Anonymous wrote:So underwhelmed with Frostburg. And you need like a 2.0 to get in there, and it's cold. Like really, really cold. DD goes to Towson, and it is not suburban at all, quite the opposite. It's having a moment right now with some safety concerns... If your DD is interested in education or speech therapy or something, look no further than Towson.

Towson is more selective and in a better location for DC-area kids than Frostburg which is remote. Frostburg's campus reminds me of WVA but smaller - more like Alfred in NY.

Salisbury might fall between the two on selectively and location.

11:16 Adding to the above - Both states also have a network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are rarely mentioned on this forum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- to clarify, I was asking about in-state public schools. However, I am appreciative of some of the comments about our of state schools that might be brought down to similar costs due to aid. Thank you all!

Move to VA you will have more choice.

+100

So many more great schools

Like what?

Besides UVA/VT/W&M? GMU, JMU, VCU are all great schools, better than UMBC or Towson IMHO in terms of reputation and location. Depending on major or taste, CNU and ODU are also attractiive schools.

As PP noted, Virginia is a larger state with a more developed tertiary system. That makes for more variety in locations, although perhaps not in capacity relative to the population (which is why NOVA kids are increasingly headed to GMU/JMU/VCU).

This is a bit of an overstatement. Lots of VA state boosters here.

Virginia is a larger state but UMD basically functions as UVA and VT. By this I mean that unlike a state that separates the strongest tech from the strongest liberal arts (what VA and Indiana do, for ex), MD has the strongest engineering and liberal arts all in one university (like Michigan does).

Mason and Towson are very similar schools

VCU is a city school like UMBC but UMBC is stronger.

W&M is a public liberal arts school like St Mary's - Here, VA wins out and W&M is a stronger school.

JMU, ODU and CNU and such are tertiary schools - more like Frostburg and Salisbury. (JMU admissions is 80%, ODU admissions is 95%, CNU is 76.4%)

So underwhelmed with Frostburg. And you need like a 2.0 to get in there, and it's cold. Like really, really cold. DD goes to Towson, and it is not suburban at all, quite the opposite. It's having a moment right now with some safety concerns... If your DD is interested in education or speech therapy or something, look no further than Towson.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as personalities...

Towson is a lot like GMU in VA: a pleasant campus in suburbia. Nothing like UMd or Florida State or even UCF.

Frostburg is a coherent campus but it's wayyyyy out in western MD and the academics aren't as strong.

St. Mary's is a liberal arts college way down by the water. It's gorgeous and a good deal if your child wants a slac, not a big uni.

UMBC is particularly well known for sciences and hosts the prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars program. It is where the health sciences majors are.

Native Marylander here and I agree with these descriptions. There is also Salisbury on the Eastern Shore - I believe the academics are similar to Frostburg - and also Morgan State, which is an HBCU.

As an alum, I will give a shout-out to SMCM. I went there way back when and loved it, but it is very small and in a very rural setting. It was life-changing for me in only the best ways.

I'm not sure that the bolded is true. Salisbury is know more for its business school, and is building up its health sciences programs as well.

Frostburg's admissions rate is 74%
Salisbury's admissions rate is 77.6%

Salisbury claims to have slightly higher SATs but it's a difficult comparison when so many schools accept kids without test scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- to clarify, I was asking about in-state public schools. However, I am appreciative of some of the comments about our of state schools that might be brought down to similar costs due to aid. Thank you all!

Move to VA you will have more choice.

+100

So many more great schools

Like what?

Besides UVA/VT/W&M? GMU, JMU, VCU are all great schools, better than UMBC or Towson IMHO in terms of reputation and location. Depending on major or taste, CNU and ODU are also attractiive schools.

As PP noted, Virginia is a larger state with a more developed tertiary system. That makes for more variety in locations, although perhaps not in capacity relative to the population (which is why NOVA kids are increasingly headed to GMU/JMU/VCU).

Anonymous wrote:As far as personalities...

Towson is a lot like GMU in VA: a pleasant campus in suburbia. Nothing like UMd or Florida State or even UCF.

