UMDCP vs Northeastern.in - CS Major

[Anonymous]

DC is trying to decide between the two. Appreciate your feedback/thought process, from the parents who went through the similar situation.

[Anonymous]

In state for MD? I would do MD in a heartbeat.

If COA is close then I’d decide how much you want the coop experience vs the traditional college experience and pick based on general fit.

[Anonymous]

UMD is definitely a better CS program; that’s not even debatable. UMD CS students can easily get summer internships, so I don’t see that the coop program at NE makes a difference. For other fields it might. I’d choose UMD unless money is no object and the kid desperately wants to go to NE.

[Anonymous]

College Park v Boston? No contest, Boston! This assumes that money is no object

[Anonymous]

Boston.

But, I absolutely despise the College Park area.

[Anonymous]

if money is not an issue, Northeastern hands down. Elite college in Boston that will likely crack the T25 within next 5 years based on current trajectory - 100k early applications this year - truly becoming a special place..

[Anonymous]

OP CS programs at MD have improved greatly over the years.

I would suggest if money is not an issue.

1. Look at the curriculum for each school. Have your DC decide which classes they are more interested in. For example, UMD might require 2 semesters of a language whereas NE might not. One of mine hates languages but studied CS so that was challenging. Just an example no one flame me please.

2. Matriculation must be straight admitted to the program of choice not having to matriculate in college to the school of computer science for example or the engineering school per se.

3. What companies come to the career fair that can be found on the websites of each school. Is your DC interested in any of those companies. When they graduate where do they want to live Boston area or MD. Not saying they can not find a job anywhere in the country but the reality is, jobs mostly come from the state the school is in. Just food for thought.

4. Which school has an alternate major for them to transfer into if they don't like CS or are not succeeding. Yes, this is important. CS is an extremely hard major even for the best of students.

Both schools are good can not go wrong with either one. I hire CS grads and my kids are pretty much all CS grads definitely both schools great jobs when graduating. I would not have said this about the MD program in the early 2000's Forbes gave it a D in terms of preparing students for jobs, but that has changed for sure.

[Anonymous]

If cost is similar or doesn't matter, Northeastern.

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-tech

[Anonymous]

The coop program at Northeastern would give them a tip for me if the cost would be the same. If in state and money matters definitely umd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is trying to decide between the two. Appreciate your feedback/thought process, from the parents who went through the similar situation.

Both are great options. NEU campus is at a great place but UMD is not. DC was considering both a couple of years ago. Both offered merit aid that made the cost inline with our in-state option (UVA) and also offered honors admissions. College Confidential helped a lot. Read discussions on CC from past years as folks struggle with a similar decision. Visit both before you decide. We couldn't do in-depth department tours due to covid and had to limit ourselves to touring the area. NEU still did guided campus tours that helped a lot. DC decided to go elsewhere, so can't give you feedback post admission. However, had it been between the two, DC would have selected NEU mainly based on location.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for great feedback. We live in DMV area. OOS for UMDCP though. DC slightly inclined towards UMDCP due to few of his seniors/friends are at UDM and close to home. DC doesn't mind being close to home from these two colleges perspective. Will certainly consider guidance/feedback provided by other parents here.

[Anonymous]

Any merits from northeastern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for great feedback. We live in DMV area. OOS for UMDCP though. DC slightly inclined towards UMDCP due to few of his seniors/friends are at UDM and close to home. DC doesn't mind being close to home from these two colleges perspective. Will certainly consider guidance/feedback provided by other parents here.

I'm a fan of CS programs at both schools.

Personally I would choose NEY, but both of them are excellent options.

Matter of a personal preference and conditions.

[Anonymous]

UMDCP has better CS program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMDCP has better CS program

Not significant enough to be a big factor.