<p>I'm currently helping my high school junior daughter develop a list of colleges to visit. We live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. My son goes to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio so we are very familiar with that campus. It is the only school in Ohio that my daughter is considering. She would like to go out of state and to a school that is "different" than where most students from her high school attend (which would be Ohio State or Miami).</p>
<p>Miami Pros: Beautiful Campus, excellent academics with easy access to professors, medium size campus</p>
<p>Miami Cons: Oxford is very small and the main weekend activities are bars/partying. She is very social but not into drinking (knock on wood that this continues:)
She has heard that there is lot of pressure on girls to look/dress a certain way. My daughter is attractive and into fashion but is equally comfortable running around in athletic clothes and no makeup. Also, she doesn't want to end up seeing the same people from high school (she wants a new and different experience).</p>
<p>On the other hand, she doesn't like the fact that Ohio State is so urban and that the campus doesn't have a consistent feel to it. </p>
<p>I'm thinking that Indiana might be a good fit for her because the school is bigger than Miami yet smaller than Ohio State. Also, while I have not been to Bloomington, my understanding is that it's a medium size college town which would place it between the size of Oxford and Columbus.</p>
<p>The only cons I can think of so far for Indiana are cost for out-of-state students. It's hard for my husband and I to justify the cost of a state school for an education equal to that of both Ohio State and Miami. </p>
<p>I'm trying to understand the merit scholarships available for out of state students at Indiana. Daughter's stats are 4.1 weighted gpa, hoping for at least 28 on ACT, AP and IB coursework, varsity and jv sports, volunteer work, journalism awards. </p>
<p>Can anyone who has first-hand knowledge of all of the above schools and Indiana merit awards comment please? Also, if you're an Ohio resident why did you or your student decide on IU?</p>
<p>It will be difficult to answer your question about OOS merit aid because it changed this year. Last year you were guaranteed a certain amount based on your grades and test scores. Now they give you a range of $1000 to $11,000. I am OOS and IU was very generous with my merit aid last year. Not from Ohio so cant speak on that</p>
<p>That’s disappointing to hear that it changed…I thought that I read something about automatic merit scholarships but it must have been an outdated webpage.</p>
<p>I am a freshman this year and have only been on campus a couple of days. So far I love it. I am far from home so that will be an adjustment but so far so good.</p>
<p>baseballmom94 - My son is in his second year at IU and in-state admit that received an automatic scholarship. I remember the admissions office talking about the potential changes that are now in place. They were saying that the automatic scholarships were becoming so popular that they were needing to change so they can put an ultimate limit on the amount granted in any given year. Over the time that the automatic scholarships were in existence, the requirements were raised each year and the students kept meeting them. The change gives IU a better way to manage the overall program. </p>
<p>That being said, I believe IU still has one of the largest endowments and the ability to provide generous scholarships to top academic students. My son’s stats compares to your daughters except he had a little higher ACT. He received the automatic scholarship plus additional money from the Honors program and his direct admit status to his school of choice. So, I would still investigate IU as a potential and search for that money.</p>
<p>As for fit, IU offers a lot of what your daughter is looking for. It is a large Big10 research institution that offers almost every academic pursuit (except engineering), but sits in a smaller city like location. The campus is very beautiful and diverse. Any student can find their niche at IU if they actually try. There will be people say that IU is a party school or heavily Greek, or only cares about Basketball, but it offers so much more. The City of Bloomington offers a great downtown with many international restaurants and places to gather, and is right off the campus. I haven’t spent much time at the Miami campus, but have spent a lot of time in that area of Ohio. The area of Indiana around Bloomington is very similar and offers several outdoor type activities and easy access to Indianapolis too.</p>
