<p>binx-</p>
<p>Does Miami have a speech/audiology undergrad major?
If she continues with speech, she'll need a masters but will never have a problem finding a job. Part time, full time, various locations- private practice, early intervention, hospital, every school and school district, etc... Great career for a (maybe future Mom).</p>
<p>Unsure about the German and music, but if she does them as an education major, she'll be one step ahead.</p>
<p>Miami just announced their tuition for next year. In-staters got zero percent again. (Like last year. I don’t know how many years in a row that makes it, since we’ve only been there two years.) Out of staters got 3.5% which they say is the lowest increase in 34 years. (That fact is a good one to remember! Something that might not be easy to find in their recruitment info.) I think last year’s increase was 6 or 6.5%. </p>
<p>So out-of-state tuition will be $26,294 for next year, for OOS. And will probably increase by 6% or more in the subsequent years. Important info to have for planning purposes!</p>
<p>To their credit, they say they are working at finding ways to keep costs down, and I don’t think my D’s education has been negatively affected by those cost-cutting measures.</p>
<p>I wonder in general, though, how colleges are going to handle these economic times. Seems like raising tuition is contrary to what usually happens in a depression, when folks have less money overall - especially when having to cut scholarships and grants. (I’m speaking generally - I don’t know that Miami is doing that.) Maybe they’re raising tuition, assuming that folks will qualify for more gov’t assistance.</p>
<p>Answering other comments:</p>
<p>Aussie - wow - you must have had a boat load of APs. The Miami plan requires 36 hours - that’s 12 classes, spread across a rather specific continuum.</p>
<p>My D has decided to quit attempting the German major. The College of Arts and Sciences has their own core curriculum in addition to the Miami Plan. Along with adding a few courses to her schedule, the ones that overlap between the MP and the Core don’t appeal to her. She took 23 credits this semester and decided she just didn’t relish the idea of having to do that every semester till graduation. Instead, she will aim for minors in German and Chinese.</p>
<p>She is not adding an education degree. That would definitely add at least one additional semester. If she decides to be a teacher, she needs to decide where she wants to work, and get a degree from that state. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t expect to live in Ohio the rest of her life. (But she doesn’t want to teach anyway.)</p>
<p>She already knows that to be employable, she will need a graduate degree of some sort. Unless she just wants to teach private violin lessons, (which would also be a great “Mom” career.)</p>
<p>I’m not from Ohio myself, and my main concern is that I’ll miss out due to the fact that kids already have relationships going in, along with the fact that I’d miss out during the “off-season.”</p>
<p>If you care to shed any light on these issues, I’d be very appreciative.</p>
<p>Being an OOSer and not knowing other students isn’t an issue at all. I’ve actually only been home one summer (between my freshman and sophomore years); I took classes another year and was abroad for a spring semester + summer. This summer, I’m living at home and commuting to campus once a week for research, and once my project is done, I’ll work full-time and catch up with my HS friends.</p>
<p>binx, I took 10 AP classes and used the portfolio to pass out of ENG 111/112. Several of my AP classes counted for 6 credits (for example, AP US History counts as HST 111 and 112). I did make a mistake, though-- I had to take 2 Miami Plan classes, one of which was a class for my major, so I missed it the first time around. I had to take 4 CAS classes, but again, all but 2 counted for a major. It definitely helps if you double major within the same college; I couldn’t imagine having to try to do fine arts or business core classes in addition to a second major.</p>
<p>Collegehelllp, I agree with Aussie about making friends. Folks have been very welcoming to my D, and she feels she has a lot of friends. Although many of her friends came to school already knowing people, they seemed eager to meet new people as part of their college experience, and were welcoming to her. As I mentioned previously, she does miss out on the kids who plan things together during the summers or holidays. </p>
<p>My D has always been the kind who has a few friends here and a few friends there - in different groups that don’t know each other. Friends from church, friends from school, friends from music. And in HS, friends in a different country. That has continued at Miami - friends from her major, friends from her dorm, friends from her extracurriculars. She is not part of one single tight clique, but that is probably of her own choosing.</p>
<p>The music department is like a small school within the larger one, and the students there all get to know each other quickly.</p>
<p>Back when D was a newbie, Aussie’s advice to her was to get involved in something she enjoyed - that would be the best way to make friends, and that has proven true.</p>