p>Finished with exams, still available for any questions…</p>
<p>Happy holidays :)</p>