What bdsu ? Was thinking bowling green but typo ?
Yep, Typo
Have you ever posted a review on your visits to all the Ohio schools? I’m curious about the differences.
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We have not visited Miami, we are waiting on the money. I think Ohio University, Bowling green and Kent are all relatively similar in many ways. Academically also similar, student bodies are similar. They are in their own small college towns, which work well with the schools. The downtown (or Uptown at OU) is full of restaurants, little shops, and bars. They all have the necessities nearby, Walmart, Meijer, supermarkets, etc… Kent is on the edge of Cleveland’s sprawl. My DD (senior at Kent) has not had issues finding jobs and internships in that area. Out of the 3 schools, Kent gives a little more “urban” feel. The campus is more of a mish-mash of different style buildings and is beautifully kept. Kent is also very liberal and ranks highly with LGBTQ+. There are always small festivals going on downtown. The campus is large, kind of rolling hills, not a huge sports school, but they all show up for hockey. Bowling Green on the other hand is located in a more conservative part of the state. Downtown Bowling Green is also super cute, full of restaurants bars, and little shops. It is probably the furthest downtown from campus, about 2 blocks. The school is compact, all the buildings are so well kept they look almost new, well laid out, and FLAT… It is flat out there, and the wind whips across campus. The school has always felt really good. It is about 2 hours north of Columbus and 30 minutes south of Toledo. Ohio University is beautiful, the campus blends into their uptown, Athens Ohio is full of restaurants and bars, and the streets are brick. There is a river that runs around campus with a greenway along it, the dorms are kind of lower at river level, and the main campus is at top of a hill. It is the older brick/colonial-looking buildings. Athens is about an hour south of Columbus. Ohio and BGSU feel more isolated than Kent, but both have everything you need. BGSU and Ohio have more of a reputation of a party school, in part to their isolation. I get the feeling from all 3 schools, Greek life isn’t huge. Miami on the other hand has a reputation of being a big Greek school, but I don’t know for sure. I think they said 30% there.
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I can add my thoughts about our Miami visits. Campus is gorgeous, every single person we interacted with was so nice. It was almost comical how peasant everyone was. May have something to do with their school slogan which is “Love and Honor”. Apparently 16% of students marry a fellow Miami alum b/c they are all so happy and loving… It’s son’s #1 pick, and he’s applied EA there.
Just over 16K undergrads with almost all freshman and sophomores on campus in renovated nice dorms. Housing guaranteed for 2 years. So with 8K students living on campus there is always something to do. I follow the Instagram accounts of various Miami orgs and they always have interesting things planned. The main sport is hockey, and they have an amazing ice center. S23 is a die hard football fan who’s never watched a hockey game in his life and doesn’t know how to ice skate, but he’ll learn to enjoy hockey and maybe learn to skate too. There are hundreds of clubs and S23 has already picked out a few that interest him.
There is a large greek presence. The frats have big houses but the sororities have spaces in dorms specifically designed for them. Rush happens second semester. The school is about 1/3 greek. So about 5K greek 10K not. That’s one reason we started looking at larger schools. Through sheer numbers, even if a large percentage of kids are greek, there will be thousands who aren’t. There’s also the “League of Geeks” (which cracks me up) that is the umbrella org for about 16 “geeky” clubs. I read in the Miami student newspaper that the student government gave them 11K to throw a large Halloween event so they are a large presence on campus too. Don’t know whether my kid will hang with the greeks or geeks, but he’ll find tings to do either way. In a school this large, there will be kids on both sides of the political spectrum, and my liberal leaning kid has researched and found the campus to be an inclusive welcoming “blue enough for him” place.
