<p>I am just curious as to how true UM's reputation of being a party school is. I am aware that the reputation is getting much better however, when people ask me about which colleges i applied to and I say Miami I get some very mixed reactions. </p>
<p>Obviously I think that how much you party and how much you study is completely up to the students and their personality, but would you say there is more partying at the []_[] then at other school and if not why does it have this reputation?</p>
<p>I think that the reputation has to do with the reputation of the surrounding areas…people think that the UM students are hanging out at the expensive clubs in South Beach and playing beach volleyball. It’s hard for people to believe that going to school in Miami does not mean that you will be hanging out tanning all day. I must admit that as a parent, my initial reaction to UM was not completely positive. I did worry about the distractions, but the more I learn about UM, the more relaxed I have become.
My older son goes to Colgate University which is in cold, snowy upstate New York. It is a small school (2800 undergrads) with nothing exciting for miles around (unless you find cows exciting). While students there manage to have a great time, they do not have the distractions that Miami does.
I honestly believe that every school is a “party school”. If you are looking to party, you will party (that’s what college is partially about). The important thing is that you find a balance. College is about making amazing friendships, taking advantage of incredible opportunities, learning about subjects that you never even knew existed, studying, accomplishing goals, joining crazy clubs, time management, and a hundred other things, including getting drunk on occasion and running around doing incredibly stupid things.</p>
<p>I totally agree with jozuko! This topic seems to be taboo, but really, you can find it if you want to (the parties, I mean). Every school has them. What I love about U Miami is the diversity. We had lunch in the dining hall and the diversity was more prevalent than any other school we visited (more than a dozen) except for McGill and the language was predominantly French (my D studied Spanish). Sometimes I wonder if the more rural campuses where there isn’t much else to do are more at risk for parties? Anyway, my point is that some kids go to college to experience all that jozuko listed, and some, well, they don’t last long. And I knew a few of those at UNC!</p>
<p>I completely agree with both of your answers and that is what I have always understood but I still don’t understand why some parents and adults don’t understand that. </p>
<p>I am very familiar with Colgate and all of those schools upstate considering i’m from NYC and snorkelmom i always had the same feeling that the schools that are more isolated for example Colgate, Binghamton ect, at least in the NY area were more prone to parties because there is not as much to do in the surrounding area and as a the result rely on partying.</p>
<p>As a student, the school is, as jozuko said, as much of a party school as any other school in the country. There are parties for those who like that thing, but for those like myself who aren’t too much into the party scene, it’s very easy to avoid that whole scene. Find a group a friends who are like-minded (it should be very easy in an incoming class of 2000 kids), and hang out with them on the weekends rather than go out to a party every weekend. The University also does a really great job of providing on-campus activities as alternatives for those who don’t necessarily want to get trashed every weekend. And those kids that do go out every night of every weekend, like snorkelmom said, either don’t last long or realize that the road they’re going down isn’t doing anything for them.</p>
<p>Great answers everyone, thank you.
Marinebio- since you are a student there do you mind me asking if there is anything really special about Miami that you can’t find online or just a campus tour. Something that only full time students experience?</p>
<p>And I mean U miami bit the city Miami</p>
<p>There’s not really an easy way to answer that. I fell in love with this school after my first visit, and fell even more in love after the second visit, and my first semester has only served to confirm my love for this school. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes it really special for me, I kind of just know. There’s an overall positive vibe around campus, all of the students are friendly and helpful, and it’s just a great place to be. I suggest visiting the school to see if you feel the same way, because not everyone will have the same experience that I have. And during the campus visit, explore beyond the campus tour. The tour is great, and very informative, but try wandering around for a bit on your own. Talk to some of the students. Try to schedule a visit with the dean or a representative of the school/program you’re interested in. You’ll know if it’s right for you.</p>
<p>Great thanks. I live in NY and have already actually visited the school 3 times! Miami is like my second home and I got there very frequently.
The only thing that was turning me away from Miami is the reputation it has, at least in my community. However, I never really cared what people thought of my choices and I won’t now. With my stats my guidence counselor really tried to push me to Emory, Vanderbilt and some of those others schools that “have a better name” but the feeling that I get when I visit the U compared to these other schools is awesome. I love the location of miami and am not so keen on Atlanta and Nashville. Of course I am still applying to those schools RD but I really don’t anticipate going to them over Miami.</p>
<p>Also, I know that the US new rankings are trivial but is there am explanation for Miami’s drop in the rankings?</p>
<p>Wuhnandrummer. Please don’t let the rankings influence your decisions too much. Just remember that US News is a magazine in the business of selling magazines. There are a lot of factors that go into their “magic” formula that are quite questionable at best. There are schools that are ranked higher than Miami with much lower admittance standards. GPA, and SAT selectivity are only small factors in the ranking. The important thing is that you choose the school that best fits you. Maybe that is Miami, maybe not.</p>
<p>^Well said. There’s are numerous articles that explain the reasons why those rankings are very poor indicators of a school’s actual quality. Go with your gut, not your guidance counselor’s or US News’ opinions.</p>
<p>I think MarineBio has the correct response here:
</p>
<p>At every school people party, from Harvard to Florida Keys Community College. It’s as simple as that. From my experiences at other universities (as far as personal experience is concerned, basically only Georgia Tech, USF, UF, Ringling College, and Stanford, though also from discussions with folks at Michigan, Duke, and NYU), UM is pretty typical in this regard.</p>
<p>nova southeastern is not as well known as u of miami but, should be checked out too!it is in davie about 45 minutes +/- north of coral gables has a great campus and serious students.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Parties usually happen in the areas surrounding the school.</p></li>
<li><p>If you don’t party, then you don’t.</p></li>
</ol>