<p>My s would like to stay on the East Coast, we are NYrs, any info on these schools? He wants a "big univertsity" that has great sports, hes interested in business, all honors AP student. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>maryland college pk is great, also suny binghamton and rutgers</p>
<p>Penn State would be a good third choice.</p>
<p>My S was accepted to both UConn and UMD-CP. He liked UMD much better. </p>
<p>UConn is a good school but is very isolated-not much there besides the school. Lots of new building construction going on including a new top-notch student union. Dorm rooms are on the small side. Basketball is the big sport. Honors programs are available.</p>
<p>UMD has easy access to DC and Baltimore and therefore more opportunities for internships and activities. Large campus, nice collegiate feel, but the surrounding neighborhood is not the best. The UMD students seemed a little more serious about their studies and the campus just seemed more "alive". There are several different honors type programs-Gemstones, Honors and Scholars. They are really trying to help kids have a smaller community feel within a large university.</p>
<p>He ultimately chose neither, but UMD was in the final two.</p>
<p>Maryland has a horrible campus, and they are terrible at sports.</p>
<p>Many like UMd's campus.....its expansive, with a new basketball stadium, lots of big brick buildings. Personally, doesn't do much for me, but I do like the campus itself better than UConn. College Park, Md is definitely a lively place. UMd, like many flagship state schools, has an enthusiasic sports following....as a spectator, I'd bet UConn & UMd provide similar experiences, although the football & lacrosse (men & women) teams have been better at UMd. Does your S want to play sports?</p>
<p>UMd b-school (Smith) is well respected in the area......I think its top 25 or so in USNews.</p>
<p>Basketball has definitely been better at Uconn, and I think the soccer teams are pretty good and the football team's growing. I live near Uconn and absolutely do not want to go there but that has more to do with wanting to leave home than anything else. The appearance of teh campus is actually improving a lot right now and I think the business school is actually really good. I know there are a lot of really smart people in the honors college -- many of whom I'm friends with and who chose Uconn for financial reasons but got into much better places (though I'm sure that's true at most state U's).
That said, it is kind of in the middle of nowhere. There are some restaurants and stuff on campus and some more close by, but it's definitely not a city. The Buckland mall (shopping) is about 25 minutes away and Boston and Providence are an hour and a half, NYC is two and a half hours. I'd recommend visiting to see if you like it though -- I mean there are cows on the campus -- so you should probably make sure you know it's what you're looking for.</p>