<p>Hello Kikobird, </p>
<p>I am currently a 3rd Year Biology major (B.S.) at UMBC. My advice for you is to check out UMBC’s Class of 2014, 2015, or 2016 Facebook pages and direct message to talk to various students on there (most of us are friendly) and then do the same for UMCP.</p>
<p>I don’t know of any Biology B.S. majors at CP currently, so I cannot speak much on that. But what I have heard from professors and other students (here at UMBC) is that for some science classes, the test questions at CP are easier in that they are all multiple choice and test for material memorization. This is in contrast to classes here, which test if you really understand the material, so the questions, while still mostly in multiple choice format, really want to know if you really understand the material, and can apply it to problem applications. For example, instead of a test asking what is one of the major functions of the nuclear envelope? and giving options A-D with a clear answer choice…UMBC professors tend to ask If a cell’s nuclear envelope were defective, which would be the most immediate harm? and then the choices A-D would all list possible harms but you have to pick the BEST answer (that the professor wants, which is not always what the book or internet says), and also the professor might throw in choices will be 2 of the above or none of the above. Basically, the science courses here are no joke, if you decide to come here, you have to be prepared to 1) go to class everyday 2) read everyday 3) sacrifice your weekends and figure out good time management and study skills. This is true for every college, but specifically for a tough program like UMBC’s biology program (if you decide to go B.S., not BA…BA is much easier and allows you to live a little, I would say)–you really won’t be having that much time for a social life. But I really do believe I am getting a superior education in Biology by choosing UMBC compared to other schools. I was in a similar dilemma as you in deciding between UMCP, UMBC and various other colleges…I was pre-med and ultimately chose UMBC for the “smaller class sizes” and “personalized attention.” <----To be honest, the smaller class sizes is not true except for 400 level Bio courses which you don’t take until senior or junior year., so most of my classes are still lecture-hall with ~200-300 students. But the personalized attention is very true–the professors in the Biology and Chemistry (and humanities departments as well) are really helpful and dedicated to teaching…they are always staying behind class for questions and in their office for office hours. We also have various tutoring centers, but most known is the Chemistry tutoring center, which I 100% recommend even if you think you don’t need it. Your first 2 years are heavy on chemistry (Chem I, II, Organic I, II) and you really need to make sure you do well in those courses especially if you are pre-med. There are tons of people that start at UMBC as a pre-med, usually Bio major, and after the 1st year or so the intro classes are too difficult and they end up being a psych major or something totally different. If you can stick it out though, I really do believe I am learning A LOT of information and actually really understanding it so that when I shadow various health professions, I have a fairly strong background that I can look at an MRI image and/or doctor notes on a patient and recall things that I have learned from my classes. I also find it really cool when I read about recent news in science and the medical world and can relate it to my coursework that I’ve studied. Reputation-wise, locally, UMBC is well known for its science rigor and many people I talk to know this…when I shadowed a health professional who was a UMBC alumni from the 90s, flat out told me that she knows how tough the science curriculum is there and that grades aren’t everything (for admissions to grad programs). For CP, since its the older and flagship, I think employers and professionals look to it as a good public school, but that its evenly good at both the sciences and humanities so people are less likely to have that image of it being tough on natural science majors (Engineering doesn’t count). I don’t want to sound like I am promoting or boasting UMBC, but I always joke and think what if I had gone to a school like Towson, I could easily be skating through with a 4.0 and have a nice social life. (I can’t say that for UMCP…but I will say this: someone from my h.s., not a bio major but psyc major at UMBC, was strugging in classes here her freshman yr getting B’s and A’s but now at CP and is getting all A’s). I suspect that CP classes have a huge curve, based on the fact that their lecture-hall classes are probably double the size of UMBC and there are always people who don’t show up to class or put in effort so they have such low exam scores that the professor will curve up in the end of the semester so that many people won’t fail. UMBC curves too; some classes are known for greater curving when exam averages are in the 60s, but the curve only helps students around the D-C border to get C…the curve rarely helps the B student get an A if they didn’t earn it with the test scores). </p>
<p>But it really does not matter what college you choose for undergrad even if you’re pre-med. Medical school admissions committees do not place that much emphasis on your undergrad institution…they look at your GPA (has to be >3.5…but 3.5 is still too low, I would say 3.8-3.9 and nothing less…but obviously if you go to a state school, they are expecting your GPA to be higher than someone at an IVY), your research experience, volunteer and shadow hours, and extra-curricular leadership. You can be successful in all of these areas at any reputable school that has resources available to help you with this, but you have to be the one driving yourself to do this…no one is going to hold your hand and show you the way. </p>
<p>Also on ranking: yes UMCP is higher but it has been around much longer, has much more money from alumni (greater alumni size), and has more current students which factor into those rankings. UMBC is steadily moving up in rankings. </p>
<p>Oh and no, the UMBC bio major is not selective …its whatever you listed, is what they assign you…you can always change it at orientation. So unlike CP, I feel if you didn’t get placed into the Bio major there, then that indicates that your high school grades (compared to the rest of the 2017 incoming class) may indicate you may struggle in your intro classes. It’s different for everyone though, some people do better in college than they did in high school, and some people do better at a certain college after they transfer. I think though if you’ve ruled down to these 2 state schools, then it doesn’t matter which you pick because you can always transfer if you’re unhappy after the first semester. Hope I’ve helped!</p>
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