Ask a Retriever!

<p>If I want to major in a biology field, (mol bio?) what would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of UMBC vs. UMCP?</p>

<p>ok so just wanted to go back the humanities scholars program real quick…
i recently got accepted to umbc a few weeks ago, and realistically it is my first choice school- especially because of the humanities program</p>

<p>i was actually in the process of applying now, the application is due by the end of the week, i was just wondering, what have been your thoughts/experiences of the program so far? personally, i was planning to do a double major in english and history- how are those departments?
and also, how hard is it to get into the program, personally i feel really passionate about the humanities and really want to get in, is there anything that could possibly help me while applying for the program? and also, any tips for the essay?
sorry for throwing out so many questions! thanks =)</p>

<p>I looked at the Humanities program too, but ultimately decided to apply for the Sondheim Public Affairs one instead. I’m finishing up the application today. Any one applying for/part of Sondheim and having any insights on it?</p>

<p>Bump please!! </p>

<p>ah, humanities app is due tomorrow- any last words of advice? how hard is it to get in? (really want this) thanks!</p>

<p>I am trying to fill out my housing app and I don’t know what the better dorms are! Any ideas?</p>

<p>I second meg’s question! </p>

<p>And which of the meal plans do you recommend? I tend to eat a lot because I do sports yet I don’t want a super expensive meal plan…</p>

<p>Meal plans work like this: there are 4 “time slots” for meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night.</p>

<p>The two most popular meals plans are the 14 meals a week(fab 14) and the ultimate/unlimited. Both plans only allow you to claim one meal per meal slot(with the exception of the unlimited which allows you to go in and out of the dining hall unlimited times during a time slot if you use your meal there)</p>

<p>The pricing differences between the two is pretty small relative to all of the costs of attending college and the unlimited in theory allows you to eat twice as many meals for only a couple hundred more(off the top of my head I think its like $1750 vs $1880). If you’re a light eater and plan on going home every weekend a 14 meal a week plan works for a lot of people but those who stay on campus most weekends usually have to budget meals or order out on weekends if they are a decent eater. </p>

<p>But really why not just spend the extra $130 to not ever have to worry about being hungry? This is college and you’re going to need a lot of text books that cost more than that. Plus you can use meals to grab snacks/drinks from “Outtakes” located in The Commons and the dining hall when you aren’t hungry so your meal wont go to waste.</p>

<p>Best dorms: Harbor and Erickson, they are brand new, have living rooms, and the biggest and nicest bathrooms.</p>

<p>Harbor won’t happen if you’re a freshman, Erickson gets LOADED with freshmen(based on what criteria I don’t know, I didn’t get in). If you don’t get into Erickson when you’re a freshman(its hard trust me, those who get lucky squat and hold the rooms) you won’t have a good chance until you’re a junior unless you don’t plan on ever picking roommates.</p>

<p>Second best? Patapsco has the most recently renovated lobbies, is getting bathroom renovations this summer or winter break, and is getting a massive addition next year put on and is the best alternative to Harbor and Erickson.</p>

<p>Susquehanna and Chesapeake are pretty much identical to Patapsco in room size and layout but the lobbies are older(Patapsco has 3 of 50inch LCD HDTVs for people to use, other dorms I don’t think so)</p>

<p>Avoid Potomac as rooms are the smallest and awkwardly shaped.</p>

<p>Any grades you received outside of UMBC won’t affect your UMBC GPA but will show up on your transcripts with the grade you received(at least my dual enrollment courses did). I don’t know how AP converting works but I know for AP Bio you need a 5 to get out of Bio100 and Bio lab, however they just revamped the core classes for incoming bio majors and it may be handled differently now.</p>

<p>I go to UMBC as well and I thought I would throw my opinion in about the dorming. I lived in Patapsco this past year and loved it. I got to know the people on my floor and we became like family. While Erickson and Harbor and new, people on the floor don’t talk much. Some of my closest friends lived in those dorms and didn’t even know their suite mates’ names. It was sad… As a freshman I would definitely recommend living in either Patapsco, Susq., or Chesapeake. After that, I would decide between living in Harbor/Erickson with a group of friends, or the on-campus apartments. I’m living in the West Hill Apartments next year and I’m super excited bc I got gender neutral housing, which I might add is excellent if you tend to get along better with one gender over the other.
And overall, UMBC is tons better than UMCP…you dont get to know your professors as well at UMCP so you dont get that individualized attention. Also, if you’re going into anything science or math related, the degree looks tons better coming from UMBC!</p>

<p>How would you say financial aid is at UMBC? Do you feel you are getting enough FA to reasonably afford the school. If not, do you still feel the debt is worth it for the quality of degree you are getting?</p>

