I have a friend with a kid who’s been at both schools. Currently at UMBC. The downside is the commute is farther ( they’re in moco) BUT she vastly prefers the UMBC campus because it’s smaller and easier to get around. It feels more personal than UMCP

My understanding is that each excels in different stem fields. One of my younger kid is a UMD with a friend at UMBC. Both were in the top 3 GPAs at their HS and were admitted to several highly competitive schools’ Honors programs.

UMBC did not have my kid’s major, but her friend is thriving there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solid STEM student. Got in both schools. We will probably do another round of campus visits to reevaluate both campuses/programs/opportunities again. Curious to hear your thoughts? Give me pros and cons.

Based on many years of STEM interns from both places, the only people I see picking UMBC over UMCP are the people that got significant financial aid to UMBC.

Same here. Most wanted UMCP but settled for UMBC due to finances. UMBC is still a very good school however.

Anonymous wrote:Is there a shuttle between CP and BC? Do students from one take class at the other campus?

No

Is there a shuttle between CP and BC? Do students from one take class at the other campus?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMCP. It's higher ranked, and would be a more fun on campus experience. And now that it's part of the big 10 there will be possibilities to take classes from other schools in the consortia.

It’s not that much higher, and frankly: they are far more alike than different.

Plus, when it comes to campus, UMBC is newer, nicer, and better in every way.

Would definitely choose UMBC over UMD in a heartbeat.

How so? People? Quality of teaching? Programs offered? Research opportunities? Dorms? One campus shovels snow more quickly than the other? Job opportunities?

Anonymous wrote:Both are fine.

In 2026, UMBC has a very solid reputation for STEM degrees. Happy to hire their graduates. There is a separate UMBC thread which has a lot of recent information. I would go read that whole thread.

Probably referring to this one

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1267356.page

Anonymous wrote:UMCP. It's higher ranked, and would be a more fun on campus experience. And now that it's part of the big 10 there will be possibilities to take classes from other schools in the consortia.

It’s not that much higher, and frankly: they are far more alike than different.

Plus, when it comes to campus, UMBC is newer, nicer, and better in every way.

Would definitely choose UMBC over UMD in a heartbeat.

Both are fine.

In 2026, UMBC has a very solid reputation for STEM degrees. Happy to hire their graduates. There is a separate UMBC thread which has a lot of recent information. I would go read that whole thread.

Thoughts on the two campuses 11 years after this thread started?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be a zero sum gain? Both schools have their strengths and weaknesses, and Dr. Hrabowski has done an excellent job. He's raised UMBC's stature in a very short time, and has been especially influential in opening up STEM to minority students. BUT....by every objective measure that counts, UMCP is much higher ranked than UMBC. Pick any publication (US News, Forbes, etc.) and you'll see that UMCP is ranked in the top tier of public universities in the U.S. It has specific programs in engineering, the sciences and economics that are ranked in the top 25, and global reach that UMBC can't touch. It's middle 50% SAT scores for enrolled students is much higher than UMBCs (which is also very good). This doesn't mean that UMCP thinks of itself as an Ivy League like school (some of its engineering programs are ranked higher than the Ivies , however), or that UMBC isn't a good school. Or, that some UMBC grads will be more successful than UMCP grads. Why does it all have to disintegrate into personal insults here??

does that mean school is "better" overnight?

It means it used to be under appreciated. He made people realize what it had become over a long time

Personally, I think UMBC folks milking his 60-min interview waaaaay too much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be a zero sum gain? Both schools have their strengths and weaknesses, and Dr. Hrabowski has done an excellent job. He's raised UMBC's stature in a very short time, and has been especially influential in opening up STEM to minority students. BUT....by every objective measure that counts, UMCP is much higher ranked than UMBC. Pick any publication (US News, Forbes, etc.) and you'll see that UMCP is ranked in the top tier of public universities in the U.S. It has specific programs in engineering, the sciences and economics that are ranked in the top 25, and global reach that UMBC can't touch. It's middle 50% SAT scores for enrolled students is much higher than UMBCs (which is also very good). This doesn't mean that UMCP thinks of itself as an Ivy League like school (some of its engineering programs are ranked higher than the Ivies , however), or that UMBC isn't a good school. Or, that some UMBC grads will be more successful than UMCP grads. Why does it all have to disintegrate into personal insults here??

does that mean school is "better" overnight?

It means it used to be under appreciated. He made people realize what it had become over a long time

Anonymous wrote:Why does it have to be a zero sum gain? Both schools have their strengths and weaknesses, and Dr. Hrabowski has done an excellent job. He's raised UMBC's stature in a very short time, and has been especially influential in opening up STEM to minority students. BUT....by every objective measure that counts, UMCP is much higher ranked than UMBC. Pick any publication (US News, Forbes, etc.) and you'll see that UMCP is ranked in the top tier of public universities in the U.S. It has specific programs in engineering, the sciences and economics that are ranked in the top 25, and global reach that UMBC can't touch. It's middle 50% SAT scores for enrolled students is much higher than UMBCs (which is also very good). This doesn't mean that UMCP thinks of itself as an Ivy League like school (some of its engineering programs are ranked higher than the Ivies , however), or that UMBC isn't a good school. Or, that some UMBC grads will be more successful than UMCP grads. Why does it all have to disintegrate into personal insults here??

does that mean school is "better" overnight?

Why does it have to be a zero sum gain? Both schools have their strengths and weaknesses, and Dr. Hrabowski has done an excellent job. He's raised UMBC's stature in a very short time, and has been especially influential in opening up STEM to minority students. BUT....by every objective measure that counts, UMCP is much higher ranked than UMBC. Pick any publication (US News, Forbes, etc.) and you'll see that UMCP is ranked in the top tier of public universities in the U.S. It has specific programs in engineering, the sciences and economics that are ranked in the top 25, and global reach that UMBC can't touch. It's middle 50% SAT scores for enrolled students is much higher than UMBCs (which is also very good). This doesn't mean that UMCP thinks of itself as an Ivy League like school (some of its engineering programs are ranked higher than the Ivies , however), or that UMBC isn't a good school. Or, that some UMBC grads will be more successful than UMCP grads. Why does it all have to disintegrate into personal insults here??

^ That's a really pathetic post. Not to mention it doesn support your initial claim of

"And what you say about numbers out of thousands of umbc students contradicts your statement. UMBC sends MORE students to top 10 med and grad school programs than College Park does, despite being a smaller school."

Maybe they didn't teach you at UMBC but you need some hard "facts" to prove your point not bunch of youtubes and self-made PR web pages.