Visiting colleges always provides a unique opportunity to see what the feel of the college is like, which you can't get from a website! It's a great way to meet students and faculty, see the campus buildings, including housing, have meals at their campus eateries, and learn about what the university has to offer. Here are my takeaways from those visits:
Campus: Our final visit was to The University of Mississippi, more commonly known as Ole Miss, is just over an hour away from Memphis, TN. We rode in a double decker bus to tour the campus, which was really fun! One of the first things that stuck out to me when the admissions director spoke with our group was how open he was; he created a comfortable atmosphere and told us that he even gives out his personal cell number in case students have an issue or need help with something! It amazed me that at such a big university (24,000 students), he was plugged in with the needs of the population he was serving. I felt like parents would really appreciate having someone looking out for their child in that way. He was also very relaxed and spoke highly of other universities and what they offered, focusing more on the fit for the student.
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| The Grove |
Admissions: The application opens on July 1, and students interested in scholarships need to apply on the UM website or The Common App by January 5, 2019 for the priority deadline, and the final scholarship deadline is February 15, 2019. It's good to get everything in by the priority deadline so there's a greater chance for a scholarship. It usually takes 3-4 weeks during peak application season to get a response from Ole Miss about your admission status. Since they are rolling admission and you'd want to also have an opportunity to get a scholarship, applying early is your best bet! Ole Miss test minimums are:
Reading/English Math
ACT: 17 (subscore) 19 (subscore)
SAT: 23 (subscore) 510
Again, these are minimums, and students in the 17-19 range, if accepted, will have to take developmental courses their first semester to ensure understanding of the material. There are several different types of scholarships, and the full list is here.
Campus Life: It's easy to see why USA Today and the Princeton Review rated Ole Miss as the most beautiful campus! It's modeled after Central Park in NYC, and it's impeccably maintained! The campus is hilly, and the Grove, which is very popular during football season for tailgating, is an expansive area used for studying/hanging out/playing sports, and during the summer for campus and community programs to hold events or camps. They are also in the process of building more on-campus housing, which is great since Freshman are required to live on campus, and have had an emphasis on becoming more inclusive. Ole Miss has taken down the Mississippi state flag since it has the confederate flag on it, and the statues, which remain on campus from that era, have changed their nameplates to show both sides of the Civil War. Ole Miss also developed a racial reconciliation center, which is now moving to the state capitol due to it's positive influence in the state of Mississippi. It was impressive how Ole Miss is leading the conversation in a lot of ways within this arena.
Other Notes: One unique program Ole Miss has is a Early Entry Pharmacy Program. This competitive program puts students on a fast track to complete undergrad in 3 years with a guaranteed spot in the Pharmacy program, graduating in 7 years total, instead of the normal 8. This is a great way to secure your spot if Pharmacy is the career path you're on. There are requirements for entry into the program and requirements to maintain that guaranteed entry during your undergraduate years, which is a great incentive to do well in college! They do have a regular entry as well, but the early entry program is unique to Ole Miss. The town of Oxford has a cute downtown square with shops and restaurants just steps from the campus. It's a fun place to go and the quaintness of it adds a home-like feel.
Visiting: You can visit campus on a weekday on one of their 3 Saturday Preview Days coming up this semester: September 29, 2018, October 27, 2018, December 1, 2018
They also have a Junior Preview day, which is scheduled for March 23, 2019.
