Dear World, I am a prospective Miami U student for the fall of '17 and my parents seem to think it is not worth the money, this is easily my number 1 choice and I would love to attend. If anybody has any feedback about the positives and negatives of Miami that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Depending on how much it will cost you/them, it may not be worth it. However, if you can afford it, Miami is definitely a great school and is increasingly rising in many college rankings.
It’s a beautiful campus but Oxford well, it’s a tiny town. If you don’t think you need hustle and bustle, it’s for you. It’s also a very big Greek campus so a lot of social life involves parties and events they sponsor.
I graduated from Miami years ago, and my parents did years before me. When it came time for my D to apply, it wasn’t on her radar which was okay with me. She wanted a city campus so Miami wasn’t for her.
Good luck!
My sister went to undergrad at Indiana and grad school at Miami. She raved about Indiana, but never had anything good to say about Miami.
I grew up in Ohio and had lots of friends go to Miami. After Ohio State, it was probably the second most attended university of my high school classmates. Most of them seemed happy to have gone there.
It is a big party school and greek life is huge. Most kids there, particularly within greek life, are midwestern wealthy kids. The campus is beautiful, but one piece of advice I’d give is to not choose a school based on the niceness of its campus – many schools are beautiful, you get used to it. The academics are decent but unless you’re in the business school, not anything special, however, the faculty tends to be friendly and helpful. The student body is pretty apathetic to anything going on in the world. If you want to feel like you’re in a bubble and really get a college experience like what you see in the movies, you will enjoy Miami.
You sound like my sister. She was a TA at Miami and was constantly complaining about how clueless and lazy her students were. In fairness to the students, I always wondered if the complaining was the result of her not being a good teacher, and in her frustration she was blaming the students rather than acknowledging the problem might have been her teaching. That’s purely speculation on my part, though. I have no idea whether she was a good teacher or not.
Miami alum here.
Pros:
Strong undergrad academics: yes, the Farmer Business School gets a lot of attention; but the undergrad education, music, architecture, graphic design, pre-med, and pre-law programs are also particularly well regarded. One positive I have experienced is the accessibility of professors and tutors to help when needed.
Beautiful campus
Excellent study abroad program
Involved, extraverted study body: there is an unspoken expectation that you will get involved - whether it be intramural sports (which are hugely popular), politics (college republicans and democrats are the #2 and #3 largest groups on campus respectively), greek life, etc. Miami is not a good fit for meek wall flowers.
Strong and organized alumni network
Decent job recruiting resources and prospective employer pull
Reasonably intelligent student body - yes, some are lazy (like anywhere), but most take their education somewhat seriously and are generally ambitious and competitive in the classroom. That said, we’re not talking about Ivy League intellectuals here.
Negatives:
Entitled students: some, but certainly not all, students are aloof, appearance-conscious, wealthy suburbanites; which can be intimidating to be around for those lacking self-confidence
Disconnection from the world outside - not true for all, given the large participation in the college republicans and democrats, but certainly for some; Oxford is a remote college town and has the feel of a private college
Lack of school spirit - I hate to post this, but it is currently true. Attendance at sporting events has been anemic.
This is true for two key reasons: 1) because the teams in the major sports - football, basketball, and hockey - have been weak until this year. 2) With the exception of hockey, Miami plays in a mid-major conference (MAC) and plays large conference teams on a limited basis only. Most students will not get excited about a basketball game against Kent State. If you are expecting big, festive tailgates and 40K students in the seats, you will be disappointed.
Party school reputation - deserved; although the university administration and city of Oxford are gradually taking steps to address this
Neutral:
Greek system: This is a controversial topic. Only 35% of the student body is greek, and the greeks do not dominate campus life. However, since a number of national fraternities and sororities were founded at Miami, the impact of greeks on campus seems outsized. I have friends that both loved and hated being a part of the greek system. I have many friends that were perfectly happy and involved on campus without participating - and they had no difficulty developing a large social group. However, there seems to be a growing rift between the greeks and non-greeks on campus; as the greeks have largely been responsible for most publicized incidences of bad student behavior over the last handful of years. As a result, the university administration has begun taking a hard line on greek student misbehavior. I would expect the greek community to remain an essential part of campus though; as the greek community tends to be wealthy, well-connected, and provide a relatively high number of donors to the university. Relevant example - current House Speaker Paul Ryan.
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@loveandhonor - 25% of Miami students are Greek; 32.5% of women and 17.5% of men. https://issuu.com/cliffalexanderoffice/docs/fall_2016
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I would also add as a pro: 33-35% of Miami domestic undergrads are from outside Ohio. This is significantly higher than many public universities and has been valuable post-graduation from a networking perspective.
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