<p>I'm having a problem deciding what college to attend next fall. Ok, here is my situation. I live in Indiana. I am deciding to attend either IU or MU (Miami University Ohio) and major in Mass Comm, Minor in Bus./Lit?. I like Miami more than IU, but only because I feel that it has better academics. The problem is the out-of-state tuition for MU, it is going to be triple IU's next year. (21,000;7,000). I am not elligible for any finacial aid, my transcript is partially here <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=10834&highlight=1250+soccer+tutor%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=10834&highlight=1250+soccer+tutor</a> . Anyway, that doesnt matter too much. I understand that choosing a college is an individual decision and you should go where you feel comfortable, but I just can't decide. I would appreciate if someone could give me a little insight on a choice like this, or maybe someone that had to make this exact decision last year. Thank you.</p>
<p>Personally, Miami would appeal more to me for a number of reasons. But consider this - if you go to IU, you take the $56,000 you don't spend on the out-of-state tuition and spend a summer or two studying and traveling abroad. Work hard at building strong relationships with the faculty in your major, so that you can get good references for Graduate Assistantships that will pay your grad school tuition. Then take the remaining $50,000 and use it as a downpayment on a townhouse to live in during grad school - rent out the other two bedrooms and use the income from them to pay the mortgage. IU's starting to sound better and better, huh?</p>
<p>Thanks for responding. What reasons would it appeal to you though? I know that this is an unanswered question, but is the extra $60,000 really worth a diploma from MU compared to IU? Is the reputation of the schools that different? IU seems to be going downhill, while MU seems to be going up. In Indy Monthly there was an article about IU titled "Is IU good enough for anymore?", and I know that MU is trying to become the #1 Public Undergraduate School by 2009 (their bicentennial). I would appreciate any other comments/advice. Thank you</p>
<p>Miami University is a good school for a business major. But given the tuition differential, I would opt for Indiana unless you really don't like it. </p>
<p>BTW - I predict Miami will not be close to the "#1 public undergraduate school" by 2009, but props to them for agressive goal-setting.</p>
<p>I'd basically like the smaller size and somewhat higher selectivity at MU. But US News has them ranked almost in a tie. And I'd imagine that as you go around the country, a lot more people would know about IU than Miami (and a lot of those who say they're familiar with Miami will mean the other Miami). I can't imagine that perception of prestige would be a signififcant factor for you.</p>
<p>Yeah unfortunately Miami is going to fail miserably at that goal. Have they heard of UMichigan, UNC, UVA, UCLA, Cal, etc? I think Miami will provide a more intimate college experience, but not one that is substantially better than IU. Overall its not worth the price difference.</p>
<p>If you want a top school that is worth paying for, spend a year at IU and transfer to UNC. It costs the same as Miami, is much more well known with much better academics, and isnt too hard to transfer into (as opposed to first year admissions for out of state).</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses, I appreciate them. I guess it seems that its the unanimous opinion that IU is better for me than MU at a stranger's glance (and my parents'). Well, if anyone else has any opinions/adivce I would like to hear it. Thanks again.</p>
<p>I think Miami is perhaps a better overall college experience, but unless you are absolutely rich, its not worth the price difference to be out of state. If this were IU vs. UVA or UNC though I would go for the other two in a second.</p>
<p>Actually Slipper, Miami of Ohio is not nearly as fun or pleasant as IU. I would recommend IU over Miami, even for Ohio residents! The only thing Miami has over IU is Hockey!!!</p>
<p>Well I considered UVA, because it seemed like the best college that my minimal high school effort could get me into, but I didn't really start looking at colleges until the start of my senior year. Yeah, I know, big mistake. So I didn't get the application in om time. Anyway, is it much harder to transfer in as a sophomore than to be admitted as freshman? If I am motivated, I could get 4.0 gpa in college, so the academic part is not in question. But is it tough to transfer into a school like UVA, UNC, or USC? And if I do get in next year, is it really worth transferring schools?</p>
<p>Many of us headed off to college with plans to stay a year and then transfer. In the best-case scenario, you fall in love with the place and never think again about leaving. That's what happened to me.</p>
<p>Or in my case you went into college thinking you might transfer, and you did! It was the best decision I have made. </p>
<p>My brother transferred to UNC. Out of State for first years is very difficult to get into (because they only allow 18% of the class to be out of state), but for transfers they drop the quota and admission is on par with in-state students. So the acceptance rate almost triples for out of state transfers. If you can do well at IU, I would say you have a very very good chance. Its a great school and it has only 15,000+ students so its not nearly as overwhelming as some of the other state schools. Its also absolutely beautiful like Miami and is about the same cost.</p>
<p>UVA is also slightly easier to get into as a transfer than a first year, but at UNC the difference is much more drastic. </p>
<p>Is it worth it? It depends. The name recognition is much greater and you will likely be able to get into stronger programs if you do well, but people do well from every school.</p>
<p>For the schools in question, name recognition varies by region, and to a lesser extent by occupational type and industry category. Regarding the latter, a UVA law degree (not their undergraduate degree) does have excellent recognition across the country. In some circles, there is a little rub-off from that to the undergrad degree, but not much. In the midwest, particularly in manufacturing and retail businesses, a U of I undergrad degree would likely be favored over a UVa or UNC degree. And in the southeast that phenonemon would be reversed. </p>
<p>As far as I can tell, the Miami U degree has real clout in the Cincinnati area, but falls off quickly as one moves away from that area. Still, a very good mid-sized school for business majors.</p>