The Right Fit

Hey Everyone! I hope you are enjoying the last weeks of high school. We’ve certainly enjoyed seeing you here at Miami as we have had thousands of visitors this month. But rest assured if you have not gotten the chance to come to Oxford, you can always log on to www.muohio.edu/visit to schedule your information session and campus tour.

It’s hard to believe the year is coming to an end. Students are always amazed when they realize that the semester is over. Ask graduating seniors, and you will consistently hear, “I can’t believe it’s almost over! I never want to leave!”

I think that speaks volumes about the university. After four years, students have all of the skills necessary to succeed beyond college. Yet, students enjoy their collegiate experience to such an extent that they wish it could continue. This is something I encourage all of you graduating high school seniors to think about as you consider which school you will be attending. Do you feel like that when graduation comes four years from now, you will wish it will still be just a few more days away?

Undoubtedly you have been told about finding the right fit. The idea that you can see yourself spending the next four years on Miami’s campus even if you have only spent a few hours visiting the institution, can be daunting, but think about it like this:

Can you see yourself sitting in a classroom in any of the academic buildings, actively participating with your professor and classmates?

Can you see yourself playing Frisbee, hanging out with friends or doing homework on Central Quad?

Can you see yourself walking around the seal as you go class?

Can you see yourself walking under the Upham Arch?

Can you see yourself in the student section cheeringly rabidly for the Miami Hockey Team?

If you can see yourself making the most of the opportunities available to you as a college student; if you can see yourself as an active member of the college community; if you can see yourself being happy that you are a student of the university, then these are all signs that you are feeling the idea of the right fit.

So as you high school seniors countdown the days towards college and make that final decision, and even as you high school juniors and sophomores begin your college visits, ask yourselves these questions to see if the place you are visiting is the right fit. We certainly hope Miami will be that right fit for you!

I am not a parent.

I am not a parent. But, my younger brother is a 17-year-old high school junior who is just starting his college search. Let’s call him “Adam.” Adam has the distinct benefit of entering the college search process with an older sister who is a college admission counselor. But, finding the right fit is a process that is even hard for me to guide him through.

Even though I have a master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education and work with students and families as they apply for admission at Miami, I can’t help but admit that I feel like a fish out of water when we start looking at the list of thousands and thousands of undergraduate institutions where he might spend his collegiate years. He has a few criteria: Division III football, a pre-Physical Therapy program, and not New Hampshire, where he is in school now.

My instinct as an Admission Counselor and a college graduate is to say that these criteria are stupid. Many schools, for example: Miami, have great club football teams that are comparable to Division III football, but he hasn’t really considered that as an option. In addition to that, Adam has only played football for two years; not so long that he should be making a major life choice that centers on it. I can certainly understand that Adam is an athlete and wants to continue playing sports at the highest competitive level that’s possible for him, but there are so many opportunities in college to do that outside of varsity sports!

While it’s great to look at academic programs when making your decision where to attend, I know that the average college student will change majors 2 or 3 times. Even more compelling is the statistic that college graduates will make 5 career changes in their lifetimes! But, my real hang-up with this one is that pre-Physical Therapy programs serve one function: to get students to take the right classes for admission into DPT programs. Any student with a computer can find the requirements for pre-PT and take those classes in college. So, Adam could really go anywhere and be pre-PT!

The last bit of information that we have to work with is that Adam doesn’t want to be in New Hampshire. I am trying to pinpoint why this is a criterion. Is it because he doesn’t like the state? Probably not. More likely, he doesn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere or covered in snow for 6 months. But right now, all I can get is “not New Hampshire.” Well, that crosses a few schools off the list.

One of the hardest things for me to do as a sister is allow Adam to make his own choices. We are lucky to have the resources to visit many different colleges, so Adam can get a feeling about a lot of different schools and narrow his focus that way. In the end, it’s his collegiate career, his future, and his experience to have. I owe it to him to let him work through all of these decisions and arrive at a conclusion about where he will attend. As long as he does it by May 1st, 2012!

Where is your new hangout spot on campus?

Congratulations on your acceptance to Miami! We understand the first thing that students think about when coming to college is the education they will receive. Regardless of which of our 100+ majors and 5 academic divisions you choose, you’re probably looking for a place to hang out and make friends. What is going to be your place on campus? Flat Swoop took a journey around campus to show you where you might be spending quite a bit of time over the next few years.

