Did anyone attend Make it Miami Day today? Interested in hearing your observations.
@2suns02 We attended on 2/14. It was a well organized event that we felt was totally worth it. The large group portion was informative and fun. The student panel was awesome. After the morning session, you can customize your day. We got to speak with lots of professors, have lunch with a professor and student, plus attend some events for special programs she has been admitted to. These included a tea at the president’s home and informational sessions for Honors and the University Academic Scholars Program. Definitely download the app to customize your schedule. Also got to attend a hockey game which is always fun!
@3xPink We have not seen the school yet. Do you think it’s important/valuable to do a campus tour prior to attending a “Make it Miami” Day? Can you do both on the same day? We live in CT so it’s not like we can just come twice. lol
@imstacey, there is probably no need to do both. They offer a campus tour as an afternoon option during Make It Miami day. When you sign up for Make It Miami, you receive a link to an app that you can download that gives you the full schedule, and options.
Sorry. I just saw this. I guess it is all a mute point now. I think they are working quickly to do a virtual Make it Miami. The campus is amazing. The size of the town is fine for my D, but it is something that doesn’t work for everyone. I feel so bad for kids across the country who may have to make decisions without visiting somewhere.
Miami is an amazing campus as far as the beauty and consistency of building etc. None of those 1970’s monster buildings that dot most Midwestern campuses. I think it makes a real difference to some people - when you are on campus, you know you are on campus and it feels the way a college should.
Off campus is very limited. There is basically one street called “uptown”. It is made up of restaurants, bars and student hangouts for the most part. It is an extension of campus - literally steps from the gates off the diagonal walk. For some kids this also is a plus. The entire place is built around the student experience. For my current kid looking, it was a big negative. He just felt the school was a little on the small side and the town was way too small. And this is compared to Bloomington or Ann Arbor - so he still wants the college feel. One of his brothers felt the place was perfect.
I think the size issue is even a bigger deal because Oxford is so small and pretty far from anything else. Compare it to some college towns where there is access to a bigger town at least for weekends. Miami is 45 minutes from Cincinnati, but that does not offer a huge draw.
Again, this is a plus and a minus. If a kid really wants to be very campus focused, then that isolation works. I recently heard another parent say it is like the “Disney of colleges”. Everything looks the way it is supposed to, is managed well and easy to navigate. But also not exactly like the rest of the world and kept separate from it. They added in that it is almost all undergrads, so it is just very focused on that experience in the way Disney focuses on what it does. Some people love Disney, others hate it. But I think we all have to admit they do Disney like no one else.
If I were picking for myself, I would pick Miami over urban campuses like NYU, BU, etc. even though many rankings put those schools higher. I would pick it over an IU for myself also as I felt like Miami is sized to the undergrad experience. I think they have a rule that buildings can’t be more than 3 stories to keep the person in perspective (I heard that from several people, but maybe it is an urban myth). That does seem to fit the feel versus IU is beautiful, but feels to me like a sea of humanity where I would be drifting through buildings that are massive (our tour guide told us she had a class in the biggest building and she spends more than 15 minutes getting to and from the class once in the building). But my current student who is looking just felt it was too small for him and the town was part of it - and he loves IU.
I wouldn’t have posted this if people could still visit. I would just say it is very unique and you should visit to see if it fits or not. I feel like a little time on campus makes it pretty clear. But I am trying to figure out how to help people who did not get a chance to visit. More than many other schools, the Miami experience is tied to the campus and town.
@Nonamefits Very good and insightful summary. I would just add the following. Miami is a beautiful beautiful college campus. It has great facilities from a very recently built student union, great recreation facility, a hockey rink, etc. Of course as @Nonamefits pointed out because the little town is nothing more than a few restaurants and bars, the school needs to provide everything the students need on campus.
My D21 is concerned about the “middle of no where” issue. The nearest Target is like 30 minutes away. However it is only about 45 minutes from Cincinnati and an hour from Dayton.
I have a nephew and his wife who both went there. He is from Pittsburgh and she is from Chicago. They both loved it and have said they never had any problem with feeling isolated of like they were in the middle of no where.
With 20K students and the great facilities I would expect there is always a ton of things to do without being in or near an urban area.
D21 has agreed to apply but I believe I will have some convincing to do over the next year or so to get her to agree to go there. Of course if the merit is money is right she may not have much of a choice.
