My D17 has been accepted to both schools, including an invitation to their Honors College. Maryland is a great school with a highly-ranked aerospace program, but in Huntsville there are so many companies right there that provide co-op opportunities (which she is really excited about) and internship opportunities. She was leaning toward Huntsville but now is more interested in UMD, especially since she applied for their Design Cultures & Creativity program. However, it’s very, very close.
Size of the school doesn’t matter – she’s has visited both and likes them.
I’m working to help her find comparisons between the schools’ aerospace programs and opportunities. Opinions?
@“Erin’s Dad” I agree. If I had a crystal ball and could be sure she wouldn’t change her major I’d be nudging her in that direction for sure, and hoping she got a job offer there. If she ends up changing majors, though, Maryland would give her more options.
@NerdMom88 - I would recommend attending the Admitted Student Days at both. I work in Engineering (not Aerospace) and there is no shortage of opportunities for Engineers, of any discipline, in the D.C. area.
Do an overnight at both. Attend a freshman engineering class and an Honors Freshman Seminar/English class (something all Honors students take).
Are they both affordable?
Yes, @MYOS1634, they’re both affordable. She has at least full tuition – maybe more – at UMD and tuition + room at UAH.
We had planned to do a spring break trip to these two plus UA, but now I’m feeling like accepted students might be the better way to go. It was really convenient to do the tours then, though, because we have to take D15 back to Baltimore and D17 has that next week off. Oh well…
Check with each college: school may be in session then. If your Spring Break doesn’t match theirs, you’re good. You don’t need admitted students day - but you do need a tour with the honors college, meeting with professors/students, and attending the two classes (engineering and Honors Freshman). In the meanwhile, your daughter can ask Admissions to put her in touch with students who share some of her interests, from the living learning community, from her expected major…;
All three have spring break the week before D17’s break. The problem is, although UA and UA-H seem to be pretty accommodating about customizing visits, but we tried that with UMD last year and ran into major resistance. I persisted and ultimately she did get to shadow a student, go to a junior-level engineering class, and have a brief meeting with the person who handles the aerospace department. We’ll try for a different experience this time or just send her there for admitted students day.
The social aspects , atmospheres seem like they would be pretty different. Both should be able to get her where she wants to go career wise if she sticks with aerospace.
@NerdMom88 Visits are so critical to choosing schools because it really is about “fit” - where she literally feels more comfortable and can see herself calling home for the next 4 years.
MYOS1364 actually made me think of another factor to consider with the comment about freshman English…If your D is like most engineering students, technical reading is preferred to literature. Maryland’s required English courses are very pragmatic- and there are only 2 required English classes, both writing (compared to other schools that require 3 and some are literature based). Freshman English teaches persuasive writing (and students get to pick their own controversial subjects to argue, so she can choose something related to technology) and Junior English is professional writing (so also very practical since she gets to learn writing skills relative to engineering).
The second thing is to consider the gen eds. Compare the course offerings available to fulfill each university’s gen ed requirements. Maryland has an INCREDIBLE variety of options (multiple departments offer several options for classes that fulfill each gen ed) and there are some options offered in Spring that are different than what are offered in Fall. My d went to another school only because of a very unique program they offered that Maryland doesn’t. So, I can tell you from my experience with her that I have come to appreciate Maryland’s gen ed options all the more. Feel free to message me if you want more details of what I am referring to. And I’m sure I need not warn you that I am a huge fan of Maryland, lol.
@maryversity Although I haven’t gone through the courses required for her major, I have checked into the Core curriculum and browsed in the Honors courses. She actually does like English – although not necessarily writing – but she’d get out of freshman English anyway. (AP credits)
I do have a question that perhaps you can answer. She’s getting ready to sign up for her AP exams, and we’ve both decided that it doesn’t make sense to take an exam in a course that she’ll want to re-take anyway. She’s got Calc AB and Physics (it fulfills both Physics C and mechanics, I think?) She’s got low A’s in both. Would she be better off starting from the ground floor in Calc and Physics? She’ll have enough other AP credits to lighten her load for the first few semesters.
P.S. The incredible variety of options is one reason UMD is currently first on her list. UA-Huntsville would be fabulous, but if she changes majors, not so much. UMD has plenty of other options, plus those great Honors options. We will sit down and compare the curriculums, then wait for the visits and scholarship notifications. Go Terps!
