Accepted, not into Smith

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
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<p>Also: Take a minute and try to imagine which of these scenarios would be worse…</p>

<p>a) Going to Penn State and realizing business isn’t for you.
b) Going to UMD and realizing business was the way to go all along.</p>

<p>I think answering that question will help you in the long run in choosing the school. Not only because it’ll help you choose, but it’ll also tell you how you really feel about each school. Example: If you think A would be worse, then maybe you don’t particularly like Penn State and wouldn’t be happy there if you weren’t taking business.</p>

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<p>If Penn State is cheaper, by all means go there!!!</p>

<p>Penn State is not any less respected than UMD…in fact I believe it is ranked 1 or 2 positions higher? Or was last year? The point is, people on the East Coast tend to consider the two academic equivalents, for the most part. UMD does not have a better name. Certain schools are more respected at MD, but overall the two are comparable (for instance engineering and comp sci are better at MD, so if you are interested in those programs for whatever reason…). </p>

<p>The major difference is that Penn State is much more rural. So, you have to ask yourself if the city environment really means that much to you. The good thing is Penn State is a HUGE school, so even if it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s on-campus life is probably great, the college town is probably great. Sports are just as big, if not BIGGER.</p>

<p>I know I wouldn’t be happy at a rural school (depending on the cost difference, my parents would say, too bad!!! if I was a PA resident haha), because I spend almost every weekend in DC…but a lot of kids here don’t go into DC at all haha.</p>

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<p>lb801 and umcp11: both of your comments make me think Penn State looks like a more logical decision. Especially when I consider the fact that I am almost certain I want to go into business. My parents are definately trying to steer me towards Penn State because of the huge price difference.</p>

<p>to umcp11: I have thought about the vastly different locations of the schools and really do prefer the UMD location. However, I think I could deal with Penn State’s area if I have to. What kind of things do kids do in DC on the weekends? That seems like a lot of fun. I would probably spend my time there too.</p>

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<p>IZ…sorry, I’m just seeing your question now. We are out of state and my son had a 3.2 GPA at a strong high school with some honors and accelerated courses. But his SATs were high and included a 760 on the math section…which may have helped him get into Smith.</p>

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<p>I am a pennsylvania resident also, so the Smeal school not only provides an automatic entry into the business school which I know I want to do, it also is much cheaper. But I know a lot of people going to Penn State that I dont really want to be around, and dont like how at penn state you are limited to ONLY penn state. love umd campus, and feel I can get into the business school after my freshman year. Is it crazy that I sent my UMD deposit in already?</p>

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<p>^It’s not crazy because if you have someone to pay for it, by all means take advantage of that and go to a school if there’s even only one element you like more about it…it WAS silly to think you’d actually have to put effort into avoiding people you know at Penn state, though. Even at MD I rarely, rarely, rarely see faces from HS and Penn State as I understand it is an even bigger school.</p>

<p>I like going into DC because I just love being around the buildings, seeing the architecture, the urban parks, etc. Love the ability to “explore” and navigate on public transportation/etc. (Hey, I grew up in the suburbs, it’s novel!)</p>

<p>Mostly students go out to restaurants and clubs, which isn’t all that exciting when you think about it. Having a lot of places to go see live music is also popular with students.</p>

<p>But cities provide a wealth of cultural experiences, especially DC, with tons of free museums, speaker series, book signings, parades, open air markets and basically anything and everything you can think of, not just restaurants and clubs, even though most students tend to stay in a box. The resources of the National Archives, etc. are especially exciting for history majors but probably wouldn’t impact a business one that much! For class I have often been required to check out a museum or event. </p>

<p>Spring semester internships are also more possible due to the proximity to the city. I know several students who live in CP, take classes at CP, and then two days a week take the metro into work (biz majors).</p>

<p>Traveling even further outside of DC is also way more convenient. My friends nad I often take the bus to Philly, and once or twice to NYC, since it is so easy to hop on the metro and then find a cheap bus for a weekend getaway. Transportation to Baltimore is very easy during the week.</p>

<p>But College Park itself is not a great college town…there are really no reliable outlets for live music or unique restaurants (maybe one or two). There is not a lot of culture. University Park may be different in that respect and you may not need all of the breath of mulitple big cities to entertain you.</p>

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<p>Adding to what umcp11 said about the “college town” feel: I’m not sure which of you (if any) have visited Penn State but I’ve been to both schools multiple times. I’d personally put the “college town” feel of UMD close to that of Penn State, mainly because there weren’t a lot of things in State College (that’s the name of the town, right? Or am I just crazy?) to really do. All I really remember that registered as interesting to me was a Dunkin Donuts. Not to mention Penn State’s pretty much on a mountain and they said that there wasn’t really public transportation outside of the campus shuttle.</p>