<p>We just arrived back from our tour of Ohio/NW PA schools. Sorry they are so lengthy, but I had a lot to say!</p>
<p>MIAMI of OH- Our first stop, and the weather the day we were there was terrible; 95 degrees and nearly 100% humidity (and I wore long pants-hah! Stupid me!) No cold drinks were offered in Admissions, but there was a vending machine. There was an information session, which I found rather dry and I could tell my D was falling asleep. Not much student perspective was offered in the presentation, which I found disappointing. When it came to the tour, there were only 3 guides available for almost 200 people, so our group had about 60 people in it. It made it very hard to hear what she was saying, because there was a lot of construction going on and it was very noisy outside. THE PLUSSES: Beautiful campus, not too big, not too small, even though they say its over 2,000 acres. Even though there are 15,000 underclassmen, you can walk across campus in under ½ hour. If the weather is rotten, you can take Metro bus, which has four routes on campus. The freshmen quad is enormous; you can fit a football field inside it with room left over! The freshmen all pretty much live in the center of campus. My D also liked the town of Oxford more than any of the towns weve seen so far. Even though its not very big, its geared towards the students, with plenty of places to eat (but not much in the way of other kinds of shopping, unfortunately). I liked the fact that the campus does appear to be very safe
they have an escort service that will pick you up anywhere and take you where you want to go. Academics sound great, they have her major, but
.(see the minuses!) Great school spirit for intramural athletics, the most popular being broomball which is played on ice without skates. Id have to see it to believe it. The athletic facilities are wonderful, you cant get much better; however, varsity athletics do not have a good reputation except for ice hockey. THE MINUSES: Hubby & I think its too big, too far away, and not close enough to either a city or even a major highway! (It took us almost an hour to get to Oxford from Route 70.) When they say its in the middle of a cornfield, they mean it really is in the middle of a cornfield! None of the usual suburban shopping opportunities nearby; the closest mall is near Cincinnati. My D has problems with the academic rules; for example, you can start as a freshman as pre-Journalism but then you have to be accepted into the program (i.e. have a 3.0 and be invited)
.what happens if you dont get in? This is the same with many of the other popular majors. Students are more or less encouraged to live off campus after freshmen year, and theres hardly any guarantee of housing for those who want it. Although my D would be allowed to have her car (you must live more that 200 miles away to have one as a freshmen) the 24 hour lot is a hike from the freshmen quad. And the only other on-campus parking is on the street, where students are not allowed to park during the day M-F and the parking fines are outrageous
$75.00 for a parking fine???</p>
<p>UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON: let me just say, this one is coming off the list. The city of Dayton is practically dead. There was drug dealer doing his business outside of our hotel! The campus itself is nice, the facilities are great and well taken care of, but academic buildings seem crowded together, but then the majority of the dorms are very far away (some are several blocks away and not even connected to the campus). My D liked the ghetto area, which is mostly owned by the University and does offer an alternative to living in the dorms. Once again, we had a very large group on the tour, and I found it very hard to hear the tour guide (not her fault!) The immediate area of the city surrounding the campus does not seem safe to me at all, even though many of the eating establishments on Brown St. are included in the meal plan and UD. I would not want my D to walk on the streets outside campus by herself, nor would I let her have a car there. I felt very uncomfortable there and I was very glad to leave!</p>
<p>OHIO WESLEYAN: This too is coming off the list. The town of Delaware looked rather down on its luck, and the more we drove around, the more our suspicions were realized. When she walked into Admissions, we were offered a cold drink immediately, but my D was turned off anyway (who in their right mind would play loud classical music to a bunch of teenagers?) Everyone seemed so serious in the Admissions Office, compared to the other schools we visited. Not that we needed a party atmosphere, but geez, the place was dead quiet! The campus buildings are old, many are run down, and the athletic facilities s**k. (My Ds words, not mine!) On-campus housing is required for 3 years, although fraternity and special interest houses count towards the requirement. There is a great emphasis on community service, which I found very refreshing. The academics sounded terrific to me
not to D, however. She didnt like the dearth of internship and study abroad opportunities. The tour guide, while engaging, did not seem like someone my D would want to hang out with (i.e. kinda nerdy) so that turned her off. Freshmen and sophomores are not allowed to have cars. The campus does not have a nice layout at all, its long and narrow and theres a busy road running right down the middle. There does not seem to be much school spirit for anything except for Greek Life. The dorms are typical 1950s or 1960s construction, theres nothing special about it. I think that just about sums it up; nothing special. We all figured, which would she want to travel over 8 hours each way to a school that has nothing special about it?</p>
<p>(continued next post)</p>