New Bookstore!

Hey everyone! As you come to visit campus, I hope you are ready to check out our NEWLY RENOVATED BOOKSTORE! Now that the construction has ended, it has become quite the place to visit on campus.

I remember visiting Miami is 2005 and wanting to go to the bookstore to see all the college gear that my potential future college had in stock. The bookstore was loaded with Miami material from t-shirts to blankets; sweatshirts to pennants; it was wall to wall Miami. Every time I visited the bookstore, it seemed like there was more university apparel (and textbooks of course!), but less room.

I remember making one last bookstore run with some friends the last week before graduation. It was funny to think about how 5 years earlier we had been standing in this same place at the end of our junior year of high school, wondering if this was the bookstore of the institution where we would spend our college careers.

And then it went under construction. The bookstore had always been serviceable, but we were told that the new bookstore would make us jealous that we were not entering Miami as first year students when it opened (we were already jealous of the incoming students because they got to spend the next four years at Miami). After seeing the newly renovated bookstore, I can’t help but wish this had been here when I was a student. It is magnificent, and I encourage all of you to check it out when you come to campus. The bookstore is in the Shriver center—the same site as Make it Miami.

These are pictures of what our renovated bookstore looks like.

Be sure that you stop by as you visit the campus to pick up your brand new Miami gear. If you visited in the late fall or early winter, make sure to stop by the next time you visit to see what your new bookstore will look like!

What Now?

Greetings from the Office of Admission! I want to take a moment to let you know that this year has again been a record-setting year for Miami! As of today, we have received 18,183 applications for admission. Last year we got a total of 16,960 applications. That means our pool is getting increasingly selective, and as a result we had to make many difficult decisions during our application review. Some of you may have gotten a letter indicating that your application was deferred into Regular Decision, which means that it will be reviewed again and you will get a new decision on March 15th.

You may be thinking, “Okay, what now?” There are a few steps that you can take to make sure we have the best information possible before making our final decisions on March 15th. First, be sure to send us the most updated grades that you have. Your school’s guidance office can forward new transcripts to the Office of Admission (301 S. Campus Ave, Oxford, OH 45056) for our review. Additionally, you can log on to your appcheck website to make sure we have your best standardized test score on file. If we do not, send it to us as soon as possible. You may also want to consider updating your activities list or sending an additional letter of recommendation by emailing your counselor. All of these pieces of information can help us make the most informed decision about your application file.

And here’s a tip for all applicants who have been admitted, deferred, or still have an incomplete application: FILE THE FAFSA! File the FAFSA as soon as possible and send it to every school to which you have applied. Miami’s FAFSA deadline is February 15th, and that is a very firm deadline! The FAFSA is only necessary if you would like to be considered for need-based financial assistance, but we always recommend filing the FAFSA if you are unsure of your eligibility.

As always, contact us if you have any questions! Time to get back to reading all those applications! :)

It's The Final Countdown!

Hello everyone!! It is January 31, 2011…do you know what that means?

It means that early action applicants will know their admission decisions tonight! All of our admission decisions will be live on the appcheck website (www.muohio.edu/appcheck) at midnight Eastern Standard Time. This is the first place you will be able to view your decision, so if you can’t wait or just don’t want to wait for the mailed letter check here.

Information on your decision was also mailed to your home address. We sent out almost 10,000 decision letters on Friday with hopes of them getting to you as soon as possible. We are excited about this year’s applicant pool and hope that you are as excited as we are!

If you have gotten this far and are now realizing that you cannot find your appcheck login information make sure you e-mail your counselor and ask them to send it to you again. You can find out who your counselor is and their email address at www.muohio.edu/askacounselor. We can only give out this information to you so make sure you personally request it.

Lastly, before I sign off, I’d like to leave a note for all of our regular decision applicants. We are working hard on reviewing your applications and you will be notified on March 15, 2011. If you are applying regular decision and you still have materials outstanding please remember that the postmark deadline is tomorrow February 1, 2011.

Until next time,
Lauren

Feb 1 is almost Here!

Hello friends!

I hope you are having a good winter. I can’t believe it is almost February! This year has been flying by!

Right now we’re getting set to mail out decisions to Early Action students. So if you are in this pool, be sure that you are checking your mail. In addition, you will be able to access your decision online at 12:00AM on February 1. To check your status, visit www.muohio.edu/appcheck. Let your admission counselor know if you are having any issues logging in!

We’re also getting ready to review Regular Decision applications. If you have not yet applied, you still have a few days! They are due on February 1. Go to www.muohio.edu/apply to begin your application.

