Indiana University or University of Maryland?

[Anonymous]

None of the fields you mention has any jobs or any decent pay so why would you throw away money on it? My kids understand that if they want to go to an expensive school it better be in a productive area. If they want to major in Fluff Studies they can go to the state flagship

[Anonymous]

They are both good schools and pretty comparable. Ignore the poster focused on acceptance rate and ranking. Which does she prefer? Which can she see herself at for four years? Does she want to stay close to home or go away? Is weather a factor? Location? Maybe do admitted student days at both.

[Anonymous]

Indiana - far more attractive campus and college town, plus you get away from more of the boring grinds you’d find in College Park who’ll act like CS is the only acceptable major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IU!!

US News rates it above UMD in every one of the programs you cite (including poly sci) plus she’ll have access to Hutton Honors. Gorgeous campus, friendly students, and Bloomington is a fantastic college town. The music program is world class. She’ll love it!

Despite all that, this state flagship has over 80% acceptance rate.

UMD looks like better school overall and thus ranked higher at #55 vs #72 IU

Is that due to the engineering and CS majors being so highly ranked there?

No the ranking is for 'overall undergrad education'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Indiana - far more attractive campus and college town, plus you get away from more of the boring grinds you’d find in College Park who’ll act like CS is the only acceptable major.

[Anonymous]

IU seems like the right choice. What’s the cost difference?

[Anonymous]

Maryland is much stronger for STEM but Indiana is the better school for liberal arts/business/music.

[Anonymous]

Agree to ignore the prior poster on focusing on the school’s overall ranking in USNWR. Focus on what you will be studying. Kelley business for example is a top 10 program at IU and far outranks Smith at UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok we are down to the wire here and stuck.

Indiana with Hutton Honors plus scholarship of University of Maryland

DD loves music and is liberal arts focused. Will likely do a minor in music and major in English/ History/Political Science/ Speech Pathology.

Does she want to be close to family? My kids are homebodies and would chose UMD but, if your kid is adventurous..

[Anonymous]

Not necessarily. Certainly wouldn’t wNt her home constantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of the fields you mention has any jobs or any decent pay so why would you throw away money on it? My kids understand that if they want to go to an expensive school it better be in a productive area. If they want to major in Fluff Studies they can go to the state flagship

Some of us value education and the college experience, not just how much our children are going to make upon graduation. College is not trade school.

OP -- I would choose Indiana

[Anonymous]

Despite all that, this state flagship has over 80% acceptance rate.

Inconsequential distinction, owing largely to the fact that Indiana has essentially two state flagships to accommodate its most talented in-state students -- Purdue and IU -- while Maryland (with a similar population to Indiana) essentially has just one.

Both College Park and IU are excellent universities, and it's true that College Park is generally ranked somewhat higher than IU, but not dramatically so (eg, neither is in the "T30" or "T50" that DCUM cares so much about, and in USNWR, the gap between UMD at "#55" and IU at "#72"is actually just three rankings, because of all the ties -- there are seven universities tied for "#55,' then five tied for '#62,' then five tied for '#67,' then five tied for '#72,' etc). It's also not clear how much of that minor difference (eg, in USNWR point system, IU/B scores 65/100 and UMDCP scores 69/100) is due to high-scoring, high-earning STEM types heading to Purdue over IU. The situation with individual programs of interest (such as music or poli sci) is different.

FWIW, the (WSJ) polls show IU alums are happier than recent UMD alums about their college choice and experience, and that's not nothing. People get very nostalgic about their time in (wonderful) Bloomington, which I've never sensed quite so much about College Park.

Good luck choosing between two excellent options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Despite all that, this state flagship has over 80% acceptance rate.

Inconsequential distinction, owing largely to the fact that Indiana has essentially two state flagships to accommodate its most talented in-state students -- Purdue and IU -- while Maryland (with a similar population to Indiana) essentially has just one.

Both College Park and IU are excellent universities, and it's true that College Park is generally ranked somewhat higher than IU, but not dramatically so (eg, neither is in the "T30" or "T50" that DCUM cares so much about, and in USNWR, the gap between UMD at "#55" and IU at "#72"is actually just three rankings, because of all the ties -- there are seven universities tied for "#55,' then five tied for '#62,' then five tied for '#67,' then five tied for '#72,' etc). It's also not clear how much of that minor difference (eg, in USNWR point system, IU/B scores 65/100 and UMDCP scores 69/100) is due to high-scoring, high-earning STEM types heading to Purdue over IU. The situation with individual programs of interest (such as music or poli sci) is different.

FWIW, the (WSJ) polls show IU alums are happier than recent UMD alums about their college choice and experience, and that's not nothing. People get very nostalgic about their time in (wonderful) Bloomington, which I've never sensed quite so much about College Park.

Good luck choosing between two excellent options.

Excellent post! I am the OP. we are still choosing believe it or not. Decision is difficult for DC. Your analysis of the rankings is most helpful. I did check USNEWS for some of the programs which interest her and Indiana comes out on top. English, Foreign Languages, History and the like. I hear good things about the Media School and LUddy as well. I do feel Indiana has a prettier campus, but Oh, Maryland has DC and ready and waiting internships galore.

It's a tough call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IU!!

US News rates it above UMD in every one of the programs you cite (including poly sci) plus she’ll have access to Hutton Honors. Gorgeous campus, friendly students, and Bloomington is a fantastic college town. The music program is world class. She’ll love it!

Despite all that, this state flagship has over 80% acceptance rate.

UMD looks like better school overall and thus ranked higher at #55 vs #72 IU

Please go potty in your toilet.

[Anonymous]

IU has incredible opportunities for music. The access to world-class performers alone would sway me. It is very pretty there and surprisingly walkable with a health food grocery store, Target, and mall all within walking distance. She would also have special opportunities and access with Hutton Honors. Hamilton-Lugar is very strong if she’s interested in IR and poli sci. Good luck to her.