The CIRP Freshman Survey asks a number of questions related to students' academic activities during high school and their plans for college and beyond. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Academic Background

Compared with students at other highly selective public universities, incoming Miami students are less likely to be first-generation college students and are more likely to have graduated from a private high school. Miami students are less likely to have taken AP courses during high school. Miami students report spending less time studying during their last year of high school than do students at other highly selective public universities.

Table 1A: Academic Background

Degree and Career Aspirations

Incoming Miami students are more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report a bachelor's or master's degree as the highest degree planned; students at other highly selective public institutions are more likely than Miami students to plan to obtain a Ph.D., Ed.D, or professional medical degree (e.g., M.D., D.O.). Incoming Miami students are more likely to plan for a career in business and are less likely to plan for a career in engineering. Similarly, incoming students at Miami are more likely to plan to major in business and are less likely to major in engineering than are students at other highly selective public universities.

Table 1B: Degree and Career Aspirations

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks a number of questions related to why students chose to attend Miami University and their expectations about the curricular and co-curricular activities in which they will participate. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

College Choice

Incoming Miami students are more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report that offers of financial aid, admittance through an Early Action or Early Decision program, and a visit to campus were important in their decision to attend this school. Over the past five years, the importance of an Early Action/Early Decision admission in students' decision to attend Miami has increased.

Table 1C: College Choice

College Expectations

Incoming Miami students are more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to plan to join a fraternity or sorority or to plan to play club, intramural, or recreational sports; Miami students are less likely to expect to work on a professor's research project. Miami students are also more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to anticipate participating in a study abroad program. The percentage of incoming Miami students who plan to study abroad has steadily increased over the past five years.

Table 1D: College Expectations

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks several questions related to students' reported community service activities. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Volunteer/Community Service Experiences in High School

Incoming Miami students are slightly less likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report performing volunteer work in their last year of high school. Nearly 78% of incoming Miami students performed volunteer work during their last year of high school. Incoming Miami students and incoming students at other highly selective institutions are equally likely to report performing community service as part of a class during the past year. Over the past five years, the percentage of incoming Miami students who performed community service as part of a class has decreased.

Table 2A: Volunteer/Community Service Experiences in High School

Community Service Goals

Miami students are slightly more likely than students from other highly selective public universities to report that becoming a community leader is a very important or essential goal. However, students at other highly selective public universities place slightly more importance than Miami students on helping others who are in difficulty and becoming involved in programs to clean up the environment. Over the past five years, the percentage of incoming Miami students who believe becoming involved in programs to clean up the environment is an essential or very important goal has decreased.

Table 2B: Community Service Goals

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks several questions related to students' attitudes and expectations about interacting with students from different backgrounds. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Self-Ratings of Openness to Diversity

Incoming Miami students rate themselves lower on traits related to their openness to diversity than do students at other highly selective public universities. Incoming Miami students rate themselves lower on both their ability to see the world from someone else's perspective and their tolerance of others with different beliefs.

Table 3A: Openness to Diversity

Socializing with Someone of Another Racial/Ethnic Group

Incoming Miami students are less likely than students at other highly selective public universities to say that they frequently socialized with someone of another racial/ethnic group during the past year. Miami students are also less likely to report that there is a very good chance they will socialize with someone of another racial/ethnic group in the future.

Table 3B: Socializing with Someone of Another Racial/Ethnic Group

Views on Racial Discrimination

Compared with incoming students at other highly selective public institutions, incoming Miami students are less likely to report that helping to promote racial understanding is"essential" or "very important" to them. The percentage of Miami students who consider promoting racial understanding to be "essential" or "very important" has decreased over the past five years.

Table 3C: Views on Racial Discrimination

Views on Same-Sex Rights

The majority of incoming Miami students agree that gays and lesbians should have the legal right to adopt a child. The majority of Miami students also agree that same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status (based on the 2012 CIRP). The percentage of students who agree that same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status has increased during the four years reported (2009 - 2012).

Table 3D: Views on Same-Sex Marriage

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks several questions related to students' parental income, their plans on paying for college, and their beliefs about the importance of being financially well off. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Family Income

Incoming Miami students are more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report their estimated family income as $200,000 or more and are less likely to report a family income below $100,000. Trends over the past ten years of the CIRP show that Miami students have consistently been more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report family incomes of $200,000 or more, although the gap between the two groups has narrowed during the past three years.

Table 4A: Family Income

Figure 4B: Family Income of $200,000+ (2004 - 2013)

Paying for College

Incoming Miami students are less likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report concerns about paying for college. Miami students are also less likely to anticipate getting a job to help pay for college expenses. However, Miami students are more likely to state that offers of financial assistance were important in their decision to attend Miami. Miami students' concerns about their ability to pay for college peaked in 2009; since 2009, student concerns have decreased to a near ten-year low.

