<p>I'm surprised how little information there is about the University of Mississippi on CC. Do any parents here have any experience with Ole Miss?</p>
<p>Here are my impressions from the little bit I can find online:</p>
<p>POSITIVE
- tradition/school spirit
- big-time sports
- cheap</p>
<p>NEGATIVE
- academically weak
- isolated
- not diverse</p>
<p>I'm asking because I'm keeping my eyes open for financial safeties. Any input will be appreciated.</p>
<p>āNot diverseā is the big thing that would concern me.</p>
<p>Check out the University of South Carolina, which has worked very hard to improve its faculty and physical plant over the past couple of decades. Also, there have been some positive reports on CC about Clemson University (about which I know nothing).</p>
<p>I happen to like the SEC schools, but I would look at Alabama Honors first. Students at the big SEC schools seem very happy and get excellent educations IF they work and donāt get too distracted. 
I live and work in the southeast (transplant) and have met many wonderful professionals in all age groups who went to the SEC schools.</p>
<p>One of my sonās close friends is a freshman at Ole Miss this year and reportedly loves it. I may hear more details over Thanksgiving when all the kids are home. Extremely nice, well mannered kid; absolutely amazing basketball player and solid football player so the big-time sports aspect was important to him.</p>
<p>We are looking at many schools, including those mentioned. I am asking about Mississippi because, unlike the others, there seems to be little information available online about life there, and I donāt know anyone with any experience there.</p>
<p>I have lots of friends as OleāMiss, and they like it a lot. They have generations of family legacies who attended, and lots of contacts. I think most people would agree it is not an āacademicā school, but lots of fun-a very southern conservative school.</p>
<p>I hope āSouthern conservativeā doesnāt mean Bible-thumping and intolerant of anyone who is not white and Christian. Iād be surprised if a large public university anywhere were that way, but I donāt know much about Mississippi.</p>
<p>2010emily, would you tell me more about that?</p>
<p>I too like the SEC schools and agree that if a student doesnāt allow themselves to be easily distracted there are many, many opportunities. I donāt, however, share the affinity for Alabama that others here have. Iād choose Auburn, Georgia, or LSU Honors over UA. As far as Ole Miss, I consider it to be fratty, and conservative, which is fine if thatās what youāre looking for. I would say that of the SEC schools, more diverse student bodies and more academic opportunities would be found at UGA, LSU and UF.</p>
<p>I agree about Georgia, but it is not as much a financial safety AND the honors college is quite selective. After Vanderbilt, Georgia is the true cream of the SEC as far as academics, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Ole Miss is a good, but by no means great school. Many in Mississippi would consider Mississippi State to be stronger, but it really depends upon the degree program studied, Ole Miss is generally stronger in the liberal arts/social sciences. MSU is stronger in the sciences and engineering.
I strongly disagree with momofwildchild. The pecking order in the SEC is Vandy = Florida (although very different experiences), Georgia close but a notch below, then Kentucky with fairly significant drop; then the restā¦ The others are all good, just not great. Honors colleges help, but most of the classes taken by a student will not be in the honors college. The average student at many of these schools is not well prepared entering college and this inevitably leads to lower standards in the courses taught.</p>
<p>Having said all that these flagship schools in each state in the SEC are far better than many of the other colleges in the region. You will get a very solid education at any SEC school.</p>
<p><<ole miss=āā is=āā generally=āā stronger=āā in=āā the=āā liberal=āā arts=āā social=āā sciences.=āā msu=āā sciences=āā and=āā engineering.=āā>></ole></p>
<p>I would agree with this.</p>
<p>I didnāt go to Ole Miss, but spent many weekends visiting for football games (okay - this is back in the dark ages) - but I loved it. Now, maybe I liked it because my parents were close friends with the then Chancellor and I frequently stayed in the Chancellorās guest house when I visited!!! ;)</p>
<p>Now - canāt speak for today, but in my time - Ole Miss was jokingly referred to as the 'Homecoming Queen Capital" - and at least 4 of the HC queens that I knew from my high school went there! </p>
<p>The school has a lot to offer the right kid, but if youāre not into the preppy, frat-scene (or at least comfortable faking your way among it as I did) - then you might not like it.</p>
<p>My sonās academic advisor was just telling me about an alum of their school who wasnāt a very good student, and is currently at Ole Miss. He came back to school to visit and was so proud of his fantastic grades there. I asked the advisor if that meant that the boy had matured and was now buckling down to studying and he burst out laughing and said, āNo!! It means that Ole Miss isnāt a very challenging academic environment!ā</p>
<p>Since we now live in the south (transplants from Southern California), we have known many to check out Ole Miss. Very strong spirited traditions </p>
<p>However, common concern was that it offered few merit scholarships to OOSers that werenāt majoring in some particular major. [The</a> University of Mississippi ? Office of Financial Aid](<a href=āOffice of Financial Aid | University of Mississippiā>Office of Financial Aid | University of Mississippi)</p>
<p>Many found more merit scholarships elsewhere, at better schools.</p>
<p>I have heard - though I wonāt vouch for the accuracy - that āOle Missā is a term that evokes slavery; it is how a slave would address the mistress of the house (āOle Massaā being how the slave would address the master of the house). Can anyone confirm or deny this? The whole sound of it makes me shudder, personally.</p>
<p>^^ well, thatās the first Iāve ever heard of that.</p>
<p>Vandy and Florida are not comparable academically. I have nothing against big state schools. I went to one myself. If you are equating Vanderbilt and Florida academics (an elite private v. a big state university in the SEC in a state with a pretty bad school system) you been smokinā somethinā. </p>
<p>I also donāt put Kentucky ahead of much else. Itās about the same as Arkansas, Mississippi or LSU. Just depends where you live and where you might WANT to live.</p>
<p>^^^ āThe University got its nickname āOle Missā via a contest in 1897. That same year, the student yearbook was being published for the first time. As a way to find a name for the book, a contest was held to solicit suggestions from the student body. Elma Meek, a student at the time, submitted the winning entry of Ole Miss. Interestingly, the term āOle Missā is not derived from Mississippi, but was a term used by slaves for the wife of a plantation owner.ā</p>
<ul>
<li>from āThe Band Played Dixie: Race and Liberal Conscience at Ole Missā by Nadine Chodas</li>
</ul>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Well, thank goodness our language evolves. It no longer means that!</p>
<p>Does anyone know how Bamaās marching band got its name, āThe Million Dollar Bandā?</p>
<p>(I find the answer amusing in light of today)</p>
<p>I think it depends too on the major, the department and to some extent, the student. Some kids will do well anywhere they go - whether it be Vandy, Florida, Kentucky or Ole Miss. I know of a specific grad program at Florida with national ranking that Vandy canāt touch because of the research at Florida. Therein lies the danger of generalizing.</p>