Cute mailer. Received it today.
Has anyone heard Miami Is a preppy school? And if so, what exactly does that mean?
@UMhopeful12 We have visited twice and I would say overall preppy. The campus felt east coast classic–brick buildings with cream trim and beautiful landscaping and big green quads. Like their mailers, their branding is very sharp and the campus reflects what you see in the mailers-they are on their game. We saw a lot of what I would describe as clean cut kids in sporty/ preppy attire, but really all sorts of kids. We saw quite a few international kids in the student union on our second visit, and our tour guide on our first trip was from Argentina. The town has adorable housing in the area surrounding campus and the houses occupied by students have clever names displayed on signs. The quaint downtown Oxford area has some roads with brick pavers. Everyone very friendly.
I have heard that ^^ before. I think Greek life is big, and I think they wear a lot of preppy clothes, like button downs and chinos, khakis, sorrel boots, north face, polos, J Crew, Uggs, Vera Bradley, Vineyard Vines…it’s actually an aspect that concerns me. I wonder if there’s a nerd/geek environment, for the intellectually biased…
@ChattaChia Just send your kid to Miami with a bag full of J Crew clothes. Kids have a way of assimilating to the campus culture rather than vice versa so you are better off just getting that stuff in advance rather than having to repurchase their wardrobe once they decide to fit in. Could be worse things than wearing khaki slacks with a button down shirt…right?
@EDHDAD haha. Yes, I like the preppy look. I was just describing what was usually meant by it being preppy from a question above. Mine is more of a jeans, v-neck, cargo short kid. He’s more preppy than my other son who likes athletic wear.
The clothes concern me less than the personality of the school. I’d be curious about the personality beyond Greek life. Can a student choos not to participate in that? I like the focus on undergrad teaching, and calling themselves a public ivy leads me to believe there is a strong intellectual culture there? Open to perspectives, looking forward to a visit.
@ChattaChia We are looking forward to our visit there too. We have never been to Ohio and the winters are what scares us about Miami U.
@ChattaChia I know there’s a strong Greek presence at Miami, but I thought I heard that a lot more women than men are Greek. So I take that to mean for women it may be a bigger part of the social scene than it is for men. If my son goes to Miami, which is looking more and more likely unless something happens on the FA front with some other school, he does not intend to rush - it’s just not his thing. We are attending Make it Miami on 3/9, and hope to find out more about non Greek social opportunities then.
@gclsports He may have no intention on rushing but don’t be surprised when he changes his mind. When I was a freshman living in the dorms my friends and I used to make fun of the Greeks. We used to say things like the Greeks paid for their friends, and we had funny names for all the different house based on their stereotypes. That year at the dorm was awesome and provided endless entertainment. By the end of our sophomore year we were ALL in frats. I was never that type of kid so I’m not really sure what happened.
One thing that has been helpful to me to gauge the social environment at the various schools on S’s list is to follow their social media accounts. If you have Instagram, there are many MU accounts that will give you a real sense of the students. The “stories” aspect of the accounts seem to be the most informative because there are often student takeovers and daily happenings featuring many different people. It’s been a great way to get to know the environment of the campus without actually being there.
@edhdad I know he might change his mind about going Greek once he gets to college, and I don’t care if he does or doesn’t rush. I just want to make sure there are social opportunities at Miami for him if he decides not to go Greek. At this point, he says he doesn’t want to and I can see him sticking with that preference. Or changing his mind. Who knows.
@EDHDAD re: the weather…be very afraid. 
Hence the North Face (make it down filled) and Sorrels. We are 4 hours north, so Oxford might seem balmy for my D. And you are right about assimilation. My older son started his freshman year (years ago) at a (different) pretty preppy college armed with a granola attitude, Bob Marley t-shirts and other “hippie” clothing. At the holiday break he asked for “one of those shirts with the horse on it.”
I am not going to lie…and this is just my opinion, so no flames…but the greek life at MU is what concerns me the most about this school. I fear it is too big a part of the social scene. We will be asking a lot of questions on our accepted student visit. BTW, the accepted student visit is what convinced my son years ago that MU was not for him. I feel it is very important to attend.
@3monkeys It’s funny you mentioned asking questions about greek party scene at the accepted students visit. The tour guides, who are almost always students themselves are all well trained to handle those types of questions. We went on a tour of UC Santa Barbara and a concerned parent asked about the party culture. The tour guide, who was a female student and looked about 19 years old says to the parent “Well…I mean nobody is forced to party…nobody ever held a gun to my head or anything…sometimes we do get together for Harry Potter marathons”. That answer seemed to satisfy the parent but I wanted to burst out laughing and say “Are you kidding me? This is TOTAL party school and eveybody knows it!”.
@EDHDAD you should have totally did that ^^^ and been “that” parent…your kid would have died! (I know mine would have). When we were touring one school, there was a reference to tunnels…so I said, can we see them?? The guide was like sure…I just KNOW everyone wanted to see them but wouldn’t ask.
As the mother of a current college senior who has Harry Potter marathons…and drinks… I totally would have laughed.
I have two Ds at Miami - freshman and junior. Yes, Greek life is big but there is plenty to do for those who are not in the Greek system. Junior D did not rush and is very involved in other campus organizations. She does have quite a few close friends who are Greek. My freshman D seriously considered the Greek system, but decided not to rush since she has already joined some other campus group that are quite active. Many of her freshman friends are rushing so I was surprised when she decided not to. She decided the time (and money) commitment was too big.
Definitely go to an accepted students day if you can and ask lots of questions.
The town of Oxford is very small with very little to do. When you combine this with the Greek party drinking culture, it can be a combination for trouble… There have been some articles about this culture including the rising number of kids visiting emergency rooms etc…Having said that, lots to love about Miami and not everyone drinks or cares for Greek Life. Every college has a scene…I visited Miami a few times and it was indeed one of the most beautiful Universities I have seen. The only concern I had was the location.
I wasn’t concerned with the preppy feel of the school as my daughter liked that part, and my daughter is interested in greek life for the comradery and sisterhood, but I am concerned with the size of the town combined with the large greek presence. We are from the Frozen North so weather is a non-factor and probably an improvement on our home conditions. It did look a bit like life in “the bubble”, which can give a kid an immersive college experience free from distractions, but I think there is a strong party culture there and agree with the worry that it could be a combo for a perfect storm. I definitely recommend visiting before making any decisions. We have an admitted students event this weekend at another school, and should have an idea whether Miami is still in play for her after that trip.
I’m sure that if Oxford had a few more symphonies and museums the students would spend the majority of their time there instead of partying.
@EDHDAD hahaha! That has been the other side of the debate here: what more do you really need? I like the lack of shopping, and I expect they use their food plan money more at Miami, without a surplus of off campus dining options.
@blackbird881 That’s right. And at Miami your kid will never fall off a cliff into the ocean or be accidentally left behind at a national title football game.