<p>Also, how’s the city as far as entertainment, concerts, stuff like that? I’ve been to Baltimore a few times for the aquarium, and I loved the city, but my experience was fairly limited.</p>

<p>My freshman year I received a **** ton of financial aid, more than Towson was going to give me. But the reason for this is I have a single parent who doesn’t make very much. I’m well covered but others I know with parents who make a decent living don’t seem to get a whole lot.</p>

<p>As far as the city goes there is a lot to do by going to Baltimore City or Towson the only issue is getting there and back.</p>

<p>@megzez, wow I am glad I went with my gut and chose Patapsco as my first year choice then!</p>

<p>is there really a bad party scene on campus?
i heard that there are parties, you just have to find them, and there’s nothing massive like a CP, but there still are parties.</p>

<p>also, how popular/good is the humanities program?</p>

<p>My son is looking at UMBC for next year. Just wondering if any of the freshman can give us an update.
We are in-state and planning to visit the campus in October.
Thanks</p>

<p>andygonzo – My daughter is a freshman majoring in computer science and math. She received a 4-yr merit scholarship that covers nearly all of her educational expenses. She was also accepted at UMD College Park, VA Tech, and Carnegie Mellon. Yes, she turned down Carnegie Mellon! She lives on campus. She has been very happy so far. Her classes are small (largest class is 60) and challenging, but not too difficult. In fact, they have been easier than her classes in high school. She is a member of a special program for women majoring in science and technology. However, men can also apply. This program has many benefits. For example, she has several faculty advisors that she meets with each month or two. She is already being encouraged to participate in research with one of her comp sci professors, as well as apply for a Google summer internship.</p>

<p>She likes the feel of the campus. It’s not huge and overwhelming like College Park. Although many students go home on the weekends, she stays there. She has found several groups of friends who also remain there on the weekends. She likes her dorm because she is with other serious students who don’t like to party. It has a very diverse student body. She has become friends with girls and guys from various other countries. Overall, she has been quite happy with the food choices on campus. You can dine in a traditional dining hall, or at a number of fast food places such as Chick-fil-A. There is not much of an athletic or Greek scene, which is fine with my daughter.</p>

<p>The president of the university, Freeman Hrabowski, is absolutely one of the best in the country! He has received numerous academic leadership awards and initiated a variety of programs to ensure the success of the students. I’ve heard him speak numerous times and he can be seen all over campus.</p>

<p>Also, it has been ranked as the #1 Up and Coming National University for 3 years in a row!</p>

<p>I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.</p>

<p>You had me until you said the classes are easier than high school. My daughter is looking for a challenge. She says she has worked too hard in high school.</p>

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<p>How each college student feels about the rigor of their classes is going to vary. My daughter feels challenged, but not overwhelmed. However, she said that many of the students she knows who are also studying engineering, computer science, or pre-med are stressed and struggling.</p>

<p>Also, my daughter graduated from a very competitive high school in the DC suburbs and took many AP courses. Most of her peers are now attending top-tier schools (including some Ivy’s). I think her high school did an excellent job of preparing her for college.</p>

<p>Please don’t let my statement about her classes being easier than high school deter your daughter from applying. They have a number of different merit scholarships that are available for high achieving students. I thank my daughter’s high school computer science teacher for pushing her to apply for her scholarship. She was also accepted into the competitive honors program at College Park, but would never have received all the special attention and opportunities that this scholar program offers her.</p>

<p>I want to comment on the “easy” statement. As a Computer Science major at UMBC, there are some frustrations you go through as a freshman. The first two courses(gateway courses before you’re “officially” in the major) have been dumbed down a lot in recent years and cannot be skipped with AP credits. Why?</p>

<p>1.) A lot of non CMSC majors have to take these courses and they struggle a lot, some people have difficulty grasping programming concepts</p>

<p>2.) To get around the previous issue, any CMSC major in CMSC201/CMSC202 MUST get a B in the class to continue in the major, anything less is in all senses failing and means you must retake it. This isn’t a big deal in 201, but a lot of people get adjusted to the easiness of 201 and end up putting off projects in 202 and not studying as much as they should in 202 leading to a high retake rate of the class.</p>

<p>3.) The school has a bad habit of “recommending” CMSC104, the class feels like it’s designed for 10 year old’s to anyone who has previous programming experience and worse it doesn’t count towards anything in the major(ie, not required).</p>

<p>After CMSC201/202/203 things start to ramp up, but are in no way unmanageable. But make no mistake, schools like CMU are on a completely different level and often cover material not seen until UMBC’s CMSC341/331 courses in the intro classes for freshmen.</p>