I don't know how this thread got to 9 pages when the easy answer to OP's question is zero.

Anonymous wrote:OP back again. I just checked Niche - the worst feedback is from years ago - 2014/15/16. Read the CDS - their 75th percentile is @ 1300 SAT, which is right around where my son will fall. GPA avg about 3.5. Sounds like a good school for kids who can’t get into UMCP but want more of a campus feel than UMBC. Though their full tuition/fees is @ $28k; as someone pointed out, more than UMCP/UMBC. I appreciate that the profs are rated A- on Niche, whereas UMBC’s are rated only B+. One of my husband’s colleague’s son went to St. Mary’s and loved it. The financials are concerning, but in case of a real financial crisis, I would think it would be absorbed into the UMCP system - not necessarily a bad thing

Niche data for St. Mary's is based on a VERY small sample size. I would take any data from Nice with a huge grain of salt for any school since people are more likely to post something negative than positive.

With those stats, your kid should get decent merit aid to bring the cost down to closer to $24K.

Someone above said St. Mary's has a bad bond rating which is untrue. Their Moody's rating is A2 which is considered strong. All the new building on campus should put any fears to rest about its future. Yes, the school needs to continue to strengthen enrollment but they have been meeting their goals. Go check it out - you'll love it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just purely from a merit aid standpoint, my kid got significantly more $ from UMBC than from St. Mary’s. Nothing from UMCP.

They just don’t have the money. Issues are related but it all starts from lack of funds.

Yes, I get that. On the other hand, if SM wants to attract some higher stat kids, they should try to find a way to offer more merit. UMCP obviously doesn’t have the same problem.

I don't get the complaining. St. Mary's is a public college. How much merit aid do you want? It is still much less expensive than similar private colleges.

I wasn’t complaining, just making an observation about how the different state schools compare on merit aid based on personal experience. My child isn’t going to any of them.

OP back again. I just checked Niche - the worst feedback is from years ago - 2014/15/16. Read the CDS - their 75th percentile is @ 1300 SAT, which is right around where my son will fall. GPA avg about 3.5. Sounds like a good school for kids who can’t get into UMCP but want more of a campus feel than UMBC. Though their full tuition/fees is @ $28k; as someone pointed out, more than UMCP/UMBC. I appreciate that the profs are rated A- on Niche, whereas UMBC’s are rated only B+. One of my husband’s colleague’s son went to St. Mary’s and loved it. The financials are concerning, but in case of a real financial crisis, I would think it would be absorbed into the UMCP system - not necessarily a bad thing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just purely from a merit aid standpoint, my kid got significantly more $ from UMBC than from St. Mary’s. Nothing from UMCP.

They just don’t have the money. Issues are related but it all starts from lack of funds.

Yes, I get that. On the other hand, if SM wants to attract some higher stat kids, they should try to find a way to offer more merit. UMCP obviously doesn’t have the same problem.

I don't get the complaining. St. Mary's is a public college. How much merit aid do you want? It is still much less expensive than similar private colleges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just purely from a merit aid standpoint, my kid got significantly more $ from UMBC than from St. Mary’s. Nothing from UMCP.

They just don’t have the money. Issues are related but it all starts from lack of funds.

Yes, I get that. On the other hand, if SM wants to attract some higher stat kids, they should try to find a way to offer more merit. UMCP obviously doesn’t have the same problem.

Anonymous wrote:Just purely from a merit aid standpoint, my kid got significantly more $ from UMBC than from St. Mary’s. Nothing from UMCP.

They just don’t have the money. Issues are related but it all starts from lack of funds.

Just purely from a merit aid standpoint, my kid got significantly more $ from UMBC than from St. Mary’s. Nothing from UMCP.

https://www.niche.com/colleges/st-marys-college-of-maryland/

Are we really forming opinions based on a few comments on Niche? Look at the sample size of that poll. 23. Yes there were only 23 Responses. So that means 7 people answered “huge disappointment”…and 6 people answered “Amazing”. Really? That is meaningful to you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ St Mary’s definitely still in trouble. It will take many years before they are fully recovered.

