College retention rates are higher for residential students than they are for students who commute.
Lots of variables come into play with your retention rate comment for commuters. Many attend part time. Many hold full time jobs. Many have families. Many are non-traditional students.
If a student is motivated to graduate, they will graduate whether they are a commuterā¦or not.
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The devil is in the details. Low retention rates are correlated with affordability (among other factors). As a group, commuter students are relatively lower income than residential students, so it makes sense that schools with a relatively high proportion of commuter/lower income students would have relatively lower retention (and graduation) rates.
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Agree with MWfan- devil in the details. Iāve seen commuter kids struggle to schedule their classes to minimize transit time (perfectly logical) which sometimes messes up their ability to finish in 8 semesters. In my own neighborhood, I know kids who work really hard to get a Tuesday/Wed/Thursday class schedule-- which always seems really efficient until you discover the lab you need is ALWAYS Friday morning, 8 am, or that one of your pre-reqās is offered Monday at 3 pmā¦ or else you need to wait a whole year to take it when it will be offered Tuesday at 3 pm, which conflicts with something else you need.
Unless itās a commuter college, schedules are drawn up to maximize the space constraints and professorsā time-- not to jive with public transportation or rush hour traffic.
Thumper- I know a LOT of motivated kids would push back on your comment. They donāt lack motivation- they are missing a few credits and thus need that 5th (or-- horrors-) 6th year. Commuting is tough unless you are really well organized and donāt have other demands on your timeā¦
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Currently have a daughter attending Miami and wanted to share a few thoughts. Yes Miamiās on campus room and board is stupidly expensive. The dorms are actually really nice but even with the cheapest meal plan, itās spendy. And they require you to live on campus for 2 years (except this year when they let sophomores move off campus due to covid, but they arenāt repeating that again next year). That said, when my D moved off campus this year, she cut what she pays for room and board in HALF. Yes half. Sheās getting a great deal on a house (they are out there) and she doesnāt eat expensively. Donāt be conned into thinking you need to sign an expensive lease 2 years early - thereās more housing than there are students and the longer you wait the more landlords will start making deals because they donāt want their places vacant.
That said, Miami has the tuition promise which holds the room and board and tuition rates steady for all 4 years. So you know that what you pay in tuition wonāt go up. Not many schools do that. Yes they require a 3.0 to keep your scholarship, but they donāt kick you off right away - you get a semester or two to pull up your grades. And if you are smart and motivated, itās not that hard to keep your grades up. Thereās free tutoring and supplemental instructor sessions for most of the notorious weed out classes. Show up to class, do the work, seek help if you donāt understand something, and youāll have no issues.
As far as finishing early, I think it is definitely possible. My daughter came in with a bunch of AP credits that took care of a lot of the gen-eds. She is currently triple majoring (biochem/psychology/neuroscience) and will get it done in 4 years. She looked at the psychology major requirements and if she were just doing that, she could have had it done in like 2.5 years. They are generous with AP credits and they also accept credits from any Ohio community college, so you can get ahead by taking classes at your local community college over the summers. They use a site called transferology that will tell you what classes at community college substitute for classes at Miami. I think with AP credits and maybe a couple community college classes to knock out the gen-eds, you could easily finish in 3 years. Miami actually has 3 year degree plans for a lot of the majors - there seems to be one for computer science. Look here: Three-Year Pathways | Academics - Miami University
I certainly do think that $60K in debt is a lot, but there is definitely something to be said for the on-campus experience. For what itās worth, Miami has been a solid school and my daughter loves it.
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If you go in with a yearās worth of credit, do you still have to live on campus for the first two years, or only the first year (if you get sophomore standing when you enroll)? Saving a year of on-campus living might also help.
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Unfortunately, Miami is strict about it being 2 years in the dorms - they donāt care about credits. My daughter had junior standing by credits at the end of her freshman year but if not for Covid, they would have still required the dorm for her 2nd year. Only way to get out of it is to live with your parents or possibly in a rental house owned by your parents (Iāve heard rumors that works, donāt know anyone who did it so canāt say for sure.)
Oh, thatās really unfortunate. Iām still leaning towards commuting right now but itās not set in stone yet since admissions hasnāt gotten back to me yet. Even if I moved off campus for the 3rd/4th year Iād still have to take on substantial debt that I could avoid by commuting. I also wouldnāt have to work during the school year if I commuted since I would make enough over the summer. Kent also has a tuition lock/guarantee for four years. I would have priority registration if Iām in honors which would help me create a commuter friendly schedule. I drove to Kent the other night and the drive is pretty much completely down a state route that (to my knowledge) shouldnāt get too congested during rush hour.
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Oh I agree. Maybe motivation wasnāt the right word. Many commuters just need to stick with it a little longerā¦to make that schedule work. Itās not the āfaultā of the student that sometimes things do not align well for folks who are juggling lots of balls while also completing college.
Hopefully you hear back soon. Iām pulling for you whichever way you end up going.
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When you make your schedule, keep in mind college is your full-time job now.
Soā¦
1Ā° no early classes whenever possible (to avoid ice and āearly morning workā traffic congestion that may make you late or rush on the road)
2Ā° classes spread out during the day, not packed together
3Ā° classes spread out during the week, even if staying āhomeā on Mondays and Fridays sounds tempting. (Youāll notice fewer classes are offered on Friday afternoon though and those classes that ARE offered tend to be less crowded, which is also a benefit to take advantage of. You shouldnāt think Friday afternoon = pre Friday night, but Friday afternoon = last hours on campus today.)
This will require discipline.
Living at home may mean youād think of other things first (job, familyā¦) and āfitā your schedule around those - itās a dangerous trap.
Consider youāll be on campus M-F from 9 or 10am until night-time. If you donāt have a class, consider youāll be in the library, in a lab, at a club or activity, networking, etc.
Fit everything around college, not the other way around.
If you manage to do that, youāll be in very good shape.
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Couldnāt love this post enough. Great work, Myos.
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Iāll definitely keep that advice in mind, thanks. Iāve pretty much always treated school as my first priority (except of course for my health/family health) so I think I shouldnāt have a hard time treating it like a job.
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I finally got in contact with admissionsā¦ had to schedule an online zoom appointment since they never called me back or emailed me back. Anyways, admissions gave me the green light and told me I can still register for classes and enroll for the fall while still keeping my scholarships and my place in the honors college. Now I just have to contact Miami and let them know Iām not going.
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Really impressed with the maturity you have shown here. Youāll go places!
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@Novanoid ā Congrats on having it all work out. Wishing you the very best.
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