Confessions of a New Admission Counselor

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is off to a good start this year! We’ve been excited to begin visiting your schools and thrilled that you have been visiting us here at Miami. As I started my job as an admission counselor at the beginning of this month, I began to ask myself many of the questions you may be asking yourself when you talk to a counselor.

1. Does my admission counselor really love Miami this much?

The answer, quite simply, is YES! While some of us, such as myself, spent our undergraduate careers studying here in Oxford, others have come to Miami from different experiences because they feel a very strong connection to the university and its mission.

2. Is my college counselor giving me the same speech he/she gives every student?

The answer is a resounding NO. We understand the individuality of each student as well as the diversity of questions in the minds of prospective students. As a result, we answer these questions personally and as they pertain to the individual.

3. Is my college counselor looking for a type of student?

Actually, yes. ALL OF THEM. Miami is looking for all students that are hoping to excel in college and contribute to the university and society. We do not look for a “typical student.” Our students come from all walks of life, all over the nation and all over the world. We want students that are looking to make the most out of their education.

4. Can I really contact my college counselor at anytime?

Absolutely! You can always call the office of admission or our direct phone lines to get in touch with us. We are more than happy to answer your questions. In addition, you can send us an email at anytime, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

5. Why does my admissions counselor keep mentioning they wish me luck with my college decision?

We understand that choosing a college is a big life choice. We have been there ourselves. Myself, more than once. After initially going through the college decision process, I found that I was in a different place after I started college than I was when I began my college search. As a result, I went through the college process more carefully when I decided to transfer schools, looking at institutions that met my needs. That search brought me to Miami. Ultimately, we want you to do what is best for you because this is your education and your life.

I hope these have helped answer some general questions you may have about your college counselors. Please contact us if you have any questions about Miami. You can visit www.muohio.edu/askacounselor to ask your counselor a question. And sincerely, we wish you the best of luck on your college search.

Fall already?!

Alright. It’s not even okay that it’s September. Where did summer go?! For many of you, this fall is the beginning of the end: your last year of high school! It’s also a time when you start deciding where to send in your college applications… which means that it’s an important time for us in college admission as well. As you start classes this fall, you may notice your guidance office advertising visits from colleges around the country who come to talk about their school and the application process. In the admission world, we call this “travel season,” where we visit high schools during the school day and attend college fairs in the evening. Many of us are on the road for over a month!

Traveling is my favorite part of being an admission counselor. Don’t get me wrong… I also love reading applications, giving presentations on campus, meeting with families and planning our on-campus programs, but there is something special about the thrill of going from school to school, seeing new faces, and talking about Miami to students who may not have the opportunity to visit our campus. I also love hotels (free cable, pool, and gym? Yes, please!) and exploring new cities. This year I have the amazing opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Denver, Nashville, and Cleveland, where I will hopefully meet many future Miami students! This is Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, OH... one of my favorite schools to visit!
You can see where Miami is hosting programs at www.muohio.edu/inmytown. Be sure you’re getting emails from Miami by filling out a request form at www.muohio.edu/requestinfo, and we will email you if we will be coming to your high school or to a college fair in your area! You can also visit www.muohio.edu/askacounselor to email your counselor and find out if he or she will be at your school.

Welcome Back!

Happy first week of school for some of you all! For us in Oxford, it is a beautiful morning and we are excited for the 2010-2011 school year! I always enjoy the first week of classes because students are very excited to see one another and our new first year class, their first step into university life. It's always fun having students stop by my office in between classes just to chat about the summer and what interesting things they’ve done. I had one student, Robert, who helped with Teach For America in Atlanta, Georgia for the summer and another student Sierra, who is excited about her Urban Teaching Cohort which takes place in Over the Rhine, a low-income area in Cincinnati. Not only will she have the opportunity to do her student teaching in nearby Cincinnati, she will actually live in Over the Rhine and get the opportunity to immerse herself in that community. If you are interested in checking out this opportunity through the School of Education, Health and Society, feel free to visit http://www.units.muohio.edu/eap/digitallearning/utcVideo.html to view a video.

In addition to hearing about the students and their summer, during this time is when we also find out about national rankings through national media outlets. Some of those are the U.S. World Report has recognized us as #2 among national universities for our commitment to teaching, Forbes labeled us "Best Buy," PARADE Magazine named us a Top 25 public university, Washington Monthly talked about our success for low-income students and lastly, G.I. Jobs designated us a "Military Friendly School."

We really hope your school year begins well and if you have any questions, feel free to leave it in the comment box!

Visit Miami
Today our Saturday Tour registration went online! I am very excited we are able to host our Saturday information sessions across campus in our newest building, the Farmer School of Business. Fall is a great time to visit our campus with classes in full swing. The First day of class for Miami is Monday, August 23rd and already the campus energy is buzzing as we welcome our new and returning students and faculty.

Schedule a visit to Miami at www.muohio.edu/visit.

It's almost time!

I'm blogging today because it is a mere 12 hours until August 1st! The Common Application is finally available for you to begin applying for admission for Fall of 2011! Our future Miami Class of 2015 can go to www.muohio.edu/apply or directly to www.commonapp.org and create your Common App profile. This application is accepted at 416 colleges, including Miami University! It's great because you fill it out one time online, and you can select the schools to send your application to. Most college applications ask you for the exact same demographic, personal, and family information, which is why the Common Application is so nice: you fill out that information just once!

One aspect of the application that can be confusing, though is the list of deadlines on the Common Application. Because colleges use different terminology, there is a list of many different "Decision Deadlines" that you can select. At Miami, we have three deadlines to choose from:

Early Decision (November 1st)- This deadline is different from the others because you actually fill out a contract to go with it. You sign a document saying that if you are admitted during this deadline, you will attend this college. It's also referred to as a "binding" deadline because you are doing just that: binding yourself to attend that school if you are admitted. You are notified of your decision on December 15th, and if you are not admitted, you are released from that contract, but your application is automatically reviewed again in Regular Decision.

Early Action (December 1st)- This is Miami's most popular deadline. You are not making a binding commitment, so you still have the freedom to choose which college you would like to attend after you receive your admission decisions. But, you get notified of your decision on February 1st, so you have the peace of mind of knowing your decision earlier! If you're not admitted, your application is reviewed again in Regular Decision.

Regular Decision (February 1st)- Generally speaking, if you are planning on applying to selective colleges or universities, you should have your application in by February 1st, as this is the latest deadline for most selective colleges. We let you know on March 15th of your admission decision.

So, set your clocks, and begin working on your Common Application on August 1st! We are SO looking forward to reading them, and welcoming you to Miami's Class of 2015! As always, if you have any questions, contact your admission counselor at www.muohio.edu/askacounselor.

Summertime Visit to Miami!
Last night we hosted over 100 visitors for an evening tour which gave our visitors a chance to join the Oxford Summer Music Festival Concert Series free concert in Uptown Oxford. These events are great entertainment for our summer students and Oxford community members who come together to enjoy local musicians! My brother plays string bass in one of the local bands that performs each year and everyone in the band is a member of the Oxford community. They all work full time in different careers, some who are owners of Uptown businesses and they come together to share their passion for music.
Schedule your visit www.muohio.edu/visit
Oxford Summer Music Festival Concert Series in the Uptown Parks Thursday Evenings in July & Augusthttp://www.enjoyoxford.org/2010_Music_Festival.pdf