Pitt versus UMD

[Anonymous]

For a kid more interested in humanities than STEM. Prefers Pitt but UMD is about $15K per year less expensive. Honors College at Pitt and College Park Scholars at UMD. Any insight?

[Anonymous]

Congrats. Those are both good schools.

My only input is that people seem to love Pittsburgh, and I am not a fan of College Park.

If you gave your kid the option of either, I would let her pick. Unless you really can’t afford it. Otherwise, don’t bargain hunt on her future home.

She must have worked hard to get these options, let her choose her reward for that effort.

[Anonymous]

They are similar in terms of dedication but one is urban and ones more of a college campus. For humanities either is very good option. I would pick Pitt if she prefers it if you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

I truly believe there are intangible benefits to living further from home during college years. Not saying $60k over 4 years isn't nothing, but if it's manageable for the family, I would encourage my kid to attend out of state, especially if they prefer Pitt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I truly believe there are intangible benefits to living further from home during college years. Not saying $60k over 4 years isn't nothing, but if it's manageable for the family, I would encourage my kid to attend out of state, especially if they prefer Pitt.

How so? My kid is at UMD and hasn't been home except for breaks all year. Might as well be in Pittsburgh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congrats. Those are both good schools.

My only input is that people seem to love Pittsburgh, and I am not a fan of College Park.

If you gave your kid the option of either, I would let her pick. Unless you really can’t afford it. Otherwise, don’t bargain hunt on her future home.

She must have worked hard to get these options, let her choose her reward for that effort.

If they want to get a masters, that price difference means a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I truly believe there are intangible benefits to living further from home during college years. Not saying $60k over 4 years isn't nothing, but if it's manageable for the family, I would encourage my kid to attend out of state, especially if they prefer Pitt.

How so? My kid is at UMD and hasn't been home except for breaks all year. Might as well be in Pittsburgh.

dp.. I will say that having my kid close by has made moving so much easier. While Pitt is not that far, if you forget something, it's a lot harder to just pop in and out.

Having stated that, I think Pitt would be more interesting than UMD in terms of city life. Academically, UMD is better.

[Anonymous]

I went to Pitt (as an in-state PA Pittsburgh area student). But I lived in Rockville for 7 years and Gaithersburg for 2. Based on what I read here about all the smart MoCo kids going to UMD, I actually think either choice would be fine. I like that your child has two honors programs lined up. I'm influenced by the really great review of UMD's journalism program that was brought back by a grad from my kids' high school in flyover country. She was having a great time and had already had some name internships.

The monetary difference is meaningful but not life-altering. Meaning, in proportion to buying a new car or a house or a year of grad tuition, it's not an insane amount of difference. But definitely worth thinking about due to financial prudence.

I would have your daughter take a look at faculty bios for the humanities subjects that she is interested in at both schools. I would also have your daughter think about whether she's likely to want to return to the DMV after graduation. If you feel that UMD has a good enough reputation to get her access to jobs of interest in DC, that favors UMD. I had to move from Pittsburgh to the DMV because the job market is much smaller there. And I graduated in a cyclical downturn. I was an economics grad. I left the DMV to go to grad school.

I think the best part of Pitt's campus are the very nice, unique buildings and the local fine arts institutions. Plus the downtown Pittsburgh amenities (outside of Oakland but reachable by bus). I understand people feel College Park lacks a collegetown feel. But for me, since I was not too fond of the Oakland restaurants and shops, I would not weight comparative collegetown factors too heavily in making a decision.

Good luck with the decision!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Pitt (as an in-state PA Pittsburgh area student). But I lived in Rockville for 7 years and Gaithersburg for 2. Based on what I read here about all the smart MoCo kids going to UMD, I actually think either choice would be fine. I like that your child has two honors programs lined up. I'm influenced by the really great review of UMD's journalism program that was brought back by a grad from my kids' high school in flyover country. She was having a great time and had already had some name internships.

The monetary difference is meaningful but not life-altering. Meaning, in proportion to buying a new car or a house or a year of grad tuition, it's not an insane amount of difference. But definitely worth thinking about due to financial prudence.