<p>We are from Ohio and just dropped dd off on Monday. We have been so impressed. Definitely consider the programs your daughter would likely pursue, because that will help you decide if the cost is worth it. I know for my daughter, no state school in Ohio came even close to offering her the opportunities and programs for her intended major and interests. She even selected it over Michigan, despite its prestige and her mom being an alum. But if your daughter isn’t sure what she wants to study, etc…it becomes more difficult to justify, I know. One thing that we found separated IU from other big publics is the arts scene. Because of the influence of Jacobs School of Music and the School of Theatre and Dance, both tops in the nation, there is a very strong arts presence on campus. Major broadway shows and performances come to campus, and the focal, central spot on campus is the fine and performing arts complex. Students are highly encouraged to attend and they make tickets pretty cheap and accessible. Another thing to consider… IU has a much higher percentage of OOS kids, which was appealing to my dd. Whether or not that is worth the price tag depends, but something to think about. Good luck…the college selection process is an interesting one!</p>
<p>Hi baseballmom:<br>
We are from Ohio also and faced the very same dilemma that it sounds like you are facing. Our daughter just started her Sophomore year at IU…so you see what decision we made! After our college visits were complete, she too had narrowed her choices to only Miami U in Ohio and IU. Our daughter had a HS GPA of 4.6, ACT of 34, National Merit Finalist and in the top 10 of her class of about 450. Also many leadership and music related extracurriculars. We got a wake up call on out of state tuition when weighing the options. Daughter entered IU last year with the then automatic merit award of $9K, Hutton Honors award of $1K and the IU Nat’l Merit Finalist award of $1K. This was the total in merit awards from IU for her Freshman year. She also received multiple local scholarships, but with OOS tuition around $30K and room and board of $10K…still left over half for us to cover out of pocket. Many tears were shed in making the final decision. She liked the looks of Miami’s campus, but just didn’t “feel” the fit that she did at IU. We decided to somehow make it work and off she went to IU. She LOVES it and we know we made the right choice! I went back to work full time and we have had to take advantage of the Stafford student loans. Sophomore year awards came out better. Daughter earned a 4.0 GPA Freshman year and was awarded about $5K more in IU Scholarships. She is a direct admit in the Kelley Business school and they have many more scholarship opportunities for upperclassmen. My advice is to be realistic and be aware that there just isn’t going to be a huge amount of merit award for being OOS. The awards are basically the same for OOS and In-State…but with the huge difference in tuition amounts, it makes it seem like the awards are less. Also for us, our daughter is our only child, so we didn’t have to think about paying for school for any other children. We just finally decided that we would do whatever we needed to do to let our daughter go to IU…and are very happy with our decision!</p>
<p>Also, if your daughter knows what she wants to major in she might qualify for Direct Admit into her college vs, the University Division where most students begin their freshman year. For my dd, being accepted as DA weighed heavily in her decision. She was accepted in early October, which was also nice. So take advantage of rolling admissions and to apply as early as possible. Good luck!</p>
<p>There are some substantial scholarships associated with direct admit status with certain majors. SPEA had some worth up to $5000 per year the last time I looked. D3, who received the Hutton Honors College and the top admissions scholarship as a freshman, applied for and received other scholarships in her subsequent years at IU through IU Foundation, SPEA, and Hutton’s study abroad scholarships. Also, upperclass students with excellent academic records are often offered opportunities to work as teaching assistants for entry level classes; D3’s TA job paid $13 per hour and she worked about 10 hours a week. Another way to cut costs at IU is Residential Scholar housing which is deeply discounted housing where student does a few hours of light housekeeping every few weeks. A family friend took advantage of that program this past year and was happy enough with it to select the same housing for next year.</p>
<p>Sorry for my delay in replying…we were busy packing up our son for his sophomore year at Miami of Ohio. Thank you all so much for the excellent feedback on IU vs. Miami and potential scholarships available for out of state students. We will plan to tour IU soon. Any other feedback is welcome!</p>
<p>We are from NY. D is a freshman at IU. We visited both Miami and IU. Cost-wise Miami would have been much less for us but after visiting both, IU was selected. </p>
<p>Both campuses are beautiful. We liked the Miami approach to undergrad education but thought that IU’s role as a research school would make for more academic opportunities. </p>
<p>To D, who is quirky and artsy, Miami was intimidating and felt a bit Stepfordish to her. (By far the best looking students we saw on any campus tour). D felt it would be hard to be an environment like that. IU was more diverse and seemed to offer activities for a range of interests. </p>
