Public universities with private school feel?

<p>Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of Miami of Ohio? I visited back when I was applying to college but that was eons ago. How would you rate the academic caliber? Would it be challenging for an AP/honors student who might not have the test scores for top tier? What about drug usage? (I've heard stories.) Thanks for your insight.</p>

<p>If you'd like a school to be near a fun town, with access to activities besides those provided on-campus, then Miami of Ohio wouldn't be the place for you. I agree the campus is very pretty and has a private feel, but it's located in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but cornfields for miles and then, boom, you arrive in a place called Oxford, Ohio. Son liked the look of the campus (and all the cute coeds running around), but felt it was way too isolated.</p>

<p>Thanks, GoBlue. It sounds like Miami would be too isolated for my son as well. Can anyone suggest northeastern or midAtlantic schools with enrollments of 4000+, with ready access to a city, challenging academics (but not Ivy League or top-20 LAC due to SAT scores), and rah-rah support for the basketball and football teams? If the school also fields a D3 baseball team, that would be a bonus!</p>

<p>A lot of Miami students go to Hamilton or Fairfield on the weekends; it's not a long drive. Its location is probably my biggest complaint, but you can find plenty of things to do. Academically, I'm pretty pleased with Miami; I took 9 AP classes in HS, graduated in the top 2% of my class, and had strong test scores, and I definitely have to work for my grades. Your son might want to look into the Honors college if he's interested in Miami. The 2-3 hours of studying per hour of class holds true for most of my subjects. Regarding drug usage, a lot of students drink, but probably not any more than other public schools. I'm sure some students do drugs, but it doesn't seem to be a real problem.</p>

<p>Hmm, maybe I'm stuck on Va here, but what about University of Richmond, worrywart? Not sure how gung-ho they are about sports, but I've always loved their team name (Spiders!)</p>

<p>Good suggestion, hoedown. I've been trying to encourage him to consider it (we've already visited).</p>

<p>worrywart, Would Syracuse be of interest? Oops, just realized it's not a public. Is there a particular reason for the desire for public?</p>

<p>Also, wondering if UNew Hampshire might fit - it is an attractive campus; there's Durham as a college town and then not too distant to Boston. The school is strong in Engineering (and that's just the field I happen to know about; maybe others) and a rising reputation overall. Gung-ho Div I hockey for sure - male and female!</p>

<p>I second St Marys of MD ...it was my "love your safety" safety. its not university size though...its like a small lac. .</p>

<p>jmmom, the original poster wanted a public, but worrywart didn't specify. Suggest away!</p>

<p>Right you are, hoedown! I'm open to either. My son is an all AP/honors student with a respectable combined SAT but lopsided in favor of math (see other thread). Hence, my concern about aiming too high yet reluctance to aim too low. No major hook but a possible D3 baseball player and possibly indoor track (see yet another thread :o).</p>

<p>Miami University
very strong academically and considered a public ivy</p>

<p>I attend Miami and I am not sure that this isolation is a problem.
Cincinnati is within a half hour, and honestly, I am not sure that oxford needs anything else- this is a true college town.</p>

<p>Drug usage is not big besides alcohol.</p>

<p>Thanks, irish. Are you an OOS student? Are there a sufficient number of OOS to feel comfortable there as one? What can you tell me about the business program?</p>

<p>aussie, how did you choose Miami? What kinds of factors were important to you? </p>

<p>jmmom, Syracuse is on my list of schools to see but my hubby is reluctant to pay top dollar for it. He doesn't feel the academics there merit it. Any thoughts?</p>

<p>33% of the first-years in my class were from OOS. I haven't had any problems with that, other than being a bit confused when people discuss high school athletics in front of me.</p>

<p>The main reason I chose Miami was because of financial aid. I'm a Harrison Scholar, which pays for tuition, room and board, and a few miscellaneous fees, as long as my GPA stays above a 3.5. I ended up with a few decent scholarships from Indiana, but Wellesley's EFC was higher than what my family could afford. When I was searching for schools, I looked for strong biology and foreign language programs, study abroad opportunities (Miami has a campus in Luxembourg), and small classes.</p>

<p>I think Miami is underrated on CC because of its "J. Crew U" reputation, although it is a little overrated in Ohio.</p>

<p>Very nice description aussiek
...People in Ohio, Chicago, and for some reason... Minnesota, tend to think extremely high of Miami. It has a very good reputation in the area, but the J Crew U stereotype bogs the school down here. However, I for one think its completely overblown. </p>

