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Campus Life

Welcome Weekend introduces new students to Miami

First 50 Days program helps first-year students familiarize themselves with the university

student with a smile helps with move-in near tappan hall
Current students and staff members were on hand to welcome first-year students and their families and help them move into residence halls on First-Year Move-In Day, Aug. 18.
Campus Life

Welcome Weekend introduces new students to Miami

Current students and staff members were on hand to welcome first-year students and their families and help them move into residence halls on First-Year Move-In Day, Aug. 18.

Miami University’s campuses are bustling with activity once again as students have returned, many of whom are getting their introduction to life at Miami.

Welcome Weekend provides first-year students their initial foray into all things Miami, with the university’s First 50 Days program helping them adjust throughout the fall semester. There are hundreds of events planned to familiarize new Miamians with key elements of college life and offer academic and social support.

The Class of 2026 is projected to have more than 4,100 members. This year’s first-year class features students from 44 states, plus Washington D.C., and 39 countries.

Other highlights for the Class of 2026:

  • 61.4% of the Class of 2026 comes from Ohio
  • 14.4% of the Class of 2026 are domestic multicultural students
  • The Class of 2026 has an average GPA of 3.88
  • 16.8% are first-generation students
A student, framed by a doorway in tappan hall, pushes a red bin full of move-in dorm room items. Morris hall is in the background
Moving into Tappan Hall

Miami Activities and Programming (MAP) hosts its biggest event of the year: Welcome Home events for new students on Friday, Aug. 19, capped off with a fireworks display at 10 p.m. behind Benton Hall.   

Live from the Quads, It’s Saturday Night! events continue Welcome Weekend on Saturday, Aug. 20. The weekend concludes Sunday, Aug. 21, with the 5 p.m. Love and Honor Convocation at Yager Stadium. First-year students will meet campus resources, choose a seat for their first home football game, receive a free T-shirt, sign the Code of Love and Honor, learn the fight song, and take the Class of 2026 photo.

The festivities move Uptown next week with the Oxford and Miami community Welcome Back Fest/Red Brick Fridays “Streets & Eats” on Aug. 26, followed by the Fall Mega Fair at Cook Field on Aug. 28. Participants in Mega Fair will learn about the more-than 600 student organizations and sports clubs and connect with community partners.

New Miami students can also download the fall semester orientation guidebook as a mobile app, which contains helpful information for orientation and transition programs. For second-year Miami students, the Second-Year Surge program has a kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at the Farmer School of Business. More Second-Year Surge activities are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 20, at various locations on campus. Designed for rising second-year students, the program promotes connections and publicizes campus involvement opportunities.