<p>Once again I am blown away by the sheer number of responses. I really do wish to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. I posted a similar thing on the Michigan forum to see an alternative point of view. While I too appreciate their responses after a while it devolved into numerous personal attacks being slung my way.</p>
<p>Just to add another response, when narrowing down my schools I ended up picking between Miami and Michigan. While Michigan is a great school I really fell in love with Miami and it didn’t hurt that I got a very generous scholarship (compared with having to pay OOS for Michigan). I graduated from the engineering school this past spring after getting into 7 of the top 10 PhD programs in my field. I am currently in grad school at one of those schools and I have to say how pleasantly surprised I am with how I match up with some of the other kids in my program who came from schools like MIT, Yale, Duke, etc. I think it really came down to the quality of education I received at Miami, it was challenging, stimulating and did an overall great job in preparing me for life after undergrad.</p>
<p>Hi! Looks like you’ve gotten some great feedback. UM is definitely an academically sound school. Here in Miami the reputation is perhaps over-inflated, but here is where many graduates live and work, so that is a testament to the quality of the students it is putting out. In fact, I am gearing up to attend grad school at Penn (to address another concern of yours) and when I tell people, they are so much more impressed by my UM pedigree. All they say regarding Penn is, “it is so cold,” or “aren’t there pedophiles there?” (confusing it for Penn State). Many of my friends have also been accepted to top notch grad programs out of Miami such as those at UChicago, Yale, UNC, Duke, Georgetown and (yes…) the two UMs. And, if UM doesn’t end up being all you dreamed it to be (which is rare), I have a friend that transfered to Notre Dame and one to Yale. But they still wear the Orange and Green, if under their current school’s shirts. I myself turned down Columbia for Miami and am pretty satisfied with my decision (my wallet is even more so). Word of advice: get involved. Some apathetic, club-obsessed-and-nothing-else kids do get in and while they are not all bad, you’ll meet dedicated, smart kids at yourself all over campus at these schools. Overall, in the battle of the two UMs, both are neck and neck. Find where you fit and are comfortable – I have a feeling it is at Miami. Good luck!</p>
<p>And, while stupid, that 38 and climbing ranking is validating and well-deserved. Go Canes (and Quakers… Haha!)!</p>
<p>The Dean of Miami’s School of Business had no problem leaving Michigan for Miami…
[School</a> Welcomes Eugene W. Anderson as its New Dean : University of Miami School of Business](<a href=“Miami Herbert Business School | News & Events | University of Miami”>Miami Herbert Business School | News & Events | University of Miami)</p>
<p>hi, i actually narrowed my own college match to three schools this year, Michigan, Miami and Cornell. I’m about certain I’m choosing miami regardless of the rankings and what people say. Talk to any UM student (as i have done over the past week) and they will tell you everything you want to hear: Kids at miami are smart. Plain and simple. People go there for an education. in fact, id say that michigan is more of a party school than is miami. i know that for a fact because my sister currently goes to michigan and i’ve seen it firsthand. As far as getting into a graduate school, miami is more than respectable, and if you have a successful undergraduate career at either place, you will get where you want to go. Don’t be pressured by other people, and don’t go to school based on a name. YOU are the one that has to live there for four years. Not your friends, not any administrator or teacher in your school, and not even your parents. This must be a decision that comes from you and what you believe will make you happy.</p>
<p>^well said! And by the way, I ended up choosing UMiami.</p>
<p>@32tbja that is very telling and I’m glad you posted that. Congrats for getting into Cornell and Michigan but it is soo telling that you’d choose Miami over the two. It speaks volumes about the university, and people there. Shattering all preconcieved notions about it being a party school. What you and everyone else has said has really moved me in the direction of attending the University of Miami. I’m visiting in two days and plan on not only going on the scheduled tour as I did 1.5 years ago but speaking with current students.</p>
<p>^you should also schedule to speak with someone who is pursuing the major you want to pursue or speak to a faculty in that area to get a better grasp of the opportunities and such. Hope you will be joining us at Miami next year, I am glad to see that you are opening yourself to give Miami a chance.</p>
