^ but is it worth $80K to the OP’s parents for him to get a tan?
^ that’s a lot of beach vacations.
There’s no doubt Miami has better beaches than Columbus. But internships and jobs, I doubt it.
Guys, Miami and South Florida as a whole is not only larger than Columbus, but it is a global city that is unmatched by any American city not named New York. You have interminable internship opportunities in Miami. People in this topic have said UM is weak in “liberal arts.” Guess what, employers don’t hire people with liberal arts degrees. If you are going into, say, meteorology or maybe news media, the best way to get hired is to get a degree in meteorology or broadcasting. Miami’s Topple carrer center is second to none in finding jobs for students as they approach graduation. Also, UM is not like a public school is any way shape or form. The university is small, classes are small, you get personalized attentions from professors and advisors, there are more internships than interns on campus, and the school is at zero risk of getting its budget cut. Please forgive me if I sound harsh, but the subtle shots at UM from non-UM people gets very old quickly. Ohio State is a fine school and very much makes sense to attend if you are an Ohio resident and cost is an issue, but in this world you get what you pay for, and a UM education is extremely worth it if affordable for any particular person.
"Guess what, employers don’t hire people with liberal arts degrees. "
Yes, they do. Many investment banks and top consulting firms hire students with liberal arts degrees, from English through History to Classics, etc. The vast majority of Ivy League students coming out every year are Arts and Sciences majors, only Cornell and Penn offer undergraduate business degrees. Anyone who wanted to major in liberal arts and had choices among the top 50 schools would likely not attend UM.
“Also, UM is not like a public school is any way shape or form.”
How about this: 1) high ratio of preprofessional majors to Arts and Sciences 2) high Greek influence on campus 3) low % of upperclassmen in on-campus housing. I could go on… After one month there, my UM student said to me that it felt more like the public universities he visited than the private, more highly ranked ones. Most of his friends would have gone to a public Uni if not Miami. I had wrongly assumed that his friends had chosen Miami over BC, Wake Forest, Emory, Tulane, etc. This does not seem to be the case, although I have seen some kids here on CC who have chosen Miami over Tulane. The availability of merit money makes UM price competitive with OOS public Unis for kids who did not get into their state flagship or just don’t want to go to Rutgers, etc.
Lastly, Miami is not a major business/financial center in the same league as NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc. UMiami is a second-tier school for students who are mostly looking for second-tier careers which is fine for those kids who want that. If all you want to do is go into Accounting or Sports Management, UM is fine for that. It is, however, not a school for those who while they are seeking the tools for a great career, they also are looking for the education of the whole person and to further their intellectual thinking skills and critical thinking while at Uni.
First of all, the original poster DOES have a cost issue:
Second,
Oh yes they do. The liberal arts include all the sciences, math/statistics/comp sci, languages, history and yes, art. Doctors, lawyers, businesspeople all generally have liberal arts educations.
I would think that both UM and OSU can offer a good liberal arts education, in addition to their pre-professional and vocational programs.
Finally, since you seem to be a status-conscious kind of kid, consider that USNews has them ranked 44 and 54 on the national university ranking. That’s really not a big difference for an additional $80,000.
@londondad Sorry to be harsh, but you need to stop using your son’s experience as the single truth about UM. I’ve had two kids go there, and I don’t agree with you at all. You either need to cite facts, not vague “feelings” (felt more like the public universities he visited than the private) or make sure you preference these by IMO. It’s fine to have an opinion, but you state things as facts, when they are clearly not.
Your last paragraph is so wrong it’s amazing! Looking for second tier careers??? My older son graduated with students in accounting all working in the Big 4 firms. Where are you getting your information?
Because you guys seem confused about a point I made I thought I would further explain.
Of course employers do not ignore what liberal arts classes you take. But liberal arts is a SUPPLEMENT to your core major degree not a COMPLEMENT. The reason youth unemployment is so high is because people who want to be economists end up majoring in Hisory of English Literature and nobody bothers to tell them they are asking for both debt and unemployment.
I think you’re confused, @Cane615
Economics is one of the liberal arts. It is a major offered at most all LACs and universities.
…and plenty of people who study English Literature go onto be incredibly successful. They learn to read and analyze, to write well, to think critically. These skills are highly valued.
Debt is simply due to borrowing for college no matter what the major. In this case, Miami would mean $80K of debt if the family can’t afford the difference out of savings and income.
