Miami vs. Case -- Opinions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Miami University - Ohio
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<p>Our DS is very strongly considering MU for college. He has visited, and was absolutely wowed by the campus and the helpfulness of the people. He has visited WUST, MU, Case, Bowling Green. He had been intending to visit Lehigh as well, but now is really focusing on MU and Case.</p>

<p>He has good academics - 3.9 UW GPA, AP US History (4), Honors English throughout, taking AP English and AP Government next year, NHS. He has historically had trouble on standardized tests. His ACT was 28 composite, with 32 English, 31 Reading, 26 Math, 26 Science, 10 Writing. All very good, with the exception of Math & Science.</p>

<p>His EC's are very strong -- Marching, Jazz & top concert bands, solo & ensemble awards, selected for regional symphonic orchestra, Boy's State, Eagle Scout, Band Council, Community Service, Leadership Posts, Tutoring, etc. He will also get great recs.</p>

<p>He is hoping to get into one of the Honors Programs at MU, preferably University Honors. His ACT is a bit low for that, but he hopes his other credentials will compensate. He does not quite know what he wants to pursue -- on the one hand, he has definite interests in the physics/chemistry areas, but on the other hand loves History and could see himself in some sort of analyst/professor job. His music is very important to him, though it won't be his major (perhaps a minor or double major). </p>

<p>We have counseled him to go somewhere where he feels comfortable, and offers the broadest range of good academic offerings. Miami certainly seems to fit the bill, and it has a great instrumental music program. He seems to be a fit socially (he has done a lot of international travel, and his standard "uniform" is a golf shirt and khakis! ;-)) </p>

<p>His lone concern with Miami is the size. Case is smaller, but also came across as more one-dimensional on the math/science side. Case is convenient to a lot of the Cleveland attractions, but the campus itself does not compare to MU. </p>

<p>Any input from anyone on the size at Miami -- how comfortable people feel--problems with registration, etc. due to size? Anyone else go through the MU vs. Case debate? He will be submitting his apps shortly after school starts, and will apply for all of the Honors Programs at MU. Will likely appy EA at Case. Remaining question is whether he is taken enough with MU to apply ED there. Any advantages/disadvantages in terms of Honors if he goes ED?</p>

<p>Obviously, we are just looking for all relevant input. He would be posting this himself, but he is off on a 12 day hiking trip with the scouts, so I told him I would do some digging for input.</p>

<p>Thanks for any input you can provide.</p>

2

<p>If your son gets into University Honors, then he will have priority registration-- he will register before even the seniors. The only classes I had trouble getting into last year were Honors classes. If he applies for Harrison, then he does not need to submit an additional Honors application unless it is different for this year. I did not look at Case very closely because, like your son, I wanted a school that was equally strong in liberal arts and the sciences. As for ED to Miami, I don't know anyone who applied ED. All of my friends applied RD I. Just make sure he gets his Honors app in as soon as possible, preferrably before the first deadline.</p>

<p>If your son is worried about his ACT score not being high enough for Honors, he could try to retake it and raise his scores in math and science. I took the ACT in September and had my scores by the time I submitted my Harrison application.</p>

<p>I really enjoyed my first year, and I'll try to post in the first year experience thread this weekend. I wouldn't worry about size; Miami feels smaller than 15,000 because many upperclassmen live off-campus. The class sizes are smaller than I had expected; the only large lectures I had were in zoology and chemistry. My other classes had 8-20 students.</p>

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<p>OhioGolfer-
If I am not mistaken, Miami ED is binding and your S can only apply to one school ED/EA that is binding. Also, if he does MU's ED, and gets acccepted, he must withdraw all other college apps and I'm not certain but that MAY be before he knows whether he made any of the honors programs.</p>

<p>Miami's website is pretty comprehensive in this area, you may want to do some digging there <a href="http://www.muohio.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.muohio.edu&lt;/a>
I'll spare you my rah-rah speech, suffice to say I love it the most even 20+ years after graduation :)
(I went to HS in a suburb of Cleveland and love that city, but for college - no question, MU)</p>

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<p>believersmom - I believe you can apply to more than one binding ED/EA school, but you take the risk of being bound to the one that accepts you first.</p>

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<p>Bumping again...</p>

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<p>I know a number of kids who have gone to those two schools. Case is a workshop. If your son is looking more for a traditional college experience, Miami is the way to go. You should be very focused and motivated academically to be successful a Case. The kids who go there tend to be preselected, so their accept rate does not really reflect the rigorous academics there.
If your son is looking for smaller schools in the area, Ohio does have some great choices. Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenburg, Wooster and Denison are all schools that are smaller than Miami, but a bit more nurturing than Case.
Not knocking Case, by the way. H has hired several Case graduates, and proclaims them top notch. The kids I know who graduated from there all have better jobs than their peers. It's just that the academic atmosphere is much more intense there than at many schools.</p>

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<p>Buckhorn,
Might find this helpful too.</p>