The campus is stunning. All brick buildings and sidewalks. No tall highrise buildings. Wide campus green spaces with tons of trees. The school was founded in 1809 and the town of Oxford grew up around the campus so it is very student focused. There are a bunch of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, a cookie store, an ice cream shop, 2 bubble tea shops, and so forth walking distance to campus. Its a cute town with brick streets and a nice park. There’s also a huge bar/night club called Brick Street walking distance to campus that seems like a wild drunken place but it’s right across from the police station and you apparently need to show your Miami id and your matching drivers license to get in so it’s all students who can’t get too out of control. So even though it’s somewhat remote Ohio, there’s plenty to do whether you want to read a book in a coffee shop or drink and dance all night. The closest larger town, Hamilton, is about 20 minutes away with all the suburban sprawl you could want with tons of chain stores (including Bed Bath Beyond, Target etc for dorm supplies), chain restaurants, movie theater, and so on. Cincinnati and Dayton are both about an hour away which is good for internships and entertainment reasons. Freshman who live more than 200 miles from the school can have cars on campus.
As far as academics, son likes the undergrad focus and the liberal arts classes that have to take. He is somewhat undecided on his major so welcomes the chance to take a wide variety of classes. He also wants to study abroad and Miami has ample opportunity for that.
We first looked at Miami b/c one of dh’s best friends grew up in Oxford b/c his dad was a professor. Otherwise, it probably never would have been on our radar. It is a random choice for S23 sure to garner quizzical looks from family and friends, but he’s visited twice, and it just feels right. No one from his private school has gone as far as the guidance office knows (there are so many good VA schools 50% of kids stay in state and probably 25% head south). Fingers crossed he gets in.
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I should add S23 has stats that should be guaranteed that he gets in, hopefully with nice merit aid, but I never want to count anything as a 100% sure thing. Especially since our school is an unknown to them. For all I know they’re going to think “nobody from your school ever comes here when we offer them a spot” so we’re not going to waste a spot on you.
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Wow, you show a lot more businesses than we saw :). We are at the bagel and deli. Everyone said you have to go there. everyone was friendly. Campus was nice….too isolated for my student but each kid is different. We stayed in Hamilton.
I describe the campus as a large W&M. Not sure if you’d agree but coming from VA, that’s actually how I describe it…Compared to that school….
Glad it’s a good fit. Hope you get in and some $$
I went to W&M and that may be why I like it so much. All the brick.
We stayed in the Hampton Inn on the other end of Oxford and walked through Uptown (called that b/c it is uphill from campus) to the school. There was much more than i was expecting b/c common complaints are that there was nothing in the town. There is Starbucks, Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings, Skyline Chili, Greater’s Ice Cream, Insomnia Cookies, Asian, Indian, and Mexican restaurants, and a bunch of local coffee shops, tavern/bars on the same street as Bagel and Deli just another block or 2 down. We ate at Mac&Joes, a quintessential college bar with sports on the tv, cold beer and good burgers. Most visitors to campus probably don’t walk more than a block from campus where Bagel and Deli is. Brick Street is crazy looking. If he get’s in, I hope S23 doesn’t spend too much time there. LOL
On the other side of our hotel, a bit of a walk from campus but not too far were a CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, TJMaxx, Dollar tree, Dunkin, McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc. There are lots of upperclassmen houses and apartments between Kroger and campus. There’s a Walmart about 2 miles from campus.
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Good to know. We definitely did not drive past that or here about it.
My daughter removed Miami after our visit. Perhaps we did not venture far enough.
Definite a beautiful school. She wanted urban. Personally I like a school like Miami - it’s the focus. And I liked that they didn’t have sorority houses.
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Son is happy in remote/suburbs. My D25 wants to be in a city, preferably at NYU. Different kids have different preferences for sure!
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Current junior here (female Diplomacy, Religion, and German major) – I actually know a few people from the VA area and also looked at the schools you mention (JMU, W&M). I was the only person that I know of to ever apply to Miami from my high school in suburban MN.
A few notes: undergrad focus is STELLAR. I had the opportunity to complete paid research the summer after my freshman year and am currently involved in two faculty-led projects (one affiliated with the US Embassy!). Not everyone needs to get involved in research, but if that’s what your son is interested in, it’s there, and profs will typically bend over backwards to help students figure out how to use and develop their skills.
Study abroad opportunities are wonderful as well – most of my friends will be studying abroad or already have. Luxembourg is the “easiest” in terms of logistics, since it’s Miami-run, but I’m headed to Austria next semester and haven’t found it too difficult. An amazing thing about Miami is that admin is responsive, attentive, and very helpful.