@imstacey good luck to your student as he/she makes this decision in these trying times…
@burghdad I can totally see where your daughter is coming from. The first time I toured, I was a bit shocked having to drive through farmland for 30 minutes before reaching Oxford, however, once arriving those concerns were minimized. I think one thing to consider is how much free time students will realistically have. I live in a city, so I have countless stores and activities at any time, but I am not very concerned about living in Oxford. I feel like a lot of time will be dedicated to school work and clubs, and I see myself hanging out with friends in our dorm or getting food uptown. While it would be nice to be able to go to Target or Trader Joe’s, I think I can survive. Also, I’ve heard there are a lot of activities run by res life and there’s always open skate at Goggin and activities like that. Even my friends who go to college in cities tend to stay within a few blocks of their campus and spend a lot of their time hanging out in their dorms or at different restaurants. I may be more of a homebody, so that could be why I’m less concerned, but I would definitely encourage your daughter to look into Miami. It’s not for everyone, but I couldn’t be more excited to go there next year!
Okay – here’s the thing. I’m going to be honest and I hope you all will be, too. (Keep in mind, that we have not been to campus but I’ve spoken to parents whose kids go there or have transferred from there — or both.)
I’ve been told by multiple people that Miami U is known as “J. Crew U.” and unless your kid is good-looking, social, and popular, they won’t fit in. Also, heard that they are big partiers/drinkers – like 5-6 nights out of the week. My son is the opposite of every single one of these characteristics. So, I’ve sort of ruled it out even though the size and attractiveness of the campus is quite appealing (to me).
@imstacey first let me say that my kid is generally, and I mean this in the best way, somewhat of an introverted geek. Never had a boy friend, never had a date…etc
My older daughter goes to Clemson and is in the Honors College. Are there lots of preppy frat boys there; of course there are. But she is thriving despite not wanting to be in the Greek life or the party scene which is present in both Clemson and Miami. That type of experience is there for the kids that want it but it does and should not totally define the school.
In fact for those that don’t want the party scene and want a more serious academic experience schools like Miami and Clemson can give them that (especially in honor colleges) with a much more reasonable price tag than the private LAC or the Vandys. Tulanes, Rices etc…
Rest assured in a school of 20K and in especially in the honors colleges of schools like Clemson or Miami. even the serious students, they are going to find their people and get a great and challenging education,
And in honor colleges at places like Miami and Clemson the more serious students are going to thrive despite the college’s reputation for Greek life and parties.
@imstacey first let me say that my kid is generally, and I mean this in the best way, somewhat of an introverted geek. Never had a boy friend, never had a date…etc
My older daughter goes to Clemson and is in the Honors College. Are there lots of preppy frat boys there; of course there are. But she is thriving despite not wanting to be in the Greek life or the party scene which is present in both Clemson and Miami. That type of experience is there for the kids that wants it but it does and should not totally define the school.
In fact for those that don’t want the party scene and want a more serious academic experience schools like Miami and Clemson can give them that, especially in honor college, with a much more reasonable price tag than the private LAC or the Vandys. Tulanes, Rices etc…
Rest assured in a school of 20K and in especially in the honors colleges of schools like Clemson or Miami. even the serious students, they are going to find their people and get a great and challenging education,
And in honor colleges at places like Miami and Clemson the more serious students are going to thrive despite the college’s reputation for Greek life and parties.
Sorry for the double post
@burghdad Thanks, I appreciate your response esp since you can draw a comparison to Clemson. I think we’re down to Bama and Miami U. I’m almost tempted to get in the car and drive a billion miles to OH to just look at the campus. Not sure if that’s worthwhile doing or not but I can’t imagine choosing a college that you’ve never even seen with your own eyes.
@imstacey. I understand your concern about going to a school without ever laying eyes on it. However, I can tell you after touring probably in excess of 20 school with D18 and to a lesser extent D21, Miami is one of if not, the most beautiful classic college campuses we saw.
Funny about the Bama thing as I had planned a southern swing for Easter break for D21 to Bama and FSU. Obviously that will not happen. I love the Bama merit money and from the virtual tours it looks like a beautiful campus as well. And for my daughter there is a Target only a mile and a half from campus…
Good luck to your son as he decides.
I wasn’t sure where to post this. Does anyone have any experience with Miami’s engineering program, especially Biomedical? My DD is having trouble deciding on Miami’s offer.
Our Easter Sunday included an appropriately-distanced meal drop-off to elderly parents, followed by a drive to Oxford (we did not get out of the car!). There were very few people around-we saw maybe 10 students walking around campus as well as maybe a total of a dozen adults, mostly walking dogs. There were a few families hanging out on the square on high street. Bagel and Deli was open! The campus is as beautiful as ever.
We visited for Open house in the Fall and she really liked engineering college, professors, and school in general. She currently is preferring Toledo right now due to better concentration on engineering and sciences over Miami, dorms, as well as cost. However, Miami just up’d their scholarship amount significantly in the past few days…sooooo. other background - is she ruled out UC and BGSU…and not even considered were CWR and OSU.
Is anyone else seeing scholarships raised? I’ll assume enrollment numbers impacted due to current environment.
@JustaMom2024 Received final third offer just recently … generous school and we are accepting.