Reply to Should DC apply to UMD? (and does it feel very "big")

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]UMD is the old school college where the kid comes out more grown up, more mature and resilient. Hovering moms don't like it. Not the place for shrinking violets. Men like it a lot. No hand holding, the town is a little hardscrabble (although the violent crime is well below Charlottesville). The UMD alumni have had far greater impact on USA and World economy, culture than almost all peer institutions I believe because of the lack of appeal to weaklings but that's just a opinion. Since the Big Ten invitation UMD has become very hard to get into with incoming SAT/ACTs 4th in the Big Ten basically tied with UCLA but behind the privates and Michigan. It's a big research school with the 8th biggest research budget among publics in the country. The Big Ten invite was mostly due the the research budget and is a Big Ten style school [/quote]

A PP.  Many state flagships have increased in difficulty to get into since Gen X parent times. From everything I read, UMD is on a big upswing.  That means even more smart kids there than when we parents went to school.

I went to Pitt when it was somewhat underappreciated.  I had a great experience and 100% would repeat.  So I really put weight on how the individual feels during their visit.  I think Pitt's continued weakness from my POV is that the business portion of collegetown where students eat and shop is lacking.  The pandemic hurt the area businesses.

I think the Metro accessibility of College Park is a good add.  Some say that the area around there is improving.  Also, we had a girl go to UMD from our Michigan high school about three years ago (for journalism) and she had great things to say.  She had already had two big name internships in the DC area and was recognized as the top student in her UMD college.  So UMD sent a formal recognition to her and her choice of inspiring high school teacher that was read out at our local school board meeting.

OP asked me my impression of SUNY Binghamton.  From what I've read, the college does its job well at a great price.  The city is a bit Rust Belty but I enjoyed my brief visit to downtown (visited the public library's history center to do genealogy research, ate at the Lost Dog café, walked around the old immigrant neighborhoods).  It reminded me of parts of Pittsburgh in the leaner times in which I grew up (80s/90s).  I didn't meet students or take a tour. Just drove around.

My Binghamton-born family member went straight to Cornell long ago.  We were mainly in the area to see Cornell (ILR) when we passed through.  From what I've read, these days, some Cornell transfers do come from SUNY Binghamton.  I see the logic there and think that's a good plan for a kid looking to transition from near-urban suburbia to a more inward-focused campus setting.  A lot of diehard Cornell waitlisters get sophomore transfer offers.

As a resident of another state (MI), I didn't think Binghamton was a fit for my 2 kids, but I became more interested in the possibilities/eyes were opened from visiting.  It seems like a really good value for in-staters.  My kid ended up at U of M, which was his preference (did not stay on Cornell ILR WL).

I understand the "it's not exciting to be close to home" and "pretty campus" mindsets.  That depends a lot on the individual student.  Also, as a woman, I pay attention to campus safety and feel (which is mostly vibes because universities these days are quite organized about security).  I feel a bit more comfy with Pittsburgh than Cleveland.  Even though Pitt and CWRU are both urban and located in cultural/hospital districts. [/quote]

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