Merit aid – beyond the test score merit aid, students can receive and apply for scholarships during their time here for various reasons, and many services are free (free professional headshots at the career center, free access to multiple gyms, 3 counseling sessions). For example, if students studying abroad have filled out the FAFSA, they can apply for $600 airfare grant and another additional $600 loan. Miami, in my experience, really tries to work with students.
If your son is going into Farmer (business), they do a fantastic job at prepping students for postgrad careers. I can easily name 10+ Farmer students I know who have careers lined up after graduation at P&G, Deloitte, Bain & Co, etc. Obviously, it takes work on the student’s part, but as far as professional development goes, Miami (esp. Farmer) takes it seriously.
Glee club, Soul2Soul, other a capella orgs are also great – I have several friends in them and it seems almost like Greek Life, but with a common passion and the added bonus of solid friendship and community. Not sure if you’ve checked out their concerts on social media, but they’re well-attended by the community!
Other things to note: Greek life is big but not overwhelmingly so. I’m in a sorority and I’m glad I went through recruitment, but the majority of students aren’t in Greek life and it absolutely is possible to have a fulfilling experience w/o Greek life. To each their own is the general vibe I get.
Party school reputation: People like to have fun (Thurs-Sat in my experience), there are bars uptown and parties on weekends (house and frat parties). However, there are literally dozens if not 100+ alternatives to the party scene if that’s not your son’s thing. Never once been pressured to drink or try anything (but it’s also partly who you surround yourself with).
Frustrations: 1) Dining hall food with dietary restrictions (celiac, vegan, etc.) – could be a lot worse and Miami dining is working on improving services, but it’s not ideal. 2) People with SDS accommodations sometimes don’t find professors entirely willing to extend patience (although they do because they’re required to), but not sure if this is just a crotchety professor thing. 3) High proportion of affluent students as has been mentioned above; it’s not entirely uncommon to see students who come from yacht-club country-club backgrounds. Farmer especially has a high concentration of this demographic, I think.
Something to note that I appreciate as a religion major – school does a decent job of providing kosher and halal meals as well as scheduling dining services for before sunrise and after sundown for students who need it. Several interfaith organizations on campus, many Christian organizations, Sikh Students Assoc, Muslim Students Assoc, Hillel, Chabad, lots of programming on cultural and religious diversity.
Wonderful lecture opportunities – Bill Nye, Salman Rushdie, Hank Green was just here, Noel Miller came last year, Lech Walesa was also here earlier this year, Ivy League professors and high-ranking government officials visit quite often to deliver speeches and lectures. Free and open to students!
You’ve gotten lots of replies so this might get lost among them but if you have specific questions please let me know! I chose Miami over W&M, Richmond, UGA, Rhodes, Barnard and have not regretted it for a minute.
(Side note: I have a girlfriend and am quite comfortable walking around Oxford holding hands or telling people about her. I know Ox is in the middle of rural Ohio/Indiana region, but it’s generally a kind place.)
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Thank you for this thoughtful, detailed and fabulous feedback. I appreciate it very much. You have reinforced my positive thoughts about Miami.
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We’re in NJ - my daughter has applied to JMU and Miami. I kind of pushed her on Miami, but it fits a lot of what she seems to love in terms of supportive faculty, engaged students, etc. Her #1 is Elon. We will see!
I agree that this admissions cycle is so bizarre - we have only applied to 12 schools so fingers crossed that we are bucking the trend.
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My son’s top 3 are Elon, JMU and Miami. EA apps are in. Now the waiting game begins!
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Nice - my daughter’s #1 is Elon, then probably it’s JMU and Delaware. I would say Miami is probably next. How funny how similar their lists are, though!
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What’s her stats ?
Delaware is one of the 9 EA schools he applied to. LOL Hope they both end up happy wherever they land.
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They do not track demonstrated interest, so I doubt it has an effect on admissions.
Hello! thank you for the post. I saw you were a presidential scholar. If a remember, because I know its been a while, when were the results for that usually out? And when are the interviews usually held? thank you.
You might contact the school and ask. I’d call - that way there’s no trail but I’m sure both are fine. Not sure if you saw the article attached but for more info on the program.
513-529-2531