<p>"public honors college" is pure Miami propaganda. It never, ever held any official status in the state system different from any other public university. Show me a single state document or piece of legislation that proclaimed Miami as the "public honors college."</p>
<p>Now, there was a period in the 60s and 70s where--while Ohio State was being forced by the Governor and Board of Regents Chancellor (a former Miami president...hhhhmmmmm) to maintain open admissions--Miami quietly "backdoored" their way into selective admissions through a conscious policy of not building enough dorm space for the baby boomer enrollment surge. A temporary policy that was the result of one Governor's hostility to the state's flagship university and a former Miami president being in a position to protect Miami and enforce a double standard hardly made Miami a "public honors college."</p>
<p>In fact, the quickness with which Ohio State undid Rhodes' policies and passed Miami by in undergraduate selectivity just reinforces the hollow foundation upon which their brief moment of glory was based.</p>
<p>I'm familiar with their "Miami Plan" which was instituted in 1993. There is nothing different to it than the basic liberal arts requirements at any decent university. Some colleges call it a "core curriculum" while others have different names for it. The only thing unique about it at Miami of Ohio was that they were arrogant enough to name it after themselves and try to pretend they invented the wheel.</p>
<p>While I would never call Ohio State a liberal arts college in a million years, I think there is a far higher level of commitment to the basic arts, sciences and humanities there than at Miami--on the part of the administration and the students. At Ohio State the top four and six of the top eight undergraduate majors are in traditional arts and sciences.</p>
<p>What spurred such a negative opinion about the school? Everyone I know who has gone there has absolutely loved the education they received.</p>
<p>My initial response was, I think, a very justified skepticism about considering Miami to be something akin to a liberal arts college when it's somewhat large, has a majority of its students majoring in "vocational" departments and whose "Miami Plan" is really no different than the arts and sciences requirements at a hundred other universities.</p>
<p>My second post definitely had a little more edge to it, but that was only spurred by the "public honors college" nonsense. I've heard it before, but it has absolutely no basis in reality nor was it ever state of Ohio policy. It was solely a publicity ploy cooked up by Miami itself. It had no more legal standing than when OU started calling themselves, "Ohio's first and finest" and slapping that onto t-shirts and bumper stickers.</p>
<p>Don't consider anything as personally directed at you. Just a rebuttal to an egregious examples of Miami's rather prodigious myth making about itself: "public honors college" "liberal arts college" "Miami Plan".</p>
<p>No worries. I can admit that I'm not extremely informed about the school. I was just surprised because I know a lot of people there who really love the academic environment (and prefer it to OSU).</p>
<p>I've had a lot of people suggest that to me in person, but something about Miami makes me feel uncomfortable. I would definitely not consider it a liberal arts college, especially since I have Amherst as my top choice. The two don't compare at all.</p>
<p>I might like Chicago, but I don't like the city very much. The weather is basically what we have in Ohio, but just a little bit worse. That's what makes Davidson so appealing. It's been in the 60s-70s this week in NC, while it's snowing here in Ohio. I'd really like to go to Pomona, but my parents would never let me go to California. It's out of the question.</p>
<p>If I aim lower for merit aid, I don't know how low I should go. I live near Toledo and Bowling Green, neither of which I like. Either would give me more money than I could use, and I don't think that would be an efficient way to spend four years of my life. Maybe that would be best if I wanted to be a nurse, but I don't. I want something intellectual, where my friends will know what I mean when I say, "tenacity" or "lackadaisical." I don't underestimate the intelligence of students at those universities, but I want more than that.</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone's suggestions. It looks like I'm going to have to convince my parents to go on some college visits to get a better perspective. Wish me luck....</p>
<p>JBV, I'm not sure when your spring break occurs. We live down south of you and ours is in another week. DD2 and DW are taking a tour of midwest schools outside OH during the break to see what fits. Even with gas at the price it is, that's not too expensive. We plan to look at OH schools in late spring/early summer. OH has many good schools that offer some merit aid.</p>
<p>^I don't have a spring break. My next vacation is Memorial Day, after all the colleges are out.</p>
<p>If weather's the thing, how about Elon?</p>
<p>Weather won't be a deciding factor, but it will have some influence on my decision, especially since I'll be deciding on a college just after the bitter cold season. I'll consider Elon because it does have a reputation on CC, and it's also much cheaper to begin than a lot of other private colleges.</p>