My DD chose UMBC over UMD and really liked it. She did come home every Sat night for a part-time job (so she was one of the disappearing kids!) but seemed to go to plenty of parties on Thursday and Friday nights and had a boyfriend and good social life. Club sports are a thing. Going to the gym is a thing. Because not many of the kids stay on campus, it sort of feels like a smaller school in a way - lots of kids on campus during the day, but then a smaller cohort hang around on nights/weekends. If you're not into the big game or Greek life it can work, is what I'm saying. I also have a lot of good to say about the professors. They helped her find internships in the summers and wrote her great letters and helped her find a fellowship after she graduated. I liked how diverse it was. Most colleges feel so white after MCPS. Overall, I have been really have been happy she chose it - even though I was wary at first. It's not for everyone, but for the right kid, it's a neat place.

In Engineering, from a hiring manager perspective, most universities engineering programs are about the same to me. ABET means all accredited engineering programs are rigorous and also that they have nearly the same curriculum.

Anonymous wrote:UMBC has some nice connections to NASA.

https://research.umbc.edu/umbc-nasa-partnership/

Also with both big employers at Ft Meade.

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Anonymous wrote:UMBC underplays one of their biggest datapoints demonstrating their quality; they send more African American students on to PhD programs in STEM than any other school. You have to be a high quality program to accomplish this. Say what you want about DEI, this is a lot of kids going on to advanced STEM education.

And, UMBC as a whole feels very vanilla to me. Like I can’t identify its vibe because it doesn’t really have one.

I do think it is becoming more popular as UMD-CP is becoming a significantly harder admit and it is going to go up in the rankings. But when I’ve been there it hasn’t felt like the most fun and inspiring place. More like a place where you go four years to get the job done.

Its vibe is “commuter school”. That being said, I wouldn’t mind if my kids went there…we are in state, though.

That is increasingly a historic perception for UMBC. They have a growing number of students who are not commuters.

Even the students who live on campus often go home on weekends. We visited on a Saturday afternoon with beautiful weather and the campus was dead.

Yes they do, that I have observed. Some may hold weekend jobs near their home and need the hours for $. Others go home for weekend meals, as they save money by purchasing a lower allotment of dining swipes. And some, chose a school nearby because they like to go home and spend time with friends and family.

Also, they study, a lot. On most Saturdays my student is on campus, maybe in the library, but more often in an empty classroom building somewhere.

Anonymous wrote:you can do better than umbc

STEM kid there with similar stats, 1400s+ on SATS. Lots of bright students there. Do better, perhaps. If it's the right, it's a good and challenging place.

UMC is the GMU of Maryland in many ways. DCUM hates both for whatever reason. Treat it like Temple or something.

The valedictorian recently at my kid’s high school went to UMBC.

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Anonymous wrote:UMBC underplays one of their biggest datapoints demonstrating their quality; they send more African American students on to PhD programs in STEM than any other school. You have to be a high quality program to accomplish this. Say what you want about DEI, this is a lot of kids going on to advanced STEM education.

And, UMBC as a whole feels very vanilla to me. Like I can’t identify its vibe because it doesn’t really have one.

I do think it is becoming more popular as UMD-CP is becoming a significantly harder admit and it is going to go up in the rankings. But when I’ve been there it hasn’t felt like the most fun and inspiring place. More like a place where you go four years to get the job done.

Its vibe is “commuter school”. That being said, I wouldn’t mind if my kids went there…we are in state, though.

DP. That is changing. It is growing more if a campus feel and becoming more competitive. Great outcomes. I agree w/ a PP about also considering Mason.

It's hard to guess if OP's kid has a shot at UMD based on wgpa. That is a meaningless metric. Unweighted + rigor would be helpful.

UMBC has some nice connections to NASA.

https://research.umbc.edu/umbc-nasa-partnership/

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Anonymous wrote:My relative went to UMBC over UMD college park however that was largely driven by a scholarship that UMBC offered. They are both University of Maryland with UMBC being an honors college. Traditionally college park has been viewed more favorably, however UMBC is no longer a commuter school and has grown to be quite impressive, in my opinion. You can make up your own mind but depending on what you want out of college, UMBC can make a lot of sense.

UMD also has an honors college- top level students get in

Yes the honors college within a larger college is kind of a joke though.

All of UMBC is an honors college. That is a better approach.

UMBC has good programs, but it is not close to the honors college at UMD

Please be specific. Not close exactly how?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My relative went to UMBC over UMD college park however that was largely driven by a scholarship that UMBC offered. They are both University of Maryland with UMBC being an honors college. Traditionally college park has been viewed more favorably, however UMBC is no longer a commuter school and has grown to be quite impressive, in my opinion. You can make up your own mind but depending on what you want out of college, UMBC can make a lot of sense.

UMD also has an honors college- top level students get in

Yes the honors college within a larger college is kind of a joke though.

All of UMBC is an honors college. That is a better approach.

UMBC has good programs, but it is not close to the honors college at UMD

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My relative went to UMBC over UMD college park however that was largely driven by a scholarship that UMBC offered. They are both University of Maryland with UMBC being an honors college. Traditionally college park has been viewed more favorably, however UMBC is no longer a commuter school and has grown to be quite impressive, in my opinion. You can make up your own mind but depending on what you want out of college, UMBC can make a lot of sense.

UMD also has an honors college- top level students get in

Yes the honors college within a larger college is kind of a joke though.

All of UMBC is an honors college. That is a better approach.

Have you considered St. Joe’s in Philly? It has a well-respected pharmacy program. Great campus and student life too!

https://www.sju.edu/departments/philadelphia-college-pharmacy

Anonymous wrote:My relative went to UMBC over UMD college park however that was largely driven by a scholarship that UMBC offered. They are both University of Maryland with UMBC being an honors college. Traditionally college park has been viewed more favorably, however UMBC is no longer a commuter school and has grown to be quite impressive, in my opinion. You can make up your own mind but depending on what you want out of college, UMBC can make a lot of sense.

UMD also has an honors college- top level students get in

Definitely worth a visit. My brother attended there. Yes, it has a nerdy vibe to it but not super nerdy; it has a large number of student athletes. My brother played a couple of club sports that he enjoyed a ton and where he met lots of friends. And despite it having that nerdy and commuter reputation, it is far from it. My brother and his roommates had tons of parties and went to plenty. There's no shortage of those. That said, my DD does not want to attend because of its reputation. She wants a large state university with D1 sports and a big greek system. That said, I can see UMBC being a great choice for a lot of kids who want to steer away from the large rah rah universities like Penn State, UMD, Ohio State, etc. but still want a well-rounded college experience in a smaller scale. It sort of has the same reputation as George Mason.