UMD is ok. There are lots of people who stay on weekends - its different. Esp with football games etc. Everyone I know who goes to UMD stay there on weekends. And really if he’s in band he’ll have no choice to stay on weekends as will the kids in band - at least for fall and then some schools continue a less demanding schedule in spring
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Absolutely agree. Do not compromise your college experience if cost isn’t a constraint.
There are many here who think all colleges are the same, especially for CS and engineering. They are not.
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Well, that’s still not a reason to pay triple the tuition for the same bachelors degree and risk being up to your eyeballs in debt. There’s no college experience that’s worth wrecking your financial future over. There’s so much more to life than a college experience. Family…kids will come eventually, and the extra debt will only make life exponentially worse.
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incidentally i hear stanford has an interesting band: https://lsjumb.stanford.edu/
only mentioning because you moved the band into the title. i figured it is important to you 
I must have missed where OP said they were financially constrained and would need to take on debt. Can you point me to it please?
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Again, if he gets into UMD (in state/cheapest option that checks most of the boxes) and gets into a private, then the decision will take that into consideration. But when I have no assurance that it’s a safety, then yes, we have to consider them all. It’s all part of the process. Kids know there is a ROI factor to the final decision but you have to cast a wide enough net to weigh all your options.
Right, No debt. It’s a non-issue. Though we’ll certainly weigh the options including cost along with everything else.
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That wasn’t me lol - moderator must have did it. Want to stay on east coast though - not too far away …
But there are OOS schools and with great bands, that would be cheaper.
I’m not bringing cost in but since you are mentioning it.
For example and I don’t think you’re looking South, but with your son’s credentials, he’s get $30,500 off of $32K tuition at Alabama. And it would be a safety. So you’d be under $20K all in.
So there are other options out there. But directionally, from your initial list, it doesn’t seem a fit. And it’s not just that school - there’s more.
But if you have UMD in part due to cost, just letting you know - you can get similar costs at other schools - but not necessarily those on your list, which seems like it was picked for reasons that don’t include cost, most likely geography.
UMD ≠ Alabama
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OP didn’t mention cost. In fact they said it’s a non-issue. S/he only mentioned cost because @coolguy40 brought it up.
Can we move off the topic of cost/debt/etc (none of which OP brought up) and focus on their questions?
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I made that statement because of this.
Only reason I responded.
I don’t consider Rutgers a commuter school and my husband and daughter are graduates (and my kids have a ton of friends there). Lots to do nights and weekends (looks like my daughter is heading down next weekend). There are like 40,000 students, plenty stay around (or visit). The kids I know at UMD rarely come home (we are 3 hours away).
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100% agreed - but the point was made because the OP is stating UMD might not be a safety or likely and they are correct.
So - what is a safety or likely - and that might be a similar cost.
They’d have no reason to apply to PSU or UDel or NC State or Va Tech if UMD was an assured get.
I have a kid in Rutgers right now. He tells me a large part of the dorm is out on weekends. A bunch of them also drive in daily.
You need to check how many of the <1hr away kids stay on campus for UMD for weekends. I wouldn’t know.
Maybe it depends on campus? Mine were on college ave in dorms, my husband and daughter weren’t into Greek life but were very busy socially, my son who dropped out last year was dirty rushing so not home on weekends, we are 45 minutes away by train. My daughter’s best friend is a rising junior but has been off campus since sophomore year.
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Does your child like Rutgers otherwise? Sometimes kids inflate issues to support their overall stance on the school.
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He has many complaints, but coming to terms with it.
Some warranted.
eg food, bus system, bureaucracy etc
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Here’s my standard reply to @coolguy40 standard CS reply.
LOL
It all depends on what your student wants in the future. Many CS grads may go into IT, but many others seek design and development roles. Our son still uses math - lots of it. He still reads (and writes) research papers. And he still attends tech conferences (paid by company).
And, while where you got your degree may not be as important 3 years out, people will still read your resume and know what you studied and where.
Additionally, your first job out of college in many ways sets your trajectory.
Choose wisely, my friend.
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Lots of folks don’t understand the difference between coding jobs and software engineering jobs.
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