MU is turning out to be a top contender for my son, who would be an out-of-state student; how have others handled out of state travel? Is there reliable transport from either the Dayton or Cincinnati airport? (I imagine that he will eventually end up with a car, but likely not first year) Thanks!
@guyk27 http://miamioh.edu/about-miami/visiting-miami/transportation/ Also, I think I read that the Butler County Regional Transit Authority runs buses at the ends of terms to the airports.
Thanks @Beaudreau – I’ve seen that link, but I’m hoping to hear that those are practical solutions (reliable, timely, etc) and are an actual solution for getting to and from campus.
@guyk27 We haven’t payed the deposit yet, but it looks like we will be finding out more about transportation options over my son’s freshman year. When we attended Make it Miami, we flew in through Indianapolis and rented a car. From Phoenix, only Indy had non-stops and flights were significantly less expensive.
Thanks @Beaudreau – my home town is not far from Miami (just outside of Dayton), so when traveling that way, I would typically check Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati, and more often than not, Dayton wins that battle. But I’m coming from the east, and you’re coming from the west, so no doubt there are many differences.
Any worries on your part about how to get from the airport (Indianapolis, for example) to MU? I have relatives in Beavercreek, OH (and one cousin went to MU) but I wouldn’t want to impose on them like that 3 or 4 times a year.
For my son’s travel, I think we will be using Cincinnati or Dayton. There is no shuttle service from Indy that I’m aware of and he’s too young to rent a car. I think he is mature enough to fly in, get his bags, and catch a shuttle from Cincinnati or Dayton. I had him travel by himself to San Antonio for a second visit to Trinity University. He had to get to the hotel, stay overnight, check out, and get a cab to campus. Of course, campus was a five-mile straight shot from the airport. And there are tons of “inexpensive” non-stops between Phoenix and San Antonio. For Cincinnati and Dayton, the costs are much higher and require plane changes. (It was much easier and cheaper back when Delta had a Cincinnati hub.)
Where else is your son considering? What major?
My son has already done the same thing (flights, ground transport, etc) so we have no worries in that regard. In fact, thinking back, my first flight on my own was for a co-op job interview (Cincinnati to D.C.) when I was 19 or 20. He has me beat by 3 or 4 years (he was 16 for his first “solo flight”).
After months of whittling down choices, he is down to a final four (all for Biomedical Engineering): MiamiU, UCincinnati (I’m an alum of their engineering college, and my dad was an alum of their architecture program), Northeastern and URochester. All have pluses and minuses, so he’s kind of stuck at the moment. Best financial deal, even considering transportation, is MiamiU. Northeastern is local to us.
@guyk27 Good luck on your son’s college choices. He has some great options. I had a high-school classmate who graduated in EE from Cincinatti; he was on the six-year co-op program and had a Dow Chemical scholarship for tuition and room and board. Dow used to have a very strong relationship with Cincinnati. I don’t know if that’s true today.
@Beaudreau – do you know what year he entered or graduated? I was EE '83. I don’t recall any Dow Chemical co-opers, but then again, I don’t recall anything of the 3 years of math I took either 
@guyk27 My friend would have been graduated about ten years behind you. (And you thought your were too old to be having kids starting college.) I wish that I could remember all the math that I took (MSU Chemistry). My oldest son is taking differential equations at Texas A&M. All that I can remember is that the class was fun and very useful.
Hi - my son is an out of state student at Miami. Two ways he’s gotten back and forth from airports:
http://www.oxfordlimousine.net/ Oxford Limo is very reliable. They group students together who have flights at similar times from the same airport. Cost is about $40 each way.
Ride from friend/acquaintance: Lots of kids at Miami are from Ohio, of course, and many have cars. $20 for gas money can get you a ride to the airport if it’s on their way home.
Have used both Cinncy and Dayton airports - Dayton flights almost always cheaper from the east coast.
Congrats to your son on his admission to Miami! Great school. Travel abroad opportunities are amazing.
@fostertv Thanks for the info. We’ll see how the prices work out from Phoenix.
@guyk27 Well, we paid the Miami deposit! My son chose Miami over ASU, Arizona, Portland, Trinity (San Antonio), and Rose-Hulman, and will be majoring in mechanical engineering.
Thanks @Beaudreau – good luck to him! I think my son is zeroing in on Cincinnati. His final two are UC and MU, kind of diverse choices, both with their unique pluses. So maybe I can convince my younger son to zero in on MU – he was on the same visit last summer, and really liked it too.
The ironic part – we’re in the northeast (in fact, received similar offers from URI, UConn and UVM) but ASU and Arizona recruit very heavily up here. Not so many travel out that far, but some do.
@guyk27 - The last two years winters have been great for UA and ASU recruiting.
Guyk27, don’t know if you are still on the boards… but we are also from the Northeast, Boston area. My son goes to Miami. Let me save you a few hours of searching… the only non-stop flight from Boston is on Delta and goes to Cinci. It is only marginally more expensive than flying with 1 stop to either Dayton or Cinci, and to me, worth the time and hassle savings. My son often uses Oxford Limo to get back to school or the airport, which has proven extremely reliable. He has also paid friends to drive him or pick him up.
Thanks, @Mammakin – my kid decided not to go to MiamiU. But he will be nearby at UC, so this is still useful information. I’m now hoping that kid #2 picks MiamiU – I really like the school.
Thumbs up for Oxford Limo! My son just got back from Summer Orientation. Oxford was at the Cincinnati Airport to meet him and on campus to take him back two days later. @guyk27 - I have one more son who starts college in 2016. We will visit Miami with him too.