Employment can be a function of specific job training (like nursing or engineering) but it’s also related to what these students do while getting their education. Do they seek out internships and job experience before graduation? Do they research careers and seek out advice, help, make connections? These will determine job prospects for most kids.
@londondad You mentioned multiple times that there is a high Greek influence on campus at UM, when the percentage of people in Greek life is around 20%. Sure it’s higher than OSU but I wouldn’t consider 20% a high Greek life influence.
@ANR2017 It’s true, most students that hold positions are from greek life.
ANYWAYS. No, UM isn’t worth 80k debt over OSU.
If costs were maybe 15k over the course of 4 years, it should be a consideration… Even though I believe that Miami is one of the best cities to be in, OSU is the much better financial choice and investment.
@ANR2017 is correct. 20% is not a huge influence. But even if UM did have a high Greek influence, that does not at all give UM a “public school feel.” SMU and Vandy are both private and have insanely huge Greek influences, and many public schools have relatively small Greek influence. As for most campus positions being held by Greek members, yes that may be true but that is the case at every college.
Is it really? At colleges with a Greek presence, campus positions (I assume you mean student government) are mostly held by Greek members? I guess they have an organizing advantage.
If that’s key to the OSU/UM decision I suppose it’s easy enough to find out. Looking at OSU it seems about half of the “executive branch” are, including the P and VP.
I wonder how much of an influence the student government team has at either university. I’m pretty sure UM is not like RPI where the students actually run the student union. I think UM has a strong university president model on management, where it would not matter who is president of the student government.
I think the main point of this post is that there is not enough of an academic difference for an accounting major to spend $80k+ to go to Miami over OSU. I don’t think Miami is a bad school. I just don’t think it is a great school. (My son is happy there, but I have some concerns about the school) The lack of intellectual curiosity of the students that I have met there is to me alarming. One thing that I found odd is my son is the only kid on his dorm floor in the College of Arts and Sciences. (It may just be the small sample size, but I find this strange.) Also, just to highlight a couple of previous points, again this is what I have either heard or observed (I have a number of friends who are Miami parents). It seems like the Greek life does dominate campus social life particularly for the girls. Also, what I found also found strange is that to me it does not seem like the boys there join many clubs. (I have just toured a number of East Coast schools with my daughter over Easter and the kids there talk about their clubs constantly.) I am curious whether your UM students have joined many clubs and stuck with them?
OP–have you looked to see what companies come to each university to recruit accounting majors? If having a job when you graduate is a priority, then you should find out which program provides better job opportunities/internships in you field.
I think that both OSU and UM are excellent schools and I don’t think I would consider either one a “second-tier” school. Miami was ranked #44 in 2017 US News rankings and OSU was ranked #54. I think you will get a great education at either one and if money is a concern, then OSU is a great choice. I do think there is a difference in terms of the type of education you will get at a private school where the population is much smaller, solely because class size is small and endowment is larger. The students I know who have chosen Miami have actually done so because it offers a lot of the things that are at the big 10 schools without the huge population, like Greek life and great sports. That is not for everyone, but just because some students prefer that it doesn’t mean they are any less intellectual or didn’t have better choices. My daughter chose Miami over OSU, Wisconsin, Tulane, Clemson and a few others. Her roommate chose it over UCLA and UC Berkeley. Clearly, both very smart girls but they were attracted by many things Miami has to offer. Good luck to you whichever one you choose. I don’t think you can go wrong with either one!
U Miami endowment: 844 million (17k students) - about 50k per student
OSU endowment: 3.5 billion (60k students) - about 58k per student
Retention and graduation rates are almost identical.
Acceptance rates, almost identical.
SAT/ACT ranges - almost identical (Miami 1 ACT point higher)
Miami wins student-teacher ratio with 12:1 vs 18:1.
@OHMomof2 wow that’s amazing that they have such a large endowment. As I said, both excellent choices!
@londondad please elaborate on “the lack of intellectual curiously” at UM. I simply don’t see it.
@Cane615 Again, this is based on a small sample, but I have been on the
UM campus 6 times and met UM kids in London. To me it is very
important that my children go to schools alongside intellectual, interesting and highly intelligent peers. As a result, I try to engage in conversations with as many students at these schools as possible. I tend to find UM students insipid, hedonistic and overly focused on their social lives. By comparison, I just spent time at Tufts and Georgetown at accepted students’ days and there is no comparison between those schools and the UM students that I have met.