<p>@bigworld definitely. i’ve been speaking to everyone i can on the subject, and several people that have gone to cornell have said “go to miami.” I spoke on the phone with my cousin (who attends UNC) since i know he turned down a few ivies (and michigan) to go to a southern school. Now even though UNC is still a better school than Miami, I cannot stress enough that miami is getting better exponentially. I live in New York, and for years the top kids applied to all the ivies (parents hoping to pay cornell state tuition), Binghamton (our best state school), tufts, lehigh and schools like michigan as their safeties. What’s most interesting to me is lehigh. It is now tied with miami in the rankings. However, you ask any kid in my high school or parents of kids that are in college now, they will say that lehigh is a much better school than miami. Now, thats simply not true. Miami is shooting up in the rankings each year, and don’t get me wrong, there is going to be a huge party scene at miami. But you make of it what you make of it. At miami, you can do the club scene, you can join a frat or a sorority, or you choose your own path. There’s no pressure. Whereas at michigan, if you’re not in a frat or a sorority you’re labeled from day one as a GDI (g-d damn independent). ALthough i may choose greek life at miami, its not something that i want to be forced into if i want any social life to speak of if i went to michigan. As for choosing miami over cornell, its because of 2 things: first i’m premed so i think that miami gives me the better chance at med school, and second all of the intangibles at miami just beat cornell flat out. This process has taught me not to go to school for a name. Go to school where you want to live and where you feel most comfortable. Whether thats at Harvard, or if its at a small state school near your house. You need to be confident in your decision.</p>
<p>^what my cousin said regarding UNC is that the weather factor is more important than you think. Wherever you go to school it’s going to be hard to get motivated to study. But he said he gets out of bed to walk to the library because its 75 degrees outside and he enjoys the walk over. The weather makes you want to be out on campus. At michigan or cornell, the same day getting to the library would require you to throw on several layers, a hat, gloves, an enormous jacket,etc. Then you’d likely walk out in the slosh while your face gets abused by cold wind. I’m from NY and deal with this every morning at school and I’m sure you do too in michigan. It’s not something I want to deal with any more.</p>
<p>@Bigworld Being from Michigan as well I understand the “Michigan” mentality. But after all it’s likely that neither your teachers nor piers are going to be big influences in your life 4 years from now. That being said I wouldn’t really give their opinions too much value. I recently visited Miami and absolutely loved it. I too had plans of going to UofM this Fall, but my visit changed everything. It was perfect, the weather was phenomenal, and most importantly I could see myself being successful, despite the distractions (weather, nightlife ect.). Miami is smaller and can offer a lot more personal attention than UofM can. My high school is on the smaller side so I wanted to go to a bigger college, Miami is a perfect medium. Furthermore, most people living in Michigan don’t even know about Miami. When I tell people I’m going to the U, they always think it’s a massive public school in a bad neighborhood or they’ll say “Oh, the one in Ohio?”.
As for Miami being a good school, well as you’ll see during their admissions presentations, the avg. gpa is over 4.0 and the avg. act is a 29. Pretty much on par with UofM. Being from Michigan, youd probably know that at UofM most people are pretty arrogant, and it sounds like you already go to a high school like that (Im guessing Crankbrook or DCD), so you should think about having to deal with that for another 4 years. Miami does have its fair share of money (actually tons of it), but the students seem to be pretty grounded. As for partying, yes it is quite prevalent, after all it is Miami; but I have friends who there who say there isnt any pressure to participate and theres tons of fun stuff to do otherwise. The party freshman dorm is Hecht. The more studious dorm is Stanford. But you’ll find both types of students in either. I too hate Michigan weather; it was 85 when I visited in February. Cant argue with that! Good luck making your decision! :)</p>
<p>I’m from Michigan too and have been accepted to UM, where are you from in Michigan? I’m a sophmore transfer student so I may not get housing, are you staying on campus? I still have to visit UM to decide if I’m going. I’m also considering heading out to Cali and starting at Santa Monica community college until I can get into a 4yr. university, undecided. Miami is soooo expensive, and I have to pay for it, not sure how???</p>
<p>I’m from the Detroit detroit metropolitan area and I’m happy to announce that I visited the UM campus for the second time a few days ago. I liked it. I really liked it. The people there were really friendly and provided me with useful information and just seemd to be a great inviting bunch. I’m still undecided but will make decision in the next 2-3 weeks.</p>
<p>
Isn’t May 1st your deadline to send in your enrollment deposit? I know it is for Miami.</p>
<p>Yep, that’s the national deadline.</p>
<p>Yeah, I decide in about 10 days.</p>
<p>Just to put it out there, waiting until may 1st may not be the brightest move. You want to be able to find a roommate/preference classes.</p>
<p>Mango15!!! So glad you’re still reading this. Please see the thread I created a day ago. Also thanks for all of your replies.</p>
<p>Well guys, I just wanted to inform you of my decision. I’ve decided to become a HURRICANE!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations bigworld!! I have some friends from Duke who are attending Miami for med school and they seem to think the undergraduates there are pretty happy with their experience overall and are a pretty smart bunch.</p>