UMBC Open House

[Anonymous]

Attended the UMBC Just for Junior Day yesterday and it was pretty terrible and DD quickly crossed this one off the list.
First, it was packed. Even getting into the parking lot was a mess.
Second, they started the whole day off talking about their recent basketball victory over UVA. Two months ago no one even knew they had a team and that was not the reason anyone was there.
Third, the campus is just plain ugly and run down. Many old building in dire need of maintenance. Salisbury has a nicer campus and facilities.
The tour groups were way too large, probably over 100 in our group. We skipped out half way through and did our own tour.
I hate being stuck in MD with only 1 viable in-state option.

[Anonymous]

Hmmm. We got there at noon, grabbed some brochures, and skipped the tour. On the advice of one of the UMBC ambassadors (or whatever they're called), we made a point of attending one of the workshops in the Engineering Building. THAT is where they won me over. The Computer Engineering Prof apparently hadn't gotten notice that he would be addressing this crowd, and the white board at the front was a little broken. He nonetheless gave such an outstanding, self-assured, and relevant hour long talk, and took questions, that I remain interested. It's not a pretty campus and I suspect does not have a social life especially on weekends. However, I will re-visit at this point. There wound up being a lot to like despite being crowded and un-fancy for lack of a better term.

[Anonymous]

WOW..UMBC was the first school we visited about a year ago. We had a great introduction. The day was well organized and they had a free lunch. We attended several meetings and had a tour. I though the dorms were pretty nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attended the UMBC Just for Junior Day yesterday and it was pretty terrible and DD quickly crossed this one off the list.
First, it was packed. Even getting into the parking lot was a mess.
Second, they started the whole day off talking about their recent basketball victory over UVA. Two months ago no one even knew they had a team and that was not the reason anyone was there.
Third, the campus is just plain ugly and run down. Many old building in dire need of maintenance. Salisbury has a nicer campus and facilities.
The tour groups were way too large, probably over 100 in our group. We skipped out half way through and did our own tour.
I hate being stuck in MD with only 1 viable in-state option.

Crossing off the list (and adding it on) based on a tour is not smart. It has nothing to do education the school offers. True with all schools, not just UMBC.

[Anonymous]

OP- I went to Salisbury and UMBC and while Salisbury is more aesthetically pleasing, UMBC's academics are far superior. "All that glitters..."

[Anonymous]

Random comment

After beating #1 UVA in b-ball, they just best #1 Albany in Lacrosse

[Anonymous]

If they are spending that much time talking about UVA, well, that’s pathetic. UVA is still UVA and very , very few people would be at UMBC if they could get in to UVA. I get it as a one minute rah rah point, but...grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Random comment

After beating #1 UVA in b-ball, they just best #1 Albany in Lacrosse

Wow, who cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are spending that much time talking about UVA, well, that’s pathetic. UVA is still UVA and very , very few people would be at UMBC if they could get in to UVA. I get it as a one minute rah rah point, but...grow up.

If you assume the same cost at both, yeah, i agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attended the UMBC Just for Junior Day yesterday and it was pretty terrible and DD quickly crossed this one off the list.
First, it was packed. Even getting into the parking lot was a mess.
Second, they started the whole day off talking about their recent basketball victory over UVA. Two months ago no one even knew they had a team and that was not the reason anyone was there.
Third, the campus is just plain ugly and run down. Many old building in dire need of maintenance. Salisbury has a nicer campus and facilities.
The tour groups were way too large, probably over 100 in our group. We skipped out half way through and did our own tour.
I hate being stuck in MD with only 1 viable in-state option.

Crossing off the list (and adding it on) based on a tour is not smart. It has nothing to do education the school offers. True with all schools, not just UMBC.

Totally agree. You could attend a very slick tour to find out the education offered is completely sub par.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are spending that much time talking about UVA, well, that’s pathetic. UVA is still UVA and very , very few people would be at UMBC if they could get in to UVA. I get it as a one minute rah rah point, but...grow up.

It doesn’t sound like that was the message. Reality is that UMBC got a lot of press for their win in the tournament. There are stats out there that show that kind of press and profile results in more interest and applications at a school. Probably why the day was so crowded.

If you read UMBCs twitter feed during the tournament (which was pretty entertaining) you will see they emphasized the academics of the school. Neither of my kids were interested in even UMD, much less UMBC, but I give UMBC a lot of credit for what they’ve built.

[Anonymous]

Our DC went to a similarly packed Open House at UMBC about 18 months ago and was similarly turned off.

We dragged DC back for a more personal tour of the engineering facilities after DC got accepted.

DC grudgingly admitted that UMBC up close and personal was as good as any school they had visited.

However, in the same sentence, DC stressed that they had been accepted by several private and OOS schools that merit aid made competitive price wise.

In the next sentence, DC explained that the other schools were about 1/3 the size of UMBC so no matter how much UMBC tries and even if they succeed, they are seen as NOT UMd CP and NOT a small supportive engineering school.

I think this is why UMBC is excited about their victory over UVa. They are finally getting the idea that if they want to fill a Virginia Tech like niche, they need to become a well rounded large university and NOT be defined by what they are not.

[Anonymous]

We also attended the UMBC Open House. We skipped the tour as we do at most schools.

Anonymous wrote:Third, the campus is just plain ugly and run down. Many old building in dire need of maintenance. Salisbury has a nicer campus and facilities.

The Performing Arts and Humanities Building at UMBC is incredible! We toured with a senior majoring in lighting design and were able to see the fabricating spaces, the black box and the mainstage spaces, as well as the lighting and sound labs. Simply beautiful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attended the UMBC Just for Junior Day yesterday and it was pretty terrible and DD quickly crossed this one off the list.
First, it was packed. Even getting into the parking lot was a mess.
Second, they started the whole day off talking about their recent basketball victory over UVA. Two months ago no one even knew they had a team and that was not the reason anyone was there.
Third, the campus is just plain ugly and run down. Many old building in dire need of maintenance. Salisbury has a nicer campus and facilities.
The tour groups were way too large, probably over 100 in our group. We skipped out half way through and did our own tour.
I hate being stuck in MD with only 1 viable in-state option.

Crossing off the list (and adding it on) based on a tour is not smart. It has nothing to do education the school offers. True with all schools, not just UMBC.

I disagree. It's the total package that matters. The campus has to be the right fit in addition to the education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attended the UMBC Just for Junior Day yesterday and it was pretty terrible and DD quickly crossed this one off the list.
First, it was packed. Even getting into the parking lot was a mess.
Second, they started the whole day off talking about their recent basketball victory over UVA. Two months ago no one even knew they had a team and that was not the reason anyone was there.
Third, the campus is just plain ugly and run down. Many old building in dire need of maintenance. Salisbury has a nicer campus and facilities.
The tour groups were way too large, probably over 100 in our group. We skipped out half way through and did our own tour.
I hate being stuck in MD with only 1 viable in-state option.

Crossing off the list (and adding it on) based on a tour is not smart. It has nothing to do education the school offers. True with all schools, not just UMBC.

Totally agree. You could attend a very slick tour to find out the education offered is completely sub par.

Yesterday was more than just a tour.