Frostburg is a coherent campus but it's wayyyyy out in western MD and the academics aren't as strong.

St. Mary's is a liberal arts college way down by the water. It's gorgeous and a good deal if your child wants a slac, not a big uni.

UMBC is particuarly well known for sciences and hosts the prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars program. It is where the health sciences majors are.

Disagree about Towson being in suburbia. It’s location is very walkable with lots to do in the vicinity. I consider the area to be part of north Baltimore. And Goucher College is right there too, giving the area a very college town feel.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as personalities...

Towson is a lot like GMU in VA: a pleasant campus in suburbia. Nothing like UMd or Florida State or even UCF.

Frostburg is a coherent campus but it's wayyyyy out in western MD and the academics aren't as strong.

St. Mary's is a liberal arts college way down by the water. It's gorgeous and a good deal if your child wants a slac, not a big uni.

UMBC is particularly well known for sciences and hosts the prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars program. It is where the health sciences majors are.

Native Marylander here and I agree with these descriptions. There is also Salisbury on the Eastern Shore - I believe the academics are similar to Frostburg - and also Morgan State, which is an HBCU.

As an alum, I will give a shout-out to SMCM. I went there way back when and loved it, but it is very small and in a very rural setting. It was life-changing for me in only the best ways.

I'm not sure that the bolded is true. Salisbury is know more for its business school, and is building up its health sciences programs as well.

PP here. Good to know, thanks for the correction.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- to clarify, I was asking about in-state public schools. However, I am appreciative of some of the comments about our of state schools that might be brought down to similar costs due to aid. Thank you all!

Move to VA you will have more choice.

+100

So many more great schools

Like what?

UMBC doesn’t have football, but they do have a nice campus and a lot of other intercollegiate sports including basketball.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as personalities...

Towson is a lot like GMU in VA: a pleasant campus in suburbia. Nothing like UMd or Florida State or even UCF.

Frostburg is a coherent campus but it's wayyyyy out in western MD and the academics aren't as strong.

St. Mary's is a liberal arts college way down by the water. It's gorgeous and a good deal if your child wants a slac, not a big uni.

UMBC is particularly well known for sciences and hosts the prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars program. It is where the health sciences majors are.

Native Marylander here and I agree with these descriptions. There is also Salisbury on the Eastern Shore - I believe the academics are similar to Frostburg - and also Morgan State, which is an HBCU.

As an alum, I will give a shout-out to SMCM. I went there way back when and loved it, but it is very small and in a very rural setting. It was life-changing for me in only the best ways.

I'm not sure that the bolded is true. Salisbury is know more for its business school, and is building up its health sciences programs as well.

Anonymous wrote:As far as personalities...

Towson is a lot like GMU in VA: a pleasant campus in suburbia. Nothing like UMd or Florida State or even UCF.

Frostburg is a coherent campus but it's wayyyyy out in western MD and the academics aren't as strong.

St. Mary's is a liberal arts college way down by the water. It's gorgeous and a good deal if your child wants a slac, not a big uni.

UMBC is particularly well known for sciences and hosts the prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars program. It is where the health sciences majors are.

Native Marylander here and I agree with these descriptions. There is also Salisbury on the Eastern Shore - I believe the academics are similar to Frostburg - and also Morgan State, which is an HBCU.

As an alum, I will give a shout-out to SMCM. I went there way back when and loved it, but it is very small and in a very rural setting. It was life-changing for me in only the best ways.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Temple U also gives good merit. Was really impressed by this school!

neighborhood is not so great though!

Felt perfectly fine on campus during day. Even let DD take public SEPTA bus in the afternoon back down Broad street to hotel, alone. Use common sense at night, safety in numbers. But yes, a city school with not much green space and crime on the perimeter for sure. Exceptionally well kept buildings and grounds, all modern and clean.

Anonymous wrote:Temple U also gives good merit. Was really impressed by this school!

neighborhood is not so great though!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- to clarify, I was asking about in-state public schools. However, I am appreciative of some of the comments about our of state schools that might be brought down to similar costs due to aid. Thank you all!

Move to VA you will have more choice.

+100

So many more great schools