<p>In order to keep Believersmom happy with activity on this forum ;-), just wanted to report on our follow up visit to MU last week. </p>
<p>My son set up meetings with a professor in the International Relations area, as well as a meeting with the Band Director. We also tried to set up a meeting with the Zoology department (pre-veterinary), but couldn't get schedules to fit.</p>
<p>Our experience was just what we had come to expect from Miami. The IR professor spent an hour with him, discussing everything from their program to overseas studies, to the fall of communism. We dropped by the Zoology department to get some literature, and happened upon a professor who spent 90 minutes with us, touring the facilities, explaining the program, discussing career options, and introducing us to other professors. All this on a Friday with no appointment.</p>
<p>Same story with the Band Director -- he spent an hour with my son one on one, and invited him to sit in on band practice. Just a great experience. </p>
<p>It was also useful to be there during classes, as you get a better sense of the atmosphere, the student body, and logistics. While parking is not a pleasant experience (particularly when it was pouring rain), I was amazed at how peaceful and uncrowded the campus appears. The feel is very much more the feel of an LAC than a larger public college.</p>
<p>After a full day, and a LOT of walking, our son was even more convinced that he made the right decision applying ED to Miami. Now he is finishing up the Honors Application and begins the wait until December 15. </p>
<p>Ohio Golfer, I have a couple of questions. First, what are the opportunities for non-music majors and do you know how competitive it is to participate in the band program. My D plays the flute, always a competitive intrument and is convinced that she would never have any opportunities to play in college.</p>
<p>Could you discuss how preppy the campus felt to you. Could a non-prep be comfortable at Miami? My D is afraid that Miami will be too much like HS (we send quite a few to MUO).</p>
<p>Do you have any information about the engineering program? My D is interested in engineering and the program at Miami is brand new.</p>
<p>deb922-
Obviously I am not OG, but I was discussing the engineering degree recently and think you may want to check out the webpage for the School of Engineering & Applied Science at this link:
<a href="http://eas.muohio.edu/undergraduate.html%5B/url%5D">http://eas.muohio.edu/undergraduate.html</a>
I believe that only the CHEM Engineering program is new. The Pulp & Paper engineering program has been around for over 20 years for sure.
There is an old discussion thread about the preppy-J.Crew U thing, I'll try and find it and bump up for you.
Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I have never heard of anyone being turned away from marching band. I do not know very much about concert band, but there are several non-majors in orchestra. As for engineering, Miami is currently building a GORGEOUS new building. It looks amazing from the outside.</p>
<p>I would say that most of my friends are "non-preps," and because of Miami's size, there will definitely be students who are similar to your daughter. Honors (IMO) is significantly less preppy and definitely more diverse than the rest of campus.</p>
<p>deb -- The vast majority of ensembles, including marching band, are available to non-majors. Some are more competitive than others, as you might imagine, but there appear to be tons of performance opportunities. My son plays baritone in the marching band and euphonium in concert bands. Per the marching band website, the instrumentation calls for 15 baritones. When we were at rehearsal, there were 8 baritones present, and appeared from the formation that 1 or 2 were absent. Frankly, it looked like they had room in the flutes as well, though I wasn't focusing on those.</p>
<p>In terms of "preppiness", I'm not sure how to respond. To me it seemed like a normal college -- lots of jeans and T-Shirts, kids asleep on any available piece of furniture, etc. Saw lots of groups of kids studying together, etc. In my day, preppy was blue sportcoat, gray slacks and striped tie for dress up, Izod shirt, Khakis and topsiders for casual. I saw about the same amount of "logo" stuff (A&F, Hollister, etc.) that I see among kids in our community. Of course, can't tell from a single day, but it didn't strike me as being overly fashion conscious or snooty, if that is what you are getting at.</p>
<p>Don't know much about the engineering program, but others have provided some links for that. The new building is drop dead gorgeous, though.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who replied. I am glad to hear that Miami isn't as preppy as some would have you believe. </p>
<p>OG, thanks on the info about the music program. It sounds like something worth looking at.</p>
<p>I'm checking out the links on the engineering program, thanks.</p>
<p>One more question, if you are in Honors are you required to take Honors classes. At Ohio State, the engineering dept,they recommended that engineering students not take Honors math as it's more theoritical. They think that non-Honors math is better for the engineering student.</p>
<p>If you are in Honors, then you have to take 7 Category A experiences, which are course-related. You can do 2 course extensions along with honors classes to fulfill Miami Plan requirements. There are Honors planning guides for different majors on the Miami website.</p>