UMBC

[Anonymous]

I know three girls who go to UMBC from Montgomery County. None come home on weekends. All are very STEM oriented. All 3 love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know three girls who go to UMBC from Montgomery County. None come home on weekends. All are very STEM oriented. All 3 love it.

SO?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't hear much talk about this school on here. Maybe because it isn't "prestigious". My DC is a sophomore right now, so we have plenty of time to narrow down schools. I am not even sure what her reach, target, and safety schools are right now. However, while doing some research on UMBC I have gathered that it is an up and coming college and currently has a strong STEM program. They also give out a lot of scholarships and tuition is reasonable even for out of state.

Any want to give any more insights about UMBC?

DC doesn't want to go away far- want's to be a driveable distance (we are in NOVA). DC is interested in health sciences, possibly going the pre-med route, but we can't be so sure right now as it is very early to decide career paths.

Would like to hear any experience's about this school or

I went to UMBC, and toured it with my DD, who is a very strong student and who was solicited by some of the more "prestigious" universities. We wanted her to look at ALL options and find the right fit. She chose a larger university out of state, but liked the feel of UMBC - she felt that UMd seemed overly crowded and impersonal. Here's my take on it.

UMBC is a good state school. It's not Harvard, it's not UVA, if you are playing the prestige game, don't bother. It doesn't have the huge football games like a Big Ten school. But it is a solid school whose reputation is growing leaps and bounds. Freeman Hrabowski has done great things for the school in beefing up its science and tech departments and in establishing honors programs for higher achieving students. It's a wonderful school for a kid who maybe doesn't want to be at a huge university like UMd or UVa, who is looking for a campus with a smaller footprint and a homier feel.

I was a humanities major back in the day, and I will say that my professors were very dedicated, accessible and motivated teachers. I did not feel lost in the crowd, and in fact have kept up with some of those professors 30 years later. Other than a few freshman general ed classes, my classes in my major were of a decent size (around 20 - 25) and I felt comfortable and "known" within my department. It was personable, flexible and I had some great opportunities there.

I disagree that the focus is not on undergraduate teaching. My DH went to Hopkins and often complained that he did not have much access to his professors, that he was often being taught by a foreign grad student. I had complete access to my professors - no grad students, no foreign students / professors whose command of English was poor. Possibly I lucked out due to my major, but I never heard those complaints from friends in other majors either.

It was a commuter school, but I had friends on campus who lived there, who did the frat / sorority things, and who enjoyed living on campus in the dorms and apartments. I will say that the location is not the most vibrant, but it's a 20 minute drive to downtown Baltimore, and there is enough to do on campus to keep them busy. I had plenty to keep my social life busy there, and remain friends with classmates who came there from out of state to this day.

UMBC has come leaps and bounds from my days there, and I suspect that it will continue to do so. The campus has changed so much for the better from my days there - and I enjoyed it then - it doesn't even look like the same school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't hear much talk about this school on here. Maybe because it isn't "prestigious". My DC is a sophomore right now, so we have plenty of time to narrow down schools. I am not even sure what her reach, target, and safety schools are right now. However, while doing some research on UMBC I have gathered that it is an up and coming college and currently has a strong STEM program. They also give out a lot of scholarships and tuition is reasonable even for out of state.

Any want to give any more insights about UMBC?

DC doesn't want to go away far- want's to be a driveable distance (we are in NOVA). DC is interested in health sciences, possibly going the pre-med route, but we can't be so sure right now as it is very early to decide career paths.

Would like to hear any experience's about this school or

I went to UMBC, and toured it with my DD, who is a very strong student and who was solicited by some of the more "prestigious" universities. We wanted her to look at ALL options and find the right fit. She chose a larger university out of state, but liked the feel of UMBC - she felt that UMd seemed overly crowded and impersonal. Here's my take on it.

UMBC is a good state school. It's not Harvard, it's not UVA, if you are playing the prestige game, don't bother. It doesn't have the huge football games like a Big Ten school. But it is a solid school whose reputation is growing leaps and bounds. Freeman Hrabowski has done great things for the school in beefing up its science and tech departments and in establishing honors programs for higher achieving students. It's a wonderful school for a kid who maybe doesn't want to be at a huge university like UMd or UVa, who is looking for a campus with a smaller footprint and a homier feel.

I was a humanities major back in the day, and I will say that my professors were very dedicated, accessible and motivated teachers. I did not feel lost in the crowd, and in fact have kept up with some of those professors 30 years later. Other than a few freshman general ed classes, my classes in my major were of a decent size (around 20 - 25) and I felt comfortable and "known" within my department. It was personable, flexible and I had some great opportunities there.

I disagree that the focus is not on undergraduate teaching. My DH went to Hopkins and often complained that he did not have much access to his professors, that he was often being taught by a foreign grad student. I had complete access to my professors - no grad students, no foreign students / professors whose command of English was poor. Possibly I lucked out due to my major, but I never heard those complaints from friends in other majors either.

It was a commuter school, but I had friends on campus who lived there, who did the frat / sorority things, and who enjoyed living on campus in the dorms and apartments. I will say that the location is not the most vibrant, but it's a 20 minute drive to downtown Baltimore, and there is enough to do on campus to keep them busy. I had plenty to keep my social life busy there, and remain friends with classmates who came there from out of state to this day.

UMBC has come leaps and bounds from my days there, and I suspect that it will continue to do so. The campus has changed so much for the better from my days there - and I enjoyed it then - it doesn't even look like the same school.

Thanks so much, PP! Great post.

[Anonymous]

OP here, wow so many wonderful and informative replies. Much appreciated.

For those of you saying it isn't worth it for out of state- especially coming from Va. My DC does not want to go far away. DC wants to be at a drivable distance even though DC plans to live on campus. Many of the Va schools other than GMU are over 2 hrs and UMBC oos tuition is still very much affordable.

[Anonymous]

My kid goes there. Wonderful school. He was admitted with full ride in both UMD and UMBC. Thankfully, he chose UMBC (even though initially UMD was the 1sr choice). Very academic and STEM focussed school. Small enough for students to get lots of attention.

No Greek life is a big plus for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid goes there. Wonderful school. He was admitted with full ride in both UMD and UMBC. Thankfully, he chose UMBC (even though initially UMD was the 1sr choice). Very academic and STEM focussed school. Small enough for students to get lots of attention.

No Greek life is a big plus for us.

Good to know. My child isn't into partying and is a bit more of an introvert.