Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about UMES (U Maryland Eastern Shore)? I've heard good things from others whose children went there. We don't have any personal experience with it but it seems like it would be a good choice for a student who wanted College Park but didn't quite make the cut.

It has pretty low retention and graduation rates. Maybe you are thinking of St. Mary's College of Maryland, which is also on the Eastern Shore? I know a couple kids very happy there. DD considered SMCM but ended up at an OOS LAC. SMCM's 6yr graduation rate is 73% vs. a dismal 33% for UMD Eastern Shore.

Dismal grad rates are usually due to a preponderance of low SES kids who end up having to drop out. May also be due to students transferring to UMCP. If we send our DCUM kids, they will probably be fine.

UMES can be fine for some but the area around it in Pocomoke is full of drugs. And it’s in the middle of nowhere lane. It’s set up like UMBC, in a circle, so the campus isn’t bad looking at all. We thought Salisbury is in a much better location. But the vet school at UMES can’t be beat, true hidden gem.

Delaware State is a better school overall.

Wellesley, which is never a true safety but they had really wanted Amherst or Swarthmore. Took a leap of faith to go single-sex and loved it.

Whitman (had really wanted Bowdoin) and Tufts (top choices were Penn and Hopkins)

Anonymous wrote:NC State Engineering/CS

DH and I were not thrilled when DD who got into way better programs picked that program.

She is now a CTO at age 33. Has the most amazing friends from college.

Would I ever recommend NCSU from a parent point of view no. However for her it was a fantastic ride.

Why not? What concerns you about NC State Engineering? I ask this because my child has NC State Engineering as their safety school.

Puget Sound. Ended up as a top choice but not a hard ticket to punch.

NC State Engineering/CS

DH and I were not thrilled when DD who got into way better programs picked that program.

She is now a CTO at age 33. Has the most amazing friends from college.

Would I ever recommend NCSU from a parent point of view no. However for her it was a fantastic ride.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about UMES (U Maryland Eastern Shore)? I've heard good things from others whose children went there. We don't have any personal experience with it but it seems like it would be a good choice for a student who wanted College Park but didn't quite make the cut.

It has pretty low retention and graduation rates. Maybe you are thinking of St. Mary's College of Maryland, which is also on the Eastern Shore? I know a couple kids very happy there. DD considered SMCM but ended up at an OOS LAC. SMCM's 6yr graduation rate is 73% vs. a dismal 33% for UMD Eastern Shore.

Dismal grad rates are usually due to a preponderance of low SES kids who end up having to drop out. May also be due to students transferring to UMCP. If we send our DCUM kids, they will probably be fine.

SMCM isn't on the eastern shore

Anonymous wrote:What about UMES (U Maryland Eastern Shore)? I've heard good things from others whose children went there. We don't have any personal experience with it but it seems like it would be a good choice for a student who wanted College Park but didn't quite make the cut.

It has pretty low retention and graduation rates. Maybe you are thinking of St. Mary's College of Maryland, which is also on the Eastern Shore? I know a couple kids very happy there. DD considered SMCM but ended up at an OOS LAC. SMCM's 6yr graduation rate is 73% vs. a dismal 33% for UMD Eastern Shore.

What about UMES (U Maryland Eastern Shore)? I've heard good things from others whose children went there. We don't have any personal experience with it but it seems like it would be a good choice for a student who wanted College Park but didn't quite make the cut.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD-CP! My child (soph) loves it

? UMDCP is a safety for most kids? I know a few magnet kids in MCPS who didn't get in.

UMD is definitely not a safety these days. We know lots of great kids who didn’t get in last year and this year. It’s a definite reach school for our son who desperately wants to get in. I actually clicked on this thread hoping to find good safety schools for him.

+1. My son was denied last year -- 3.85 gpa/1470 SAT.

Anonymous wrote:Could we please stop arguing about whether UMD -College Park is a safety school?

Personally, I would love to hear more from those who said their kids wound up loving the other MD public schools, especially Towson and Salisbury, two schools we don't hear much about in this forum.

I have several friends whose kids loved Salisbury. I'm sorry I don't have more specifics, but I wanted to add that I've only heard great things about it. Plus the campus is pretty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD-CP! My child (soph) loves it

? UMDCP is a safety for most kids? I know a few magnet kids in MCPS who didn't get in.

UMD is definitely not a safety these days. We know lots of great kids who didn’t get in last year and this year. It’s a definite reach school for our son who desperately wants to get in. I actually clicked on this thread hoping to find good safety schools for him.

VT - and eventually became pre-vet.

Stanford