<p>They sent me a bunch of stuff in the mail and they had the major I wanted so I applied and got in early action. They seem to have pretty decent gpa/sat averages, and I have yet to receive responses from other schools so I was wondering what everybody thought about UMBC? Is it a good school? Does it have a decent reputation in Maryland? I live in VA and it seems as though no one here has even heard of it... It looks, from their website atleast, that have good graduate/medical school placements, would anyone attest to this? Anyone else get in and considering going?</p>
<p>hmm...although I'd like to be idealistic and say that I don't care what other people think, in the long run, the reputation of the college you attend can have an important impact on what you do post-college(jobs, grad school, etc.)... anyone else have opinions on UMBC?</p>
<p>President Hrabowski caters a lot to their special scholarship students and makes sure they get the right research opportunities and summer placements. If you are a top student, UMBC will give you the tools to compete with anyone anywhere. Their URM scholarship students move on to grad and med schools at a rate that would probably not be posible if they'd gone to more highly ranked schools.</p>
<p>HI, I live in Maryland and know several people who go there. Frankly, most of the people didn't like it there. Not that its reputation is horrible, but it isn't well liked or thought of. University of Maryland and Towson University, and St Mary's College are considered the premiere state colleges in Maryland for various reasons. UMBC is not as well thought of. Just my 2 cents</p>
<p>I grew up near UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) It is part of the U of M system. We always considered it the school to go to if you couldn't afford an expensive school, wanted to live at home, or couldn't get into a more prestigious school. I think you could and still can get a good education there, depends on what the student chooses to make of it. However, if you're looking for a "college" atmosphere, you may not find it there. It was primarily a commuter school and probably still is, with the majority of students from the Baltimore area. Check their stats. In that respect, UMBC may be more like a community college, where everyone goes home after classes. If there is a program there you want, and the atmosphere and lack of prestige doesn't bother you, go there.</p>
<p>Towson is definetly not considered a premier state school. UMBC is a growing college... alot of kids leave on the weekend but they are trying very hard to offer things to do so kids will stay. Like some poster above me said, if you are a top student they will work very hard to offer you great scholarship/internships equal or better to what UMCP offers.</p>
<p>My opinion: UMBC is gaining national attention for the quality of its biology/chemistry programs, especially in the areas of molecular biology, bioinformatics, and bio-chem. A plus is that students at UMBC can cross-register for classes at Johns Hopkins. Biochem engineering is also strong. Their computer science programs are also very good. I've been impressed with what I've heard about their support for undergraduates - they have a strong undergraduate research program that is, in some ways, better than the opportunities offered at UMCP for undergrads. It is also about half the size of UMCP which translates into more contact with faculty.</p>
<p>I know less about UMBC in other subject areas so I can't really comment. But I do think UMBC's reputation in the sciences is definitely on the rise.</p>
<p>anovice notes," Towson is definetly not considered a premier state school:"</p>
<p>I guess you have to evaluate what the definition of premier is. Towson's average SATs and GPA is skyrocketing. They average almost 1200 on the SATs and average GPA for latest class was just over 3.5. Moreover, unlike both Univ of Maryland and UMBC, Towson is known for small classes and more personalized attention. My son's average class in the honors program has 12-15 kids! They have very strong perfroming arts and visual arts, communications and business. What they don't have is engineering. Science, from what I hear, is spotty. It has some good people,but it depends on the major.</p>
<p>Also, Towson has a number of dorms, which results in a lot of people remaining on campus.To be fair, however, there are also a number of commuters.</p>
<p>I visited UMBC. It was a city campus, had lots of commuters, and I didn't get a good feel from it. I knew three kids that graduated recently from UMBC. One was in film and hated the school due to its "inadaquate facilities." One majored in English and stated that the school was "ok but not much more than that." One majored in something to do with biology or biochemistry and liked the program but wasn't enamored with the school itself.</p>
<p>I should also note that I know several kids that attend Towson and all of them rave about the school.
These aren't statistically valid so you need to take them as you wish.</p>
<p>I live and work near UMBC. Many commuters go there, and many working adults attend part time. It is not a place with a real college atmosphere, but does have a pretty good reputation. Maybe you could go for a year and transfer to College Park. Towson U has a good reputation and more of a college atmosphere, in my opinion. I have known a number of people who went to UMBC part time or full time. It seemed like a really boring place to me. I never heard anything good about the classes or the atmosphere. They are really big on group projects. Big on multiple choice tests. But, many of the people I knew have gone on to be successful. Good nursing program, good computer science. Know someone who got into a top medical school from there. So, I would go elsewhere if I had a choice, but if not, go. You will get an OK education and opportunities.</p>
<p>TaxGuy: I am not saying that Towson is a bad school but it is not of the same "quality"(and each person has their own definition for that term when referring to a school) as schools like the University of Maryland (CP) and even St Mary's. I have numerous friends that have went there and although they love it we agree that it is not of an extremely high caliber. </p>
<p>... and I think you may have misunderstood my post and thought that I put UMBC over Towson. That is not what I meant.</p>
<p>You are right- UMBC is ranked higher. Guess I just have a thing against it- don't want my kids to go there. Yeah, we have a young neighbor who really likes it at Towson too. No, I didn't think you meant Towson is bad, but it is a little lower academically. The city of Towson also seems more pleasant to me than the UMBC location- right off the highway, etc. At least Towson is a real city, with a nice mall, etc.</p>
<p>My sister attends UMBC and she really likes it there; it's actually becoming less of a commuter school, she says (granted, she herself commutes...which really works for her, as she's not into the "college life"). She's a Bio major...as carolyn said, their Biology program is quite good. She also minors in MLL, which according to her is a really interesting subject there. I'd go there too but I don't want to go to her alma mater. </p>
<p>On the outside the campus doesn't seem very attractive (varied architecture, etc.), but the inside is quite nice, I think. Great library. I suppose you could say it has a more "modern" look as opposed to UM, which is a lot of brick and white.</p>
<p>I'm visiting on Friday, so I should be able to see if it feels right. I plan on majoring in Emergency Health Services, it's kind of a unique major, so transferring really isn't an option. From reading trade journals and talking to EMS professionals, it seems as though UMBC's program is unparalled. I was just wondering about the overall impression of the school among graduate/ medical schools, as I plan on applying to med school eventually. </p>