I would have your daughter take a look at faculty bios for the humanities subjects that she is interested in at both schools. I would also have your daughter think about whether she's likely to want to return to the DMV after graduation. If you feel that UMD has a good enough reputation to get her access to jobs of interest in DC, that favors UMD. I had to move from Pittsburgh to the DMV because the job market is much smaller there. And I graduated in a cyclical downturn. I was an economics grad. I left the DMV to go to grad school.

I think the best part of Pitt's campus are the very nice, unique buildings and the local fine arts institutions. Plus the downtown Pittsburgh amenities (outside of Oakland but reachable by bus). I understand people feel College Park lacks a collegetown feel. But for me, since I was not too fond of the Oakland restaurants and shops, I would not weight comparative collegetown factors too heavily in making a decision.

Good luck with the decision!

This is a great post.

The only other thing I would add OP is have your student look at the curriculum requirements for their major at both schools. The requirements could be slightly different and might make a difference to your child.

[Anonymous]

PP Pitt grad again.

I thought about a couple of other factors. One is extracurriculars...does your kid intend to pursue any high school ECs at college? That might be a factor. Sometimes music ensembles, campus newspapers, student council, etc. are competitive and therefore some kids get locked out of things they'd like to do. It's worth looking into that.

Also, I thought Pitt did a great job of humanities classes. My English lit classes, French lit, Art History upper division classes were very small (high school sized). I also had a lot of social science upper division electives that were reasonably sized (30-70). And I went to a lot of guest lectures. I felt I was always able to connect with the professors that I liked, even in larger classes. I do remember that intro classes were large - which didn't particularly bother me, since past about 50 students, there is little student interaction in the lecture format. So, not knowing what Maryland or Pitt are like today, that would be one aspect of student experience that would be worth comparing.

I really did enjoy Pitt but I am a practical person and so I know this is a pretty close decision that will probably just come down to personal preference and money on the end.

If you have any more questions, let me know. I will check back.

[Anonymous]

We have a kid at Pitt who had to make a similar choice. They love Pittsburgh, and since schedules are different, has also visited friends at UMD when home and they are in school. Is happy with their decision, their courses, their location.

We are happy with their growth. The adulting is real

[Anonymous]

My kid chose Pitt because she loved that campus and wanted to get away from home some. That being said, the cost wasn’t a real consideration, and if it was I’d be hard pressed to pay 15k more a year since the schools are so similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP Pitt grad again.

I thought about a couple of other factors. One is extracurriculars...does your kid intend to pursue any high school ECs at college? That might be a factor. Sometimes music ensembles, campus newspapers, student council, etc. are competitive and therefore some kids get locked out of things they'd like to do. It's worth looking into that.

Also, I thought Pitt did a great job of humanities classes. My English lit classes, French lit, Art History upper division classes were very small (high school sized). I also had a lot of social science upper division electives that were reasonably sized (30-70). And I went to a lot of guest lectures. I felt I was always able to connect with the professors that I liked, even in larger classes. I do remember that intro classes were large - which didn't particularly bother me, since past about 50 students, there is little student interaction in the lecture format. So, not knowing what Maryland or Pitt are like today, that would be one aspect of student experience that would be worth comparing.

I really did enjoy Pitt but I am a practical person and so I know this is a pretty close decision that will probably just come down to personal preference and money on the end.

If you have any more questions, let me know. I will check back.

Thanks so much for all of this detail (this is OP). My kid is interested in club sports and maybe the campus newspaper - how would I find out how competitive those are? Thanks also for the info on class size - very helpful!!

[Anonymous]

UMD for the win!

Save the money for your retirement or give it to them. Put the $$ difference every semester in a Fidelity stock account invested in the S&P 500,

Having over $60K growing in stocks when you graduate is worth it and UMD is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMD for the win!

Save the money for your retirement or give it to them. Put the $$ difference every semester in a Fidelity stock account invested in the S&P 500,

Having over $60K growing in stocks when you graduate is worth it and UMD is wonderful.

yeah but you only are in your formative years once