Enrollment: 14785
Average SAT: 609
Average ACT: 26
Most Popular Majors: Finance, General,Marketing/Marketing Management, General,Zoology/Animal Biology,
Regular Application Deadline: 02/01
Student Faculty Ratio: 16:1

Undergraduate Receiving Need-Based Financial Aid: 206
Average Freshman Total Need-Based Gift Aid: $6,716.00

Little Race/Class Interaction
Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid
2010 Top Entrepreneurial Programs: Undergraduate

Students Say - Academics
Nestled within a vast expanse of Ohio cornfields, Miami University is a medium-sized public school offering diverse academic programs and a surprisingly close-knit atmosphere. With more than 100 major departments, choice is central to the Miami experience. Whether majoring in humanities or sciences, "students have broad discretion when selecting courses. It is truly up to the individual to decide how far to push oneself academically." In most departments, the workload is sizable; fortunately, "professors at Miami are extremely personable and are always willing to lend an extra hand." A junior tells us, "I've never run into a professor that was not approachable when needing help, and most of them are very passionate about sharing their knowledge with the students." You'll definitely wind up in a number of lecture courses during your first two years (luckily, "most of them are actually pretty good at keeping you awake"). Though only 7% of classes are taught by graduate students, undergrads warn us that these courses are a "hit-or-miss situation." At the same time, many students praise the school's required liberal education courses. A junior shares, "I certainly didn't expect a freshman English class to leave an impact on me. However, the professor awoke so much passion for writing in me that now I work at the writing center on campus." Even so, the academic experience is best during junior and senior year, when upper division courses include "lots of class discussion, projects, no tests, and competent teachers." Not all of the school's administration is known to be as easily accessible or caring as the teaching staff. However, the school's president has made an effort to get personally involved in the student community, and "it is not uncommon to receive a well-developed response from the president if you send him an e-mail."

Students Say - Campus Life
Offering "countless social, academic, political, and career opportunities," Miami University will offer you a "great college experience" inside and outside the classroom. Academics are definitely taken seriously, and "during the weekdays most people spend their time studying either in their dorms or at the library." When they aren't hitting the books, theatrical or musical performances, movies, parties, speakers, ice hockey games, and campus events create "a good mix of social life and academic life." While academic programs definitely prepare you for the real world, the social life won't. Located in the middle of the cornfields, "many people refer to life at Miami as living in the 'Miami bubble.' It's hard to imagine life outside of Oxford." On that note, Oxford is "a town built for college life," with "wonderful food and activities," that cater specifically to college students. For the socially inclined, "the party scene at Miami is top-notch. There are the ever-present frat parties, but the small size of the town also leaves us with tons of bars and off-campus houses devoted solely to us." With about one third of undergraduates joining fraternities and sororities, "Greek life is enormous, but, with so many students, it doesn't dominate the campus."

Students Say - Student Body
Stepping onto the Miami University campus, your may not immediately see astounding diversity within the student body. Demographically, the majority of undergraduates hail from a "suburban, generally Mid-Western community," and "there is not much racial diversity on campus." However, students reassure us that the school is working to recruit a more diverse student body, and "each student is very open to diversity and welcomes it with open arms." Due to the overwhelming preference for preppy attire, the "nickname for Miami is J.Crew U," and students admit there are "not many alternative students like you would find in the big city schools." However, the school's predominant dress code doesn't necessarily translate into a totally uniform student body. A sophomore explains, "A lot of the students at Miami are preppy and may seem snobby at first, but once you experience it for yourself, you find all types of people." In fact, "fashion aside, the students here are typically friendly and intelligent, and all seem to apply to the "work-hard, play-hard" mentality." Ambitious and well-rounded, most Miami students are "passionate, driven, very career-oriented, involved around campus, and very social."

Indiana University--Bloomington
Ohio University--Athens

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