Thinking of Transferring!

Introduction
When I hear most people talk about Miami University, usually the first thing to come out of their mouth is something related to "what a beautiful campus it is." That much is true. Miami's red brick buildings and boundless trees make it a gorgeous place to be, and that is one of the aspects of this school that really drew me in. Also, the rec center is amazing, and since I was a huge athlete in high school, it was hard to pass up a facility like that. Not to mention the fact that it does have a rather prestigious and upstanding academic reputation. However, I have come to Miami now to discover that while these things are all nice to have, they have their limits. Ohio winters can make even the most beautiful college look ugly (Read: winter comprises about 5 of the 9 months spent there), the rec center is off in a corner on campus and leaving the lazy comfort of the dorm everyday to go there quickly becomes unrealistic, and academics are tough to attend to when everyone you know is getting dressed up in their polos and jean skirts, ready for the next party. Oh, and there is NOTHING to do in Oxford, Ohio. If you're not seriously self-motivated academically, get bored easily or don't love to party, I'd steer clear.

Campus Life and Social Life
Social life is booming on campus. The parties die down a little on Sunday and Monday nights, but Tuesday-Saturday is pretty much one really long weekend. From Country Night on Tuesdays to 80s Night and Piano Man on Wednesdays to Thirsty Thursdays to the endless abundance of frat parties and house parties on the weekends and a good assortment of bars to choose from, Miami University is one huge party all the time. Among these, there is never a shortage of themed parties either, adding to the fun atmosphere and allowing students to exercise their creativity by putting together fun outfits. Greek life on campus is also pretty huge. Green Beer Day is the most massive party of the year.
Since Ben Rothelisberger left Miami to go play for the Steelers, the football program has lost popularity, but we are currently in the midst of having one of the most amazing hockey teams in school history. Men's ice hockey at Miami is incredible, and next year we will premiere a brand new ice arena. The rec center is really good and broomball is huge among intramural participants. Academics
Miami has a great academic reputation and an astounding med school acceptance rate, but honestly I find it difficult to fathom exactly how students keep their grades so good in between all the partying. The professors are generally really nice and approachable and TAs are hit-or-miss. The workload isn't huge - how much work you do pretty much depends on how much you make yourself study and how much of the non-required homework you complete. It fluctuates - it seems like every 3 weeks or so things get really busy as all of your professors decide to hold exams and projects all at once, and then the weeks in between are more or less downtime. The pre-med program and business school are the strongest available programs at Miami. Sciences are really hard (especially BMZ - a two-semester pre-med weeder class with 3 professors, one of whom is always foreign) and I hear that Miami Plan core classes are blow off classes (although I've only taken one so far). If your schedule feels overwhelming, many students opt to fit in an ice skating or horseback riding class, just to addd interest and take a break from academics.

Student Body
Miami's reputation as "J Crew U" is true. A typical outfit for girls is a polo, jean skirt, pearls and flip flops. Guys wear the destroyed jeans and a polo or collared shirt. Dressing up for class is almost as required as taking exams. Everyone seems to have money, and they all flaunt it. Most of the kids that go to Miami are from Ohio (especially Cincinnati), and I've met a fair number of people from Chicago, too. There are a fair number of pretty cool people from out of state, though - enough so that if you're an out-of-stater you won't feel out of place. Students at Miami are pretty much into partying, the Bengals and themselves. Guys are out looking for random hook-ups all the time, it seems, and girls are out flaunting themselves, so I guess in a way everyone's perfect for each other.

In Closing...
Pretty much everything at Miami can be summed up in one word: FUN. Miami is all about having fun, although since it's stuck in the middle of a cornfield, that fun usually only involves parties and hockey games...there's not much else to do. The food is great, campus is safe, dorms are nice, classes are good...but there's just not much to do.