<p>Well I know there's at least a couple people on CC who are down here in Miami for this weekend, so I figured a thread might be nice. Who we got?</p>
<p>Discuss the events...check in...celebrate when we all get Singer scholarships... ;)</p>
<p>Oh, and GOOD LUCK to everybody in their interviews tomorrow!</p>
<p>Good luck guys! I did Stamps three weeks ago and it really wasn’t bad AT ALL. The best advice I can give regarding the interviews is to just be open, be yourself (don’t force anything), and just enjoy your time with your interviewer. Most of the professors throughout the weekend, and particularly my interviewer, were really down to earth, they are all extremely brilliant (obviously), and were really interesting to hear from and talk to. DO NOT STRESS ABOUT THE INTERVIEW. I know it seems like a lot depends on it and a lot is on the line, and for some that may be the case, but worrying won’t change the outcome one bit, at least not for the better.</p>
<p>Also, try to the most out of your time with your student mentor… they’re super-nice and will answer any questions you have. As my mentor told our group, “now’s the time to ask any questions you haven’t wanted to ask in front of your parents.” :p</p>
<p>Good luck and have fun! Also, if you guys have the same model classes we did, I really liked Dr. Wilson’s lecture on aging. :D</p>
<p>So RoKr93, how did the interview go? Was it what you expected? Hope you can share insights for those coming up next weekend and for those in future years. Best of luck to all who visited UM this weekend.
~Zinc</p>
<p>Okay, a rather hectic plane ride home and a day of vegetating later, it’s reflection time. :)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>So, uh, the weather’s all right.</p></li>
<li><p>The campus is gorgeous. So wonderfully put together and cozy as well. Seems like a great place to feel right at home at. Coming from Indiana I was kind of in awe of how buildings just kind of extend into the outdoors, and people…do things outdoors. Regularly. Crazy, yeah? :D</p></li>
<li><p>The campus is also really, really, really small. Along with everything else about this school. I knew Miami only had ~10,000 undergrads but I was thoroughly shocked at how tiny everything seemed. This probably is a result of having only seen Big Ten-size schools (Purdue, IU, UMich) up until now, but still…wow. The family and I arrived late Thursday night to meet with some Audio Engineering faculty on Friday, but we had a chance to explore the campus Friday morning and easily traversed it end-to-end in about 20 minutes. Truth be told I’m a little inclined toward a larger school, but I do love to personal feeling you get from everyone and the (purported) small class sizes. More on that later.</p></li>
<li><p>I met with an admissions/recruitment officer for the College of Engineering who, frankly, rubbed me the wrong way. This individual constantly took opportunities to take little jabs at the other schools I had applied to; I found myself wanting to interrupt and remind them that they were there to tell me why I should come to the U, not why I SHOULDN’T go to the other schools I was considering. Thankfully, that was the only experience of the weekend that even bordered on unpleasantness, and it was easily forgotten, as I followed it up with a meeting with a wonderful member of the Audio Engineering faculty. He was an extraordinarily nice guy and talked to me about some of the research I’d have the opportunity to do (which sounded fantastic) and all in all it was very nice to meet him.</p></li>
<li><p>The student panel at the dinner was a pretty cool touch. It was fun to hear from some current students about their experiences. I will also mention that despite having to hear lengthy spiels about how amazing UMiami was from countless different speakers over the course of the 2 days, it seemed like every one was friendly and personable, and able to keep their speaking light and interesting, so the message never really got stale or boring.</p></li>
<li><p>The student mentor for our group was great! She was a very friendly and outgoing sort, majoring in BME and (somehow?!?) in, like, 3 different club/intramural sports and several student groups and whatnot. She was very open and we learned a lot about the student life from her. </p></li>
<li><p>Speaking of student life…campus seemed totally dead this weekend. Now, some of that was probably due to Ultra and the Sony Ericsson Open (mostly ultra I’m sure, but the tennis player in me totally wishes that there are people who went to the tournament ;)) but the place seemed like a ghost town. I also got the impression that there isn’t a ton to do on campus other than a few hangout spots. It’s quite insulated from the rest of Coral Gables and it seems like you have to venture out to reach restaurants, venues, etc. Anyone want to confirm/correct me on this?</p></li>
<li><p>Okay. I’m trying to keep this somewhat chronological but I keep going off on tangents and failing miserably. Back to business. The model classes! I attended “How Sick is Our Healthcare System?” taught by Professor Ullmann and it was truly eye-opening (and honestly downright terrifying). The Professor’s totally objective stance was a wonderful breath of fresh air from the media’s take on health care (all media being wildly biased of course, not to mention the sensationalism). I really enjoyed the lecture.</p></li>
<li><p>Ah, the interview. I ended up interviewing with the same faculty member that I met with on Friday (plus a student of course), which was a nice surprise. I think it went okay, but actually it was the student who asked the toughest questions! The worst was “why do you think you deserve the Singer scholarship?” I honestly just froze up for a good 30 seconds before launching into a rambling, nearly-incoherent, totally impromptu dialogue that probably annihilated any chance I ever had of getting the Singer and ended with a rather awkward silence from all of us. It was probably the worst interview answer I’ve ever given. Besides that the interview went fairly well, but I can’t help but think back to that question and wince. I still have no idea how I’d respond to it. Heh.</p></li>
<li><p>Another tangent: the connection to the students that the administration and faculty stress at the U is pretty stellar. I mean, how cool is it that Donna Shalala teaches a class?! (and a mighty interesting one that I’d love to take, I might add. Judging by her speech at the end of the weekend, she seems awesome.) It just seems like a really positive, intimate community that I think I’d really enjoy being a part of. The school spirit and unity (which is up there among the “minor” considerations I’m looking for in a college) is amazing too.</p></li>
<li><p>And of course I met so many awesome people over the past two days and wish them all the best of luck as well! I think I may very well have been the only kid there from Indiana…I got some weird looks when I told people where I was from!</p></li>
</ul>
<p>(sidenote: there was definitely some girl who asked a question in one of the question sessions who said she was from Iowa…musicalme, perhaps? I felt like too much of a stalker even remembering that to go find out in person. Haha.)</p>
<p>All in all, my decision is basically down to Miami vs. Michigan at this point. I already knew I loved Michigan but it’s wonderful to know that I have two really great options…Miami was fantastic as well and I can totally see myself as a Cane! :)</p>