Agree. Someone mentioned it was their largest freshman class last year, but this is compared to years where they can not even get 400 freshman. Every year they are still looking for more kids. They haven't had a full school in ages. Their credit rating is low. You can hope they can recover but they have had a few racist things happen in the past few years. Confederate flags being put up, Swastikas etc... They also had kids setting dorms on fire. I mean even looking on Niche, they ask students to say one word or phrase that describes your school and the largest percentage said "a huge disappointment." Ouch.

Oh wow, I just checked that. I have never seen something so negative being the top post on Niche. My daughter's friend was there one semester and transferred last year. She absolutely hated it. There is nothing to do in cold weather, but drink she said. Hardly any clubs. No IM's. They main reason was the many sexual assaults and administration trying to cover them up due to their already tarnished reputation. She also said the word honor is a joke. Most of the kids were not that smart.

Link please?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ St Mary’s definitely still in trouble. It will take many years before they are fully recovered.

Agree. Someone mentioned it was their largest freshman class last year, but this is compared to years where they can not even get 400 freshman. Every year they are still looking for more kids. They haven't had a full school in ages. Their credit rating is low. You can hope they can recover but they have had a few racist things happen in the past few years. Confederate flags being put up, Swastikas etc... They also had kids setting dorms on fire. I mean even looking on Niche, they ask students to say one word or phrase that describes your school and the largest percentage said "a huge disappointment." Ouch.

Oh wow, I just checked that. I have never seen something so negative being the top post on Niche. My daughter's friend was there one semester and transferred last year. She absolutely hated it. There is nothing to do in cold weather, but drink she said. Hardly any clubs. No IM's. They main reason was the many sexual assaults and administration trying to cover them up due to their already tarnished reputation. She also said the word honor is a joke. Most of the kids were not that smart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also optimistic about our in state options improving

I predict a bright future for umbc and St Mary's

St. Mary's has been going in the tank each year. Claiming to be an honors college hasn't help. UMBC seems to be a great college, but is basically a glorified commuter school.

Towson has been the status quo for decades. Same with Salisbury (although their status quo is much lower)

OP here. How do you know it is going in the tank?

I think pp is referring to $ problem and administrative issues that started 15-20 years ago and, sadly, the school still hasn’t fully recovered. You can find a lot of articles over the years on WashPo. It explains why st Mary’s has 70-80% admit rate. They need money and state is not adequately funding it.

Like so many small liberal arts colleges, St. Mary’s has had its share of struggles trying to keep up enrollment. About 5 years ago they had a horrible administration that made some bad choices and under enrolled the school. They’ve been working hard to correct things ever since but it seems to really be on the right track now with an increase in enrollment. The state has increased their budget and thanks to some very generous donations, they have been able to recently add new academic buildings, a new stadium, and new a new art space is due to break ground. Where other small private LACs have been cutting programs, St. Mary’s has actually been adding new majors.

OP here. Thanks for the info. Looking forward to visiting the school on a gorgeous spring day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - don't overlook out of state options.

My son wouldn't have gotten into VT engineering, but he's at a highly regarded engineering school elsewhere with enough merit aid that we're close. Certainly cheaper than UVA or WM

You just have to look around a bit. DMV kids have a good reputation in the midwest.

He's thriving.

One thing to keep in mind is that the in-state schools for Virginia residents are typically more expensive than the in-state schools for Maryland residents. So if you are saying that your out-of-state school came close to your in-state school tuition, that might be the case if you are in VA but maybe not if you are in MD.

Example, for tuition and room and board, UMD and UMBC are about $23,000 for in-state while UVA is closer to $30,000 in-state and William and Mary is about $37,000 in-state.

So what? The point the PP was making is that there are still midwest and southern OOS that are cheaper or similar to even $23,000. Heck, if you have a 30ACT and a 3.5GPA or higher, you can go to University of Alabama - Huntsville for absolutely free. They have a fantastic engineering program and are located right next to the NASA Space Flight Center.