<p>Lastly IU had a much stronger program for D’s major.</p>
<p>In general, and I know there are exceptions to this statement, I think that many schools that have a low percentage of commuters also tend to have a larger student social presence. This often manifests itself into student parties and drinking.</p>
<p>We have a daughter who is a senior at Indiana University. What you have not said is what your daughter hopes to major in. IU has an OUTSTANDING College of Business. My daughter already has a job when she graduates in May. The Kelley School of Business is incredible.</p>
<p>I am an Ohio State graduate and I will tell you two things I do not like about IU. #1: it is part of the culture there that most sophomores-seniors live in apartments or houses. #2: the partying is OVER THE TOP. Truly, it makes Ohio State look like a convent.</p>
<p>Good luck in evaluating your choices. Bloomington is beautiful and IU has a gorgeous campus.</p>
<p>Another Ohioan with son at IU. He is a junior in the Kelley School of Business. He also looked at Miami and Ohio State. For him, it was the school that fit him the best. We tried to get him to go to Miami due to tuition being so much cheaper, but he he did not want to go there. Many of his high school classmates go and he wanted a new experience like your daughter. He did get the maximum automatic OOS scholarship. When we visited we were quite impressed with the Kelley School and the career placement office. He had a great internship this summerthat he obtained through there. He received additional scholarship money after freshman year but neglected to apply this for more this past spring :(. He did go greek but picked a fraternity that fit his personality. This allowed him to make some great friends and solidified his social life.</p>
<p>Also have another son who is an OSU grad. He loved Ohio State and stayed in Columbus after graduation. He fell in love with OSU as a youngster (football games) and that was always his first choice. He changed his major three times and was successful in finding a good job after graduation. </p>
<p>If your daughter is considering a business major, I highly recommend IU. If she is undecided or is picking a major that an OOS school does not excel in, think about whether the cost is worth it. Also, expand your list of in-state schools if Miami and Ohio State don’t feel right to her. Don’t let her reject other in-state schools without making a visit.</p>
<p>Agree 100% with HoosierParent and LaBechtel! If your daughter is considering business as a major, then IU is a top choice! Before we started considering any college, we did our research on the best business schools in the US for undergraduates. IU is ranked fairly high on that list. Obviously rankings don’t tell the entire story, but we do feel that our daughter is getting a top-notch education and paying OOS tuition is worth it for us.</p>
<p>LaBechtel - I guess we didn’t get the feeling about living off campus sophomore - senior years. Our daughter chose to stay on campus again this year, partly because she is very involved in the Judicial Board of her dorm. About 15 of her floormates returned from last year. She does plan to live off-campus next year, and we hope to save a little money that way.</p>
<p>Indiana is a party school - make no mistake - even if it’s not on someone’s rankings. I have a senior at IU and a hs senior who is considering IU vs. Miami as well. She always wanted to go to IU, but in the last year, the more she heard from her hs friends and sister about the party reputation at IU, the more she started looking at other schools. Furthermore, IU has just shafted in state students by changing their automatic scholarship policy and reducing the max to be given. However, after visiting Miami and reading up about it, it’s pretty much a party school also, so, for my daughter, it will come down to where she will feel more comfortable. Judging by what other posters have said about the preppiness of Miami girls and that it is in such a small town with absolutely nothing to do, I suspect IU will win for my daughter.</p>
<p>I’m just wondering if seniors have made their decisions regarding Miami Ohio vs Indiana. My son received significant merit money from Miami, but the Kelley school is so well regarded it’s hard to compare offers. He got the highest out of state award for IU, but it will still leave 60k difference… So this is a tough choice for us.</p>
<p>We Hoosiers sometimes don’t realize how lucky we are. My sons have two friends from their HS. Both friends were in top 1-2% in their class and both chose Miami Farmer over IU Kelley. The COA differences were small for both schools and students. Two and half years after, one friend got an internship with a top accounting firm this coming summer. The other (Finance & Econ major) had been doing good but revealed that he might have made the wrong choice. Both schools have comparable curricula and placement records based upon school web info. I guess that if he is interested in IB, he probably would be in a better position with Kelley. But, I am sure that both will do just great.</p>