<p>Spent the day with D2 at Miami's version of accepted student day.
Fortunately, we are very well versed in all of the attributes which make Miami a wonderful place to attend school. D would be alumnus #5 in our extended family if she chooses to attend.
Unfortunately, we felt that today's program didn't fully do the school justice.</p>
<h1>1. The weather was cold, grey and gloomy (not a thing anyone could have done to change that)</h1>
<h1>2. The program format was confusing and not well explained. Particularly the afternoon session which was a bit of a free for all</h1>
<h1>3. The main two hour session in the morning, where all attendees and parents are gathered, should have been used to close the deal for these admitted students. I felt the pitch could have been crafted stronger.</h1>
<h1>4. There were a plethora of faux paus including a mishandled student panel addressing the issues surrounding underage use of alcohol on campus, a poor explanation of what students do for fun in Oxford which mentioned having to drive to Hamilton to see any new release movies, poorly marked guidance to room locations for break out sessions and a rambling character to the way the morning program was presented.</h1>
<h1>5. Lack of clear explanations about a few issues such as J-term, LLCs/housing options and even parking for the event(the email said park at Millet but when we arrived we were offered validation for the parking garage). In some ways, D left with more questions than she had initially.</h1>
<p>On a positive note, We had a very nice lunch in the dining hall. D enjoyed the campus tour and the Honors presentation. She even had a one on one conversation with a faculty member from her major which was her personal highlight.
Our family loves Miami and today in no way dampened our enthusiasm for the school.
If, however, today had been our first exposure to the school, I have serious doubts that We would have been "sold" on Miami.
Hopefully, Admissions is still ironing out the kinks in the program. I have been to new student orientation several times and that program has been wonderful. I only wish today had been similar to that with a similar level of enthusiasm and execution. Miami is not a tough school to "sell" but I found myself softly groaning today on more than one occasion. Hopefully we aren't the only ones who can see past a mediocre program performance because Miami is truly a very special place.
Love and Honor...</p>
<p>You should give them this feedback so they can be aware of what people are thinking! Lots of kids make a decision based on accepted students day.</p>
<p>Agreed Just wanted to be a CC voice of Miami support for any of the several hundred students(and even more parents) who were there and who had any level of concern or disappointment.
We shared that experience…</p>
<p>A friend of mine just reported a similar experience from the presentation two weeks ago. Their oldest was a Miami grad so they also knew more than what the program presented. They were very disappointed in the presenters and student panels whom they felt did not represent Miami well at all. We had great experiences in past years. I hope someone from the admissions reads these posts and takes note and makes some quality adjustments.</p>
<p>This is sad to hear because Miami has had so many non-academic issues over the past few years that have been played out in the local media that they may have been trying to address, but just didn’t do it in the right manner. Their academics are great, Oxford is a great college town, address the issues at hand but don’t put it in the hands of a student panel.</p>
<p>Completely agree w/ a terrible Make it Miami experience. We went and ended up veering off of the tour to meet up with some professors. The professors are amazing. The admin. seems out in the fog. We decided to take a second look this past week. we scheduled our own meetings. Wow! can’t even believe we had to do this! Usually, a counselor would help a bit. The visit went well. We are still left in the dark regarding LLC placement, Honors acceptance dates (on wait list now) and what’s up with paying to be able to eat? School Education rocks…admin very disappointing.</p>
<p>How do you know whether you are on a waitlist for the Honors? We are still waiting too. WHat type of special appointments did you make to make your Miami experience better for the visit. Maybe I should do that too…Was any of the Miami experience worthwhile or should we just go for a visit,tour and make our own appointments to the academic departments. My S is Business and was admitted into the program. Still uncertain why he didn’t get honors yet… His grades and Stats are quite high. Kind of confused.</p>
<p>The Student Rec Center and Goggin (the hockey arena) are must sees on south campus.
The Farmer School of Business is an impressive academic building on east campus.
On your way uptown take in all that Slant Walk offers in terms of the classic Georgian architecture on campus.
Once uptown on High St. try Kona Bistro or Mac & Joe’s for lunch.
The quintessential Oxford experience is Bagel & Deli for a quick bite. It’s been there since my time 30 years ago. Enjoy!</p>
<p>The rink is definitely a must-see for my son. He’s played 4 years of varsity ice hockey for his high school. He loves the idea of Miami’s deep hockey tradition & the possibility of playing ice hockey for his fraternity. (Not sure one should make a college decisions based on this, but we also know that Miami has a solid academic reputation.)</p>
<p>Ely - I agree with GunnerDad about Mac & Joe’s. Great burgers and other bar food options. It’s down an alley so it’s tucked in out of view - across from the main park at the four corners. Bar 45 is also good. I’m spacing on the name of it but there’s a great little Italian place that only does dinner… There really are a lot of great options around town. Just got home from taking my son back after spring break… 520 miles, horrible weather on the way home.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about this year’s presentation. We attended the same day’s activities two years ago and it definitely made the decision easy for my son. The student panel was an important part of the morning presentation. He appreciated that not all the students on the panel were pre-med, “perfect” student types…they were there, but they had also recruited an outlier or two to attend and talk about their different experiences at Miami. Convinced him that he could fit in and find his place on campus.</p>
<p>Nice little touches, like providing matzoh on the refreshment table during Passover - thoughtful and inclusive. And a couple of very helpful ladies who stayed in the Student Center all day long directing confused visitors around, making sure that we got to all the places we needed to go in our short time frame. </p>
<p>The most useful time on campus that day for my son was visitng a class in session in his major subject. Strongly recommend that experience. For me, it was visiting with the outstanding disability office and being reassured about living arrangements and the Health Center, and then speaking with the Study Abroad office about opportunities available in a range of countries. </p>
<p>And - it poured rain all day long! </p>
<p>So - time to get the marketing department at the Farmer School involved, perhaps?</p>
<p>Daughter received all decisions yesterday. Came down to Miami vs. GWU vs. TCU.
Today she announced that she will join the Miami Class of 2017.
See you in Oxford… again!</p>
<p>I sent an email to the Honors Program yesterday and this is what they said: “Notifications for Honors Decisions are scheduled to go out via postal mail today and tomorrow.”…so that means mailed Thursday and Friday of this week. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>Back home after our “Make it Miami” visit on Monday. Seems like most of the kinks have been worked-out since GunnerDad’s experience. We loved the campus. Our first stop was the ice rink and it is impressive (but we were suprised it did not have more seating–minor point). My S promptly bought a “MIAMI HOCKEY” shirt there and we watched the Frozen 4 game on the television in the lobby with a few rink employees (so sorry that they got knocked out, boo). Thank you to those who suggested Mac & Joes, never would have found it, or honestly ventured into the joint, without your advice. Great food and unusually large beers :)</p>
<p>My S was pretty much sold on Miami, if not for the fact that he applied “Undeclared” and has since decided on majoring in Business. They have a hard & fast benchmark for getting into FSB which is a little scary. Any advice on that front??</p>
<p>DS did not get honors but encouraged to apply second semester and he was refered to a person in the engineering school to learn more about offerings. DS was flattered by the tone of the lettervand the fact that they provided next steps.</p>