I'd take the full ride at UMD, save the money for grad school and she'll have a blast.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?

Wrong, there is most certainly a college town and it's not depressing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously who the F would pay OOS UNC or UCLA over full ride UMD?????

I have to agree. For undergrad the marginal difference in these programs is massively outweighed by the difference in $$. Give your kid $100k in cash to sweeten the deal and send them off to UMD!

As much as I hate to say it. This. Take the UMD full ride. Not Rutgers.

It all depends on your financial situation. We would be willing to pay for UNC and UCLA even with a full ride at UMD. We paid for Michigan OOS even with a partial scholarship at UMD, and a full-ride wouldn’t have made a difference. Kid was deliriously happy there so no regrets. Maybe she would have been happy at UMD too, but still no regrets. If it meant we couldn’t pay for grad school though, we would have made a different choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?

It's proximity to the capital of the USA, much better than middle of nowhere in North Carolina.

Chapel Hill isn’t middle of nowhere. You need a geography lesson.

My vote though is for Maryland.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?

It's proximity to the capital of the USA, much better than middle of nowhere in North Carolina.

It’s hardly middle of nowhere. Chapel Hill is picturesque and part of the research triangle. Close to Raleigh and Durham, and all the fun those sports rivalries have in close proximity. Not plugging UNC as the right choice, not for me to decide, but it’s a phenomenal area in many ways.

I'm a NJ resident and my son went to college last year. He got into Rutgers (not full ride, but would have been the cheapest high-quality option). For whatever reason, he, and a lot of kids in the public HS he attended are very anti-Rutgers. I think it's something to do with the campus not being that great but also the fact that, since it's in the middle of the state, pretty much no one is further than 1.5 hours from home, no matter where they live. And if they've lived in NJ their whole life, they simply want to go somewhere else. There also does not seem to be great school spirit even though it's a Big 10 school. So between Rutgers and UMD I would say UMD.

For Global Health your DC will likely need to go to graduate school. As others have said, UNC has one of the best in the country so they can set themselves up for grad school at UNC (or to California if they prefer, there are good public health schools there as well). Or if they decide on another graduate program, they've saved money during undergrad and are better set up for it. Lots of kids change their mind and TBH, I'd rather have my kid change their mind when they are getting a full ride rather than go to UNC, decide they want to study English literature instead, and then you're paying for it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?

It's proximity to the capital of the USA, much better than middle of nowhere in North Carolina.

Could you answer the question? I don't know UMD students who go into DC more than once a year. It's really not part of everyday life at all.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?

it’s only 4 years and a totally free ride! Go elsewhere for grad school. Take free.

Anonymous wrote:Take a full ride and then return to UNC school of public health for graduate school.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?

It's proximity to the capital of the USA, much better than middle of nowhere in North Carolina.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not Rutgers. Not a great reputation.

At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

+100

Anonymous wrote:Definitely not Rutgers. Not a great reputation.

At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Full ride at UMCP and put the $ savings toward grad school and a new car for dd to sweeten the deal. In her field grad school will be more important, better to spend the money on UNC or JHU then.

Isn't UMD super depressing? No college town, just stuck off the beltway with a few strip malls?