Upham Arch/HUB: Rumor has it that if you kiss your sweetheart under the arch at midnight you are destined to be married. Upham Arch and the Hub are the crossroads of campus. Whether it’s in the arch itself or sitting on the benches around the university seal, this is a common place for students to stop and chat in between classes.

Central Quad: One of the most picturesque views on campus, Central Quad is where many students go to hang out on sunny days. Whether it’s tossing a football or Frisbee or sitting on blankets doing homework , it is not rare to see lots of students enjoying the quad until dark.

Recreational Sports Center: Students spend hours at the Rec swimming, lifting weights, doing cardio work outs, playing basketball and enjoying the rock climbing wall. Whether it’s a before class work out by yourself, an afternoon basketball game with friends, or a late-night indoor soccer games with complete strangers, the Rec has something for everyone.

The Goggin Ice Center: Where one of the nation’s top collegiate hockey team dominates the ice, The Goggin is home to the best fans in college hockey on Friday and Saturday nights during the season. The RedHawks often face off against some of the best talent in college hockey with Notre Dame and Michigan being a part of the CCHA. In addition, Goggin offers multiple seasons of intramural sports such as hockey and broomball where students get the chance to play with their friends.

Residence Halls: Students spend lots of time in their Residence Halls. Whether it’s watching television and playing games in the common area or spending time in each other’s rooms, the Res Halls are where students are able to form instant communities. Students are required to live in the residence halls for 2 years, and sororities also occupy these buildings. Each sorority has a suite in which the chapter is able to hold meetings and spend time together.

King Café: It’s no secret that students spend a fair amount of time in the library. But when students want a break from peaceful studying, they can head down to King Café to meet with friends and to relax while still studying their material. Students will often bring their books downstairs and grab some coffee and enjoy the change of scenery as they run into friends who are in between classes or studying for the night.

Special Thanks to Elizabeth Anderson, Colin Brand, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Lauren McBride!

Beware "The Ides of March"!

No, this is not a reference to the famous Shakespearean quote from Julius Caesar, it is however a reference to Clooney, Gosling, and Tomei. Yes, that’s right; I am referring to movie stars George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, and Marissa Tomei who are shooting their newest film “The Ides of March” here in Oxford on Miami’s campus.

The film crews have been on campus all week and of course there have been many star sightings, including girls screaming at the mere sight of Ryan Gosling and people scrambling to get a picture of George Clooney. Scenes for the film have been taped at the Farmer School of Business Building and Hall Auditorium, and people from the Miami Community were invited to be extras in the film. Now, I know Oxford is not the first place that comes to mind when you think of movie sets and A-List Hollywood actors, but this is not the first film to tape scenes on Miami’s beautiful campus. “Little Man Tate” starring Jodie Foster was also filmed here in the 90s.

Now that you have your fun fact I’ll share with you my close encounter with The George Clooney. Yesterday as I was walking back to the office after lunch I was diverted from my regular pathway because the movie crew moved to their location at Hall Auditorium. Since I was a Miami student I knew the easiest way around the closed sidewalk was to go around the library. As I was walking around the building and chatting with my friend a large black SUV started coming down the one-way street between the library and McGuffey Hall. We thought nothing about it until my friend peeked in the back window and turns to me saying “That’s him!” I thought someone important was in the vehicle but we didn’t know if it actual was him until one of the producers nodded to us with a smile and said “Yes, that’s him!” There were tons of people waiting on the other side of the building trying to catch a glimpse of George Clooney and here we were just walking back to the office and we were 5 feet away from him. Talk about lucky! My friend froze in her tracks but of course I said “hi” and told him to have fun filming, to which he replied “hi” back, smiled, and gave us the thumbs up. Then everyone realized he was behind the building not in front and he was whisked away in the blink of an eye. Sadly we were not prepared to take a picture of this once in a lifetime occurrence but we have the memory, and I hope you will be able to create great memories like this at Miami!

Did I mention now there are rumors swirling that Leonardo DiCaprio is here too?! I think I may go on Leo Watch to find out if it is true!

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! :)