There are so so many options out there.

This is the PP. Thanks.

And although the difference in the money the poster talks about is non-trivial (the few thousand dollars between what my family is paying and UMD), it isn't a deal breaker for many families reading here.

Besides cost difference between an OOS public with merit and the in-state, factor in the possibility that
1) the student might take more than 4 years to graduate and merit awards typically only cover 4 years. That extra semester or two is going to be a doozy
2) the student could lose that merit aid if their grades slip

OK Debbie Downer. I still think my kid is getting more of what he wants at his OOS flagship than he would have at His available in-state options.

Yes, you are right that life takes unexpected turns. But let it go! OP wants options, and we of the OOS kids are offering one. Send your kid to Frostburg if you want. My VA kid wanted out of the south, and so he left.

The PP was giving some very useful advice so don't know why you are so defensive. Spend your money however you want, really nobody cares one way or another if your kid is going to an OOS school. For those that are actually trying to learn something, the bolded is very good information for anyone to keep in mind when factoring in merit aid.

Yeah, I am all for OOS options before these in-state schools, but the Debbie Downer poster is just ignorant. You do need to be aware of merit based requirements. Every school has different renewal processes. I think of it as a positive though. It is an incentive to stay on top of your grades. Most schools you can absolutely finish in 4 years if you don't change your school, degree, don't go global, or do a co-op. But many merit based packages are based on 8 semesters for that reason. If you do a co-op or do a semester globally, they put it on hold. But yes, that is absolutely something to research as well for in-state and out of state school. That is an issue with Towson and UMD having extremely poor 4 year graduation rates.

Anonymous wrote:^ St Mary’s definitely still in trouble. It will take many years before they are fully recovered.

Agree. Someone mentioned it was their largest freshman class last year, but this is compared to years where they can not even get 400 freshman. Every year they are still looking for more kids. They haven't had a full school in ages. Their credit rating is low. You can hope they can recover but they have had a few racist things happen in the past few years. Confederate flags being put up, Swastikas etc... They also had kids setting dorms on fire. I mean even looking on Niche, they ask students to say one word or phrase that describes your school and the largest percentage said "a huge disappointment." Ouch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - don't overlook out of state options.

My son wouldn't have gotten into VT engineering, but he's at a highly regarded engineering school elsewhere with enough merit aid that we're close. Certainly cheaper than UVA or WM

You just have to look around a bit. DMV kids have a good reputation in the midwest.

He's thriving.

One thing to keep in mind is that the in-state schools for Virginia residents are typically more expensive than the in-state schools for Maryland residents. So if you are saying that your out-of-state school came close to your in-state school tuition, that might be the case if you are in VA but maybe not if you are in MD.

Example, for tuition and room and board, UMD and UMBC are about $23,000 for in-state while UVA is closer to $30,000 in-state and William and Mary is about $37,000 in-state.

So what? The point the PP was making is that there are still midwest and southern OOS that are cheaper or similar to even $23,000. Heck, if you have a 30ACT and a 3.5GPA or higher, you can go to University of Alabama - Huntsville for absolutely free. They have a fantastic engineering program and are located right next to the NASA Space Flight Center.

There are so so many options out there.

This is the PP. Thanks.

And although the difference in the money the poster talks about is non-trivial (the few thousand dollars between what my family is paying and UMD), it isn't a deal breaker for many families reading here.

Besides cost difference between an OOS public with merit and the in-state, factor in the possibility that
1) the student might take more than 4 years to graduate and merit awards typically only cover 4 years. That extra semester or two is going to be a doozy
2) the student could lose that merit aid if their grades slip

OK Debbie Downer. I still think my kid is getting more of what he wants at his OOS flagship than he would have at His available in-state options.

Yes, you are right that life takes unexpected turns. But let it go! OP wants options, and we of the OOS kids are offering one. Send your kid to Frostburg if you want. My VA kid wanted out of the south, and so he left.

DCUM is full of crazies.