blackchicken

i applied University of Miami RD for my safety school and i got an acceptance letter like 2 days ago.. the uni seems really nice and all but.. do people take it seriously? cause it seems to have a rep for being a party school etc.. and just being in MIAMI itself.. it's like "hey, you graduated from miami? NICE. south beach and parties" ..but people kinda think twice about its academics. it's good to have some fun along with college work but is it academically considered a good school? i'm majoring Business and i don't currently reside in the US by the way.

is there any reason (apart from the weather) that i should choose UM over these unis:
1.University of Wisconsin-Madison
2.University of Washington
3.Boston University

is it better to having gone to those schools? i'm really having a difficult time deciding as i don't have a 1st choice, 2nd choice, or whatever.. thank you if anyone will please guide me on this!!

taxguy

Miami has fine academics. In addition, they give preference to their undergrads for professional schools such as law and medicine.

In addition, it has the best school spirit and sports among the three that you mentioned. Also, it has FABULOUS weather. Remember, kids go to Florida on vacation.

The academics are certainly on par with Boston University and University of Washington. In fact, this may surprise you: Miami has the highest endowment among the schools that you mentioned.

I will, however, acknowledge that each schools has its strengths in certain departments. Overall, University of Wisconsin is probably the overall strongest academically; however it is a state school with lots of beauracracy. In addition, who wants to live in Wisconsin?

In terms of areas to live, I guess you can't beat Boston overall for things to do; however, Miami is no slouch. Coconut Grove and other nearby areas are very trendy and have lots of great restaurants and things to do and see.

Finally, if you ever want to live and work in Florida, Miami is very well connected for jobs among its alumni.

Bottom line: every school has its advantages and has its own culture. You need to visit each place and decide for yourself. Don't let others here on CC, including me, sway you.

1tcm

I couldn't agree more with taxguy, he's giving good advice!
Miami certainly has the reputation of a Sunshine Party School, which was probably true 20 years ago, (I don't have a clue)....but now... It's reputation and the truth are two different things. I've been told of a young man who went down there this past fall as a freshman buying into the hype. He began not studying, partying, thinking that he could breeze through academically. You know where he is now? Not in Miami... He's probably taking classes at his local community college trying to get his GPA back up to a place that he can transfer to his state U.

Am I telling you UM is on par with some schools....Nope. But it isn't a pushover either. You can party there...have no doubt. But you better also plan on doing the work, and if you are one of those students who love challenge, you can find it at UM. It's all up to you.

wish_it_was_april

My S is now a freshman at Miami and he is a business student. He was also accepted at U of Wash but was very unimpressed with the business class he attended there while looking at UW. Call the Bus school at Miami and ask them for the brochure in which they list the companies that recruit at UM. It is extremely impressive.

Madison and UW are enormous and very fine state unis. Miami and BU are smaller privates. The experience will be quite different.

Miami is basically "buying" top notch kids with generous merit scholarships and the academic rep of the school increases every year as a result. I have a D who applied to college in 1993, when Wash U was "trolling" for students and it was very easy to get in and get a full ride. They too "bought" top kids and look at Wash U now. I remember when NYU and USC were accessible to almost anyone who could pay their way. I think a degree from Miami is valuable now and will be more valuable every year.

Good luck!

wish_it_was_april

I posted this last year, after we visited Miami:

University of Miami Visit

bijoux7

University of Miami..hmm..I don't know a lot about that school, but recently my friend got in and UM usually takes a lot of kids with straight A's or something..anywho, my friend goes to a very good private school. Hopkins School, it's like equivalent to Choate..where my sister went..but that's not important.

My brother goes to BU and he can tell you that it's one the best universities around, I guess it just all depends on what you want with a college. I've been around to BU and I can tell you myself that it is gorgeous, a bit chilly, but there's plenty of things to do. For example, my brother lives in Warren Towers and I hear that it's a great social dorm. A lot of parties go on, but when it's time to get studying, people get studying. Then again, my brother majors in biomedical engineering..the nerd haha.
BU has a pretty big range of things to do and it's never boring. The campus has a lot of students and it's a pretty well known school.

University of Wisconsin? My dad went there, my friends go there, my cousins go there..and they can just tell you it's all party, party, liquor, party, party. But that's what they liked.
Nevertheless, they worked hard. University of Wisconsin is a good school, for business, indeed.

mag00

Man, the party scene here is DEAD. Not really, but it's def. not what everyone thinks. Sometimes I wish there were more house parties and all that. Everything here is just going out to a club which is okay if you're the clubbing type but that's not for everyone. If you do find out about some house parties, expect them to get busted if more then 15-20 people find out, but then again that's the fun in house parties.

I picked UM > BU because BU is way too large for my tastes, they have an 'urban campus' aka no campus, and it's too damn cold there in Boston even for someone from Jersey.

Anyways, I agree with 'wish_it_was_april' and taxguy.

Oh and, in my opinion, I don't really like the Boston crowd. If you're an international student, I think you'd 'fit in' more here are UM, but then again that's a personal opinion of mine.

AmbiMi1

UM's stats are so misleading. No, its not suppose to be a haven for "straight A students". The average GPA is 4.0...WEIGHTED!! Depending on where you're from that may sound like a lot, but at my school there are a lot of people between 2.75 and 3.5 unweighted that have weighted GPAs well about 4.0. I've visited UM so many times and I don't think its worth the hype. Yes, they are a good school, but they're not THHHHHHAAAAAAAAAT good. But if you get a good financial aid package from them....run with it. So blackchicken, if you're taking votes...I choose U. Wash for their strong undergrad academics. BU's undergrad is kind of sketchy to me. They tend to focus more on their graduate students. As far as U. of Wisconsin...I'd have to do more research on them.

mitchellheckman

BU without question!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dunkaroo

Go to Miami without a doubt. BU is overrated. That can be seen through their poor U.S. News ranking. A 1210-1390 SAT range and a rank of 60 is pathetic.

Their campus is virtually non-existant and it is absolutely FREEZING in the cold. Aslo, BU alumni are pathetic in their own respect with a lowly 8% giving rate.

Miami has better weather, better location and quality of life than all of the schools you mentioned.

Wisconsin and Washington maybe ranked higher but they are huge state schools and the experience will be vastly difference than what you will find at Miami.

I'd say Miami because will all things considered its academics are solid, the weather is unbeatable as is the location and amazing quality of life/athletics

Transfer

the University of Wisconsin has a national recognition and is considered a peer institution of some of the top schools in the nation (Michigan, UCLA, Cal, UNC, Illinois, Texas). Miami is not.