So far I'm impressed!

<p>We just spent a couple of hours walking around Miami and having food in town. It's quite nice. I was not expecting to like it as much as I do. My son said coming here has only helped his chance of enrolling. He too is quite impressed. We've talked to both student ambassadors and several random people, and not one had anything negative to say about the place. It's a great size, and it feels very safe. it is true that the student body is very good looking. I remember someone writing that previously, and you do notice when you are here. We do the official tour or whatever (Make it Miami Day) tomorrow, but my son has seen enough to put it high on his list. Even though it's freezing cold, there were people milling about outside, people going into the business school building for interviews, many people using the various study/meeting rooms, and lots pf people at the beautiful, brand new student center. </p>

<p>Glad to hear it .
We go in April have already been there but my son needs to be reaffirmed after being rejected from Penn State which was his first choice. I hope he leaves there loving it. please post again after Monday’s events. @1214mom do you have a UMD student, too? my son was also accepted to IU but he does appear to be interested much to my dismay</p>

<p>I do not have a UM student but my older son was accepted to the engineering school, there and the son graduating this year has been accepted to the business school it’s in state for us and a great school. At this point Miami will be cheaper for us and IU will be significantly more expensive, unless he gets more merit aid through there honors program. Why do you ask about MD?</p>

<p>my daughter is a sophomore at umd I think we joined college confidential at the same time w our older children. we’re from ct so they are all expensive for us LOL. can’t wait to hear your views after tomorrow. where r u staying in oxford?</p>

<p>That makes sense. I would have been elated if my s12 attended UMD, but he’s at RPI, which is a great school for him. We are staying at the Marcum. It’s on campus. Room is small but it’s very convenient. I hope the snow clears by April. Im really worried about driving conditions tomorrow. I will have 3 kids in school next year (one we split with other parents) so I can Identify with expensive. </p>

<p>we’re staying at the Marcum too. have fun tomorrow and good luck</p>

<p>Hi 1214mom. We just got here and it’s dark already so we did a quick drive around. I like that there’s plenty of students walking around at night, looks safe and well lit. We visited last summer and my son liked it here enough to apply, but now he is not to sure. Hoping tomorrow brings some clarity and he can decide. Have fun.</p>

<p>I can’t wait to hear what your son thought. We were not particularly impressed with Make It Miami, but we both REALLY liked the school. It is clean, safe, beautiful, everyone was incredibly nice, the business school building and new student center are quite impressive… I was happy to see so many people out and about, given it’s freezing, and it was the weekend. I’m not sure what else we could ask for. </p>

<p>I agree with the make it miami day being a little chaotic. I think the morning could have been shorter, leaving more time to explore campus, individual depts. etc. That being said, we met with the dean of the school of education and the guy in charge of the scholars program, and that was impressive. My son still likes butler better, because of its smaller size. Unfortunately , the large group and all the walking to go eat and then to go to the education session just emphasized the campus size for him. I think miami offers him more opportunities in and out of the classroom and is a better fit for my son in terms of education. Butler fits his personality better. Butler is also twice the cost ( after merit awards) . He did say that going today did make him like it more than he thought. </p>

<p>Glad you all visited. You are where we were about 10 months ago. It seems odd in retrospect but our son had Miami as a “safety” school. Little did we know. He aimed high, including Ivies, had the numbers but didn’t get what he thought he wanted, and ended up choosing between Miami, Illinois, and Kentucky. It’s beyond cliche on CC to say we’re thrilled with how it worked out but we are. We’re actually thankful that he didn’t get into his “reach” schools. He got great merit money at MU, but it would have been even more at Kentucky, so that wasn’t it. He’d have been overlooked at the big name schools or lost at the larger state schools, and the smaller schools don’t have the range of options including the technical programs (architecture, engineering, etc.). Miami has the feel of a liberal arts college with the size and resources of a medium-sized state school. There is a reason Miami ranks up there with Dartmouth and Princeton in the USNWR rankings for Undergraduate Teaching. It’s what they do. In his first year other than a one-hour first semester everyone-in intro course in his school (engineering and comp sci) all of his classes have been small, he knows his teachers and they him, and he has four - four - advisors to turn to. He’s in the Honors Program so I can’t speak to the Global Miami Plan but they really focus on making sure that even the techies get a broader liberal arts education along the way. The campus is fabulous - wait until October when the leaves turn - it’s away from the distractions of a big city, the kids are plenty smart enough but not obnoxious about it, and again it comes down to teaching, which is what you’re paying for. MU isn’t about the PhD students - there almost aren’t any - and the faculty isn’t about research - though they do it. It’s about undergraduate education; quality classroom time and a true college experience. “To think that in such a place, I led such a life.” My wife and I are very thankful he landed there.</p>

<p>Agree with Eric…this campus looks like a “post card” in the Fall. If you were able to like it at all in this crappy weather, just think how great it will be during Spring/Fall?</p>

<p>And we weren’t the only ones who liked it even in the crappy weather. There was a girl there majoring in engineering. She’s accepted at Georgia tech, and lives in Georgia so would get a great scholarship, but will likely wind up at at Miami. </p>

<p>MU over GT …hmmmm</p>

<p>dadfor2014, That’s what I said… Given My older son wanted to go there, but they are stingy with merit money for out of state so private was cheaper for us.</p>

<p>^^ If I live in South, and like to do Engineering, then GT will be my Dream School. </p>

<p>I’m just checking in to see if others have made their decisions. My son finally decided on University of Maryland, but we both really liked Miami and it was a tough decision. </p>

<p>My D and I toured Miami and Denison this past week. She liked Miami, but it’s too big for her. She’s decided to attend Denison. Best of luck to all you future Redhawks (and Terps)!</p>

<p>My son decided on butler university. Miami was more generous , and my favorite, but felt too big to him.</p>

<p>Interesting…I’ve never heard of Miami referred to as “too big”. It’s on my son’s search list, so I’d be interested to hear what aspects of the school may have led to that perception?</p>

<p>@bluecker let me clarify. My D applied to only small LACs with two exceptions - U of MD (instate) and Miami. She was eligible for a 1/2 to full tuition scholarship at Miami, so I made her apply. She liked the school, but it was ‘too big’ relative to the LACs that she preferred.</p>