<p>Thank You to everyone for their words of congratulation, but all I did was write some checks, Son1 did all the work. </p>
<p>Miami ended up being a great place for him. He unearthed and grabbed onto opportunities that were available at the University. While there were and still are times when the college and the city drive him nuts, those times are no worse than what any average adult would consider “normal aggravation”. It can’t be too bad, he’s been offered and has accepted a position at the U in the Marine Sciences Department.</p>
<p>Like everything in life, colleges get reputations that too often overemphasize a single trait. “Miami is a party school”, “Southern Cal is dangerous”, “Carnegie-Mellon is full of workaholic nerds”, etc. Many stereotypes have a shred of truth, but it’s usually the simplistic one and they almost never tell the entire story. Miami certainly isn’t for everyone and the kids do party. But they don’t party any more than I see that students do here in Ann Arbor and they don’t seem to be any more clothes conscious than any other school we’ve visited. If you go to Miami expecting to see “rich, snotty, fashion obsessed students” then you’ll see them; if you go looking for engaged Marine Sciences double majors doing interesting work, or stunningly talented jazz musicians practicing on the lawns, you’ll find those as well. About the only noticeable difference I’ve seen between Miami students and everyone else it that Miami kids have very well maintained year-round tans. Something I get very envious of, right around the middle of February.</p>