Go to accepted students day rather than general tour if at all possible. Even better would be accepted engineering students day if that’s offered. In the whole college process, that is the one thing that gave my son the most information about what college would be like in general, as well as a good feel for the school itself. The ones we went to separated parents and students from the moment we walked in. Put the students in small groups and we didn’t meet up with them again until the end of the day. Definitely worth it.
@JustGraduate That’s what we’ll be doing for Maryland. We took her to an engineering open house for Huntsville last year, but she can’t make an accepted students day for either Huntsville or UA – too many conflicts!
@NerdMom88 that is a tough call that has so many variables …when does she need to decide (what’s the deadline to sign up for the exam)? I’m of the mindset that it’s worth taking the exam so that she always maintains the option of using it instead of taking the class. If she takes it, she can decide later on whether or not to use it, but if she doesn’t, then she closes the door on that option. However, if she’s getting senioritis and doesn’t want to take it because she’s burned out, that’s absolutely fine and a very fair decision as well. Clearly, she’s worked hard for past 4 years and she will be working even harder as an engineering student for the next 4 years, so if she needs the break from intense studying, then that’s the right decision for her.
First off, the question about Physics AP…there are actually several different Physics AP exams, and each has different class equivalencies. Here is the chart http://www.transfercredit.umd.edu/plc/APGenEd.pdf to see what I mean. The first level of physics needed in engineering is PHYS161 which is the Physics C/Mechanics, but you would have to check with her high school to see which AP exam they administer. Given that you said they administer the CALC AB instead of the CALC BC, there is definitely potential that the physics exam is not necessarily the one on mechanics.
As for Calculus, the Calc I (MATH 140) class technically should be an easy A for her if she repeats it at Maryland. There is no question that both math and physics are critical skills/foundation for higher level engineering, so “repeating” calc in college is def a strategy that is recommended by many engineers. If she takes the AP for AB (which gets credit only for MATH 140), I will tell you that I have heard that MATH 141/Calc 2 is a tougher class than Calc 3/MATH 241 (my son took the Calc BC exam and chose to start right at MATH 241). Since 141 is tougher, than it prob is worth repeating Calc I/MATH 140, not because of its relevance to Calc 2/MATH 141 (heard there is very little), but rather it’s good to have a strong first semester academically for many reasons.
However, bear in mind that every student is different and there is no one right answer for everyone.
Thanks a lot, @maryversity. The question came to mind because the deadline to sign up is next Tuesday, and she’s been so busy that we haven’t even had time to really discuss it.
She told me that there are two separate AP tests that go with her Physics class, which is AP Physics C. She thought the other test was in mechanics, but wasn’t sure.
As for Calc AB, they do administer BC, but she’s taking AB because it was the only one that would fit her schedule. Early in the year she had mentioned trying to self-study the remainder of the material and take the AP for Calc BC, but I don’t really see that happening. She’s been running full speed, still has scholarship applications to complete, and I think that it would be too much pressure for her to add the extra study on top of everything else. Given what you said about MATH 141 vs. MATH 241, though, it might be worth it! I’ll at least pass on the information for her.
@NerdMom88, our daughter is taking Cal I through dual enrollment right now and has the possibility of getting an A. But she has decided to take Calc A at UAH to be sure she has a super firm Calculus foundation. We’ve heard that Calc B is tough, and with all the transitions of first semester, this is what makes her feel most comfortable. But since she already has the Calc I background, she’s able to take Computing for Engineers in her fall semester. This will help balance her credit hours out.
I thought I’d add a post now that we have a decision.
D17 got a great scholarship to UMD, plus her tuition remission and acceptance to the DCC Honors program. UAH will cover tuition and housing. She just received a $3,000/year corporate scholarship that can be used at either school.
After a second visit to each university and talking with honors reps, professors, and medical personnel, she picked Huntsville. I think the Dean of the Honors college AND the professor we met with there will both be surprised; they both looked a little deflated when she told them her other remaining option.
I think she just felt more comfortable at UAH. I also know she was really reluctant to drive in the D.C. area – which she would have to do for medical appointments. Huntsville’s population is about 50,000 more than where we live now, so it felt comfortable to her. She enjoyed everyone she met there, including another prospective student who will now be a suite mate!
Thank you to everyone who weighed in with answers on all of my threads. Actually, were it not for CC I never would have had UAH on my radar to begin with!
