What happened to Miami of Ohio?

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid it was considered a fairly prestigious public university. Not on the level of Michigan or Berkeley, but certainly better than, for instance, Ohio State, which was practically open admission back then.

Now it has dropped out of the top 100 in USNWR (it used to hover on the bubble of the top 50), its acceptance rate has climbed to over 90 percent, and its incoming student stats are in steady decline.

I'm not quite sure what happened or why. The school has a ton to offer: a gorgeous, quintessential college town; a picturesque campus that borders a lively "uptown" district of restaurants and bars; a reputation for solid academics, particularly in the business program; and a robust social scene. Yet kids don't seem to want to go there anymore. Its yield last year was 15 percent - that's terrible for a fairly large state school.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has soared in the rankings and become more selective, as have several smaller schools in Ohio, most notably Kenyon and Denison. And then you have places like JMU which offer a similar vibe to M-OH. Those schools are also doing well. But Miami is floundering. Does anyone know why?

[Anonymous]

The demand seems to be for big warm climate schools.

[Anonymous]

I know virtually every school is a party school, but at Miami of OH I’ve heard from friends whose kids go there that that is the case to the nth degree. Plus it gives preppy vineyard vibes which is out of style.

[Anonymous]

I think its rural location is a drawback as well. Agree though, gorgeous campus!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The demand seems to be for big warm climate schools.

If that's the case, why are formerly easy-to-get-into schools like VTech and Indiana (both of which get cold AF in January and February) becoming tougher admits every year? And even the aforementioned JMU?

[Anonymous]

Declining state funding.

In such a government environment, the only public universities that can survive and maintain a high reputation are large research universities.

Federal research funding brings them plenty of money (the schools take a cut out of research grants won by professors) and the large student population keeps the state government happy (they are educating more people on a lower budget due to fixed costs).

[Anonymous]

90%? That has to be a typo.

[Anonymous]

15:59's rationale seems plausible. I went there 30 years ago. Miami had a private school vibe without private school tuition. I think that made it a more attractive option for the well-to-do families in the suburbs of Cincinnati and Cleveland who thought their kids could do better than hang out with the riff-raff at Ohio State. (I was from Indiana. The Ohio kids called OSU "McUniversity.")

Without a private school endowment and with reduced state funding, a national shift in emphasis to STEM, not much in the way of research grants, a growing distaste for Greek life, and so forth, Miami maybe lost its competitive footing.

To be honest, I'm taking OP's word for that. I hadn't really heard much about its stature diminishing. (I have learned that Ohio State has become *way* more competitive than it was in my college days). But it would make some sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:90%? That has to be a typo.

Not a typo! And I think early action is like 96%.
Warm climate and city schools are more popular right now. Also heard partying there was too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know virtually every school is a party school, but at Miami of OH I’ve heard from friends whose kids go there that that is the case to the nth degree. Plus it gives preppy vineyard vibes which is out of style.

When I was there, we drank our faces off. You could mostly avoid the preppy types if you stayed away from most of the frat houses and a couple of the bars. But there were a shit ton of them on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:90%? That has to be a typo.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/miami-university-7104

92% according to US News

[Anonymous]

Do they still require sororities to live in the dorm, but fraternities can have houses?

My Dad went to Miami of Ohio (in the 60s) and really pushed me to go there (we didn't live in Ohio.) The summer before senior year of high school (early 90s) we were in Ohio visiting family and went on a campus tour. As soon as I heard that, I knew I didn't want to go there. I didn't even plan to rush--but I didn't like the sexist double standard and wondered what other ways women were treated differently/inferior. My faux-feminist mother was similarly outraged, and told my Dad to stop pushing me to apply there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they still require sororities to live in the dorm, but fraternities can have houses?

My Dad went to Miami of Ohio (in the 60s) and really pushed me to go there (we didn't live in Ohio.) The summer before senior year of high school (early 90s) we were in Ohio visiting family and went on a campus tour. As soon as I heard that, I knew I didn't want to go there. I didn't even plan to rush--but I didn't like the sexist double standard and wondered what other ways women were treated differently/inferior. My faux-feminist mother was similarly outraged, and told my Dad to stop pushing me to apply there.

Brothel laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they still require sororities to live in the dorm, but fraternities can have houses?

My Dad went to Miami of Ohio (in the 60s) and really pushed me to go there (we didn't live in Ohio.) The summer before senior year of high school (early 90s) we were in Ohio visiting family and went on a campus tour. As soon as I heard that, I knew I didn't want to go there. I didn't even plan to rush--but I didn't like the sexist double standard and wondered what other ways women were treated differently/inferior. My faux-feminist mother was similarly outraged, and told my Dad to stop pushing me to apply there.

I remember that from visiting in the 90s also! Plus our tour guide took us to a bridge where she said everyone got engaged. Gave off a serious MRS degree vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Declining state funding.

In such a government environment, the only public universities that can survive and maintain a high reputation are large research universities.

Federal research funding brings them plenty of money (the schools take a cut out of research grants won by professors) and the large student population keeps the state government happy (they are educating more people on a lower budget due to fixed costs).

+1 Not coincidentally, Republicans have been in charge of the state legislature in Ohio since 1994.