<p>redskins4ever-
You misunderstood my post. I did not mean that Miami should (or could) offer her aid/more aid/scholarships because she is a legacy. I have many thoughts in general about how disappointed I am in how Miami performed in the entire application process. The “My Miami” comment was a reference to the love and attachment I feel for my alma mater, a feeling of it being a part of me, as if it were my extended family. As well as my belief going into this, my D’s senior year, that out of all the schools she visited, applied to, and was accepted into, that Miami would stand out as superior in many ways. When schools that I considered “lesser” (just my opinion) fell over her, were professional in their dealings with her, and went out of their way to “court” her I believed Miami would top that. They did not. [BTW - she ONLY applied to PUBLIC universities and all but two were MUCH larger than Miami, yet Miami was the least personal] </p>
<p>Ultimately it didn’t come down to money and it wouldn’t have - if D still loved Miami as much as she did when she started the application process, H & I would have made it happen and I would be contacting whomever I needed to in order to see what appeals were possible. She lost interest in Miami before the FA package came due mostly to feeling no interest or connection from a school she already loved, as other schools she got introduced to showed her the love. The FA package was JUST ONE MORE disappointment in the long list that developed over the last seven months. Miami is a much different place than when I attended and most of the changes are not for the better. That makes me sad, that’s all. </p>
<p>In the end, D is very excited about her choice(I am waiting to post it until she has notified all her schools formaly that she is declining their admission offers) and I am happy that she is happy.</p>
<p>Also, I noted a couple curious things in your post that made me chuckle:
+Your use of “we” in the following paragraph, after chastising me for calling it “My Miami”
“We already have a bad reputation as a snobbish institution that wants to distance itself from the state which founded it. Were we to ever pull a stunt like the one above, every newspaper and legislator in the state would come down on Miami in the worst way–and rightfully so.”
+And the fact that the State of Ohio does not seem to care too much about Miami as they keep cutting funding to the point that the university relies VERY heavily on outside funding (from alumni):<br>
“Miami, which has suffered a 12 percent decline in state support in the past two years…” (university press release from past years)
"A 31 percent increase in non-state funded scholarships this year has allowed Miami University to award 9.6 million dollars to incoming students… This increase does not include the two scholarships that are given to in-state students…there are many factors that went into the 31 percent jump…
…The money also came from donors, such as alumni. With the number of alumni increasing each year, the budget for scholarships is able to increase as well. [ [Financial</a> aid increases for incoming students - Campus](<a href=“http://media.www.miamistudent.net/media/storage/paper776/news/2006/09/01/Campus/Financial.Aid.Increases.For.Incoming.Students-2254458.shtml]Financial”>http://media.www.miamistudent.net/media/storage/paper776/news/2006/09/01/Campus/Financial.Aid.Increases.For.Incoming.Students-2254458.shtml) ]
From the budget highlights: “…the revenue that supports the academic
mission of Miami derives…state support makes up 26.5%”</p>
<p>It is very interesting to me that Miami likes to tug on those heart strings when they are calling me (as they JUST did again on Thursday evening past) to ask for money and support. The young student calling even emphasized that the university relies “HEAVILY” on alumni contributions and that “…state funding doesn’t even come CLOSE to covering the budget…” Too bad FA & admissions don’t talk to MUSF/Miami Fund phone volunteers and suggest that in the month leading up to decision day May 1st, it is probably not a good idea to call alumni who are also parents of admitted students that FA just suggested take out $28K a year in loans for the next four years and ask them for a donation. At least I could laugh about it :)</p>
<p>kjofkw-
Good points. Just want to add to it: A university that wants to add to it’s coffers thru the wallets of it’s alumni needs to pay attention to the little things that matter to that alumni. Among many ways I have served Miami since graduation, one of them was in a capacity as a member of the now apparently defunct “Alumni Recruiting Network.” Each Jan-Feb-Mar we used to make welcome & congratulations phone calls to accepted students, putting a personal face on the university as they contemplated their enrollment. It is the little things like that Miami is missing now days. I don’t know, maybe D telegraphed her desire that Miami was far and away her first choice that led them to think she was one yield they had in the bag…whatever the reason, it doesn’t really matter now. They lost a good one (and I’m not biased at all - LOL - 
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