There is a lot going on here at Miami right now. The hockey team is playing out the stretch for a bid at its 7th straight NCAA tournament and its 3rd consecutive Frozen Four. The Men’s basketball team, after playing games against Duke and Kansas are playing their conference schedule and looking for a MAC Championship. Bill Nye the Science Guy is coming to give a lecture on campus as is Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. This is a just a small sample of why students never run out of things to do on campus.

In addition, now that we’re about to hit February, not only are the days seeing more sunlight, but the temperatures will start to warm up soon. We’re no strangers to some cold February and March temperatures, but I can’t remember a year in the past 4 where we didn’t get some unseasonably warm days where we could go play football, hike in the woods, sit out and read or get some fresh air. It reminded us all that the warm weather would be here soon (and also unfortunately that the semester was going to end).

I hope you college seniors are getting ready for college. I know each time I write one of these blog posts I remember what an amazing experience I had at this university, and I hope you will have the same.

NOTE: Regular Decision Applications are due FEB 1, 2011

New Year, New Office

Hello, Readers! You may have recently seen a caption on Miami's visit website indicating that our office is under some serious construction! If you were to walk into our office today, you'd be greeted by a huge scaffolding... we like to call it "The Tunnel:"Don't worry, The Tunnel will be gone soon! In fact, check out the progress that's been made inside in just a few short weeks! Can you believe this is the same corner of the office?Check out the new home for our Visit Coordinator, Katie! Old hallway... new hallway!
As our construction draws to a close, we hope you get a chance to come visit Miami University to see what poet Robert Frost called "The most beautiful campus that ever there was." And maybe to sit in our fun new chairs!

Hello from Mobile, Alabama!

Last night the Miami RedHawks played in the GoDaddy.com bowl and defeated the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University 35-21. I have been down in Mobile since Wednesday to partake in the bowl festivities and support the RedHawk football team. The festivities included a Mardi Gras Parade, a fireworks display, and of course pep rallies for each team. The Miami University Marching Band and Cheerleaders were on hand to get all the RedHawk faithful pumped up for the big game. While the floats were quite amazing, the best part of the parade was watching the football players try to catch the beads and moon pies that were being thrown into the crowd. Miami University President Dr. Hodge and Athletic Director Brad Bates were both in the parade and yes, they threw beads too! The hotel I stayed in was the team hotel and the staff was nothing but accommodating, they even decorated the lobby with Miami Flags and signs of support from the student body and the Oxford Kroger. Staying in the team hotel also meant many funny encounters with the members of the football team.
The team left for Mobile last Saturday and they have enjoyed the Southern hospitality to the fullest extent. While in Mobile they were able to visit the USS Alabama battleship, and participated in and WON the bowling tournament pitting the two teams against each other in a competition not on the football field. Possibly a sign of things to come…

When Thursday finally arrived the team was electric with excitement, this was Miami’s first bowl since 2004 and we had a chance to make NCAA history. A RedHawk win in the GoDaddy.com Bowl would mark the first time in NCAA history that a team went from double digit losses to double digit wins. The players went through their normal game day routines and boarded the buses to go to the stadium. The game was long and hard fought through the first 3 quarters but in the 4^th quarter the defense stepped up into high gear and intercepted Middle Tennessee’s passes multiple times. The interceptions stopped touchdown trading that had occurred the first three quarters and sealed the victory for the RedHawks of Miami University. Under the direction of interim coach Lance Guidry and under the watchful eye of new head coach Don Treadwell the Miami University RedHawks became the GoDaddy.com bowl champions and added to their already historical season. Worst to first in the Mid-American Conference, a nine game win improvement (tied for most in NCAA history), and the first team to ever go from double digit losses (1-11 in 2009) to double digit wins (10-4 in 2010) in NCAA history.

Well it’s time to board my plane and head back to Oxford so I can continue to read applications and answer all of your questions. Don’t forget our last application deadline is February 1st! I’m also going to leave you with some pictures from my trip.

Love and Honor! Go RedHawks!

A couple of floats from the Parade

Miami Representatives in the Parade: President Hodge, Athletic Director Dr. Bates, & the MUMB (Miami University Marching Band)!

Some of the guys on Gameday (Left: Tight end Ken Bruton; Right: Defensive linemen Austin Brown and Will Diaz)

Welcome New Members of the Miami Family (Left: New Head Football Coach Don Treadwell; Right: Newly Admitted Class of 2015 Student Curtis Jefferson)

Miami Players Celebrate their 10th win! (Clockwise from top-left: Wide Receiver Armand Robinson; Linebacker Evan Harris; Linebacker Austin Moore; Defensive Lineman Jordain Brown)