Miami University--Oxford is a public institution that was founded in 1809. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 15,081, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 2,000 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Miami University--Oxford's ranking in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 75. Its in-state tuition and fees are $13,799 (2013-14); out-of-state tuition and fees are $29,589 (2013-14).
Miami University students make up nearly half the population of the 6-square mile town of Oxford, Ohio. Freshmen must live on campus, which is also home to about 500 student organizations. The Greek system constitutes a large part of campus life, with about a third of the student body involved in more than 50 fraternities and sororities. In fact, the school often gets the moniker “Mother of Fraternities” because the Beta Theta Pi, Phi Delta Theta, and Sigma Chi organizations were founded at Miami University. The school is also known as the “Cradle of Coaches” for the number of professional and collegiate coaches who once competed as Miami RedHawks. The teams, who compete in the Division I Mid-American Conference, were known as the Redskins until 1997, when the Miami Indian Tribe complained. (The tribe is also the namesake of the university.) To help ease the transition into freshman year, older students often create a guide to life at Miami University, called the “M Book.” Student couples who marry are known as “Miami Mergers” and are reminded of their alma mater each Valentine’s Day, when the admissions office sends cards to congratulate former students on finding love at school.
To travel around campus and Oxford, all students can use the Miami Metro during the day and the school’s Nighttime Door-to-Door shuttle service until 4 a.m. Cincinnati and Dayton are 35 and 45 miles away, respectively. Notable alumni of Miami University include Paul Brown, Hall of Fame NFL coach; Richard Smucker, executive chairman and co-chief executive officer of The J.M. Smucker Company; and Benjamin Harrison, former President of the United States.