<p>I'm in state, but by no means will you feel uncomfortable coming from out of state. Miami has a lot of out of staters for a public school, and by that sense seems somewhat private. I know students from almost every state, including plenty from California and even one from Idaho. The out-of-staters are one of the reasons I like this school so much. Like I said previously, a lot of Chicagoans attend Miami, and thus, the school has great connections to the city. I haven't heard of many students going to Hamilton or Fairfield on the weekends, most stay, but if they do leave they go to Cincinnati or Dayton.</p>

<p>Miami is a great school with solid academics, and could prepare you well. The university plans to build a new business school to open by 2009, along with many other facilities.</p>

<p>Why do you suggest the College of New Jersey? </p>

<p>My daughter is thinking of applying there because she is interested in a North East school and the TCNJ is willing to offer free tuition, room and board and laptop because of her school rank and SAT scores. We live in S. California and D is interested in experiencing life outside California.</p>

<p>I don't know much about the school though, so any insight you both could give regarding the campus, majors, dorms, etc would be quite helpful ( I heard it used to be a "teachers' school?) . Thanks.</p>

<p>mom of four-</p>

<p>Congrats to your D on her excellent credentials. TCNJ (like the other NJ publics) offer great merit aid based on rank and SAT. </p>

<p>Our son is a current sophomore at TCNJ. It is a great school and one that surely has that private feel. The campus is gorgeous. Very well cared for flower beds and brick buildings. Very 'New England'. There IS constant contruction on campus as they try to keep up with need for housing (guaranteed on campus only for first 2 years); but it shows the level of investiment going into the school. 6000 students with small classes with profs that do seem to care. Originated as a teacher's college in 18something but 'recreated' itself about 15 years ago....become MUCh more selective in admissions. It is THE destination instate for kids seeking a quality, education at relatively modest cost. It has made many of those 'lists' lately (Barron's, USNews).
Check out <a href="http://www.tcnj.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.tcnj.edu&lt;/a> </p>

<p>BUT the students are ALL from NJ, with a few from PA, NY,MD. Would your D feel out of place? The kids tend to be very serious students, but wonderfully supportive and friendly. The school is still trying to shed that 'suitcase' tag.....our son has never felt 'bored' on campus on weekends. We live an hour away and see him perhaps twice a semester!
The campus is in suburban Ewing, NJ.....not the place for a young woman looking to experience life outside CA! Not much within walking distance but a few strip malls.<br>
HOWEVER, the train to Philly and NYC is easily accessible. Our son routinely took the train to NYC for music rehearsals last year and it was not a big deal.<br>
Great school for our son.....for your D?
Feel free to PM me with any questions!</p>

<p>I’ll get right to my point: TCNJ is simply the BEST public college in the entire northeast.
And none of my kids attend. YET!</p>

<p>Another nice public with a private feel is UC Santa Cruz. It is reasonable size, has residential colleges and a gorgeous, wooded, self contained campus overlooking the ocean. The buildings are pretty institutional looking, but I am thinking more of the intimate feel of the campus.</p>

<p>
[quote]
university of virginia.</p>

<p>only 8% of funds are provided by the state of virginia.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>what exactly does the state appropriation have to do with feeling private?</p>

<p>the University of Michigan only gets 7% from the state of Michigan... yet few would say it feels private.</p>

<p>What he meant by that is unlike all other public schools UVa gets more money from its rich alums than the state of Virginia which only contributes 8% to UVa operating budget.</p>

<p>To answer Soccerguy315's point, if you're looking for public liberal arts-type college w/ a private school feel, then it's definitely William & Mary. William & Mary's collegiate environment has more in common w/ Amherst and Swarthmore than UC Berkeley.</p>

<p>If you're looking for a public research university with a private school feel, then it's UVa all the way. UVa has more in common with Cornell (who's our archrival in polo by the way) than Michigan w/ Cornell's public/private make-up of its different schools. (What I mean by that is some of Cornell's schools are part of NY state's public collegiate system while most are private. Regarding UVa, the Darden School and the Law School do not receive any money from the state and are self-sufficient from their endowments, tuition fees, and large alumni donations.)</p>

<p>Furthermore, UVa definitely has a private school feel w/ its history of being founded by Thomas Jefferson and jointly established by Jefferson, James Madison & James Monroe. Plus, like Yale and some of the other Ivies, UVa has a plethora of secret societies and other traditions. Some of us still wear jackets and ties and cocktail dresses to football games for God's sake. It's kind of funny when I look back at my college pictures. I have tons of photos of me and my friends wearing ties, suits and tuxedos to so many events - may it have been athletic events, formal & semi-formal balls, mixers, etc.</p>