Table 4C: Paying for College

Figure 4D: Student Concerns About Financing Their Education (2004 - 2013)

Figure 4E: Student Estimates About Working to Pay for College (2004 - 2013)

Views about Money

Both incoming Miami students and incoming students at other highly selective public universities rated being able to make more money and being able to get a better job as very important reasons in their decision to go to college. There is no difference between Miami students and student at other institutions in the value that they place on being very well off financially. Over the past 30 years, the percentage of students at Miami and at other institutions who state that being very well off financially is an "essential" goal has increased substantially; 42.4% of incoming Miami students identified being well off as an essential goal in 2013, compared with only 10.2% in 1971.

Table 4F: Views about Money

Figure 4G: Being Very Well Off Financially as an "Essential" Goal (1971 - 2013)

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks several questions related to students' diet, exercise, drinking and smoking habits. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Sports and Exercise

Incoming Miami students spent significantly more time engaged in exercise or sports during their last year in high school than did students at other highly selective public universities. Miami students were also more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to anticipate playing club, intramural or recreational sports.

Table 5A: Sports and Exercise

Mental Health

Incoming Miami students' self-reports of depression and feelings of being overwhelmed were similar to those of incoming students at other highly selective public institutions. Nearly all incoming Miami students (91%) reported feeling overwhelmed at least occasionally during the past year, with 36% reporting that they frequently felt overwhelmed. The percentage of incoming Miami students who reported that there is at least some chance that they will seek personal counseling has risen during the past five years.

Table 5B: Mental Health

Alcohol, Smoking and Partying

Incoming Miami students were slightly more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to drink beer, wine or liquor. Miami students also reported spending more time "partying" during their last year of high school compared with students at other highly selective public universities. However, the percentage of Miami students who smoked cigarettes, drank beer, or drank wine or liquor has decreased significantly over the past 25-35 years, with significant decreases continuing during the past five years. For example, the percentage of incoming Miami students who smoked cigarettes has dropped from 16% (2009) to 8% (2013).

Table 5C: Alcohol, Smoking and Partying

Figure 5D: Percentage of Students Who Drank Beer During the Past Year (1979 - 2013)

Figure 5E: Percentage of Students Who Drank Wine or Liquor During the Past Year (1989 - 2013)

Figure 5F: Percentage of Students Who Smoked Cigarettes During the Past Year (1979 - 2013)

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks several questions related to students' political views. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Political Beliefs

Incoming Miami students are more likely to call their political views "conservative" rather than "liberal." Miami students are more likely than students from other highly selective public universities to say their political beliefs are "conservative" or "far right" and less likely to say they are "liberal" or "far left." Miami students also tend to have more conservative opinions on a variety of politically-related issues, such as taxation and gun control. Incoming Miami students' political beliefs have shifted quite a bit since Miami first administered the CIRP in 1971. The percentage of students who characterize themselves as "liberal" has decreased while the percentage who characterize themselves as "conservative" has increased. This trend is similar to the trends seen at other highly selective public universities.

Table 6A: Political Beliefs

Figure 6B: Students with "Liberal" Political Views (1971 - 2013)

Figure 6C: Students with "Conservative" Political Views (1971 - 2013)

Political Activities

Incoming Miami students are relatively similar to students from other highly selective public universities in their political activities during high school, although students at other universities were slightly more likely to demonstrate for a cause than were Miami students. Over the past ten years, the percentage of incoming students at Miami and at other highly selective public institutions who have discussed politics during the past year has increased.

Table 6D: High School Political Activities

Figure 6E: Discussed Politics During Past Year (2004 - 2013)

Political Goals and Future Actions

Miami students do not differ from students at other highly selective public universities in the importance they place on influencing the political structure or keeping up to date with political affairs. There is also no difference between incoming students at Miami and students at other highly selective public universities in the extent to which they anticipate participating in student government during college.

Table 6F: Political Goals and Future Actions

The CIRP Freshman Survey asks several questions related to students' religious background, views and habits. The information below is based on the responses of fall 2013 incoming first-year students on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Also included are trend data for Miami first-year students for the past 5-30 years and comparison results for students at other highly selective public institutions.

Students' Religious Preferences

Miami students are more likely to be Roman Catholic and less likely to report no religious preference than are students from other highly selective public universities. This breakdown mirrors the results for the religious preferences of students' mothers and fathers. The percentage of incoming Miami students who indicate that they have no religious preference has steadily increased over the past five years, from 14.6% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2014.

Table 7A: Students' Religious Preference

Religious Behaviors

Miami students are more likely than students at other highly selective public universities to report discussing religion or attending a religious service during the past year.

Table 7B: Religious Behaviors