<p>From what I've heard, UMD College Park utilizes a lot of teacher assistants. Does UMBC do the same? If so, how prevalent is it? I would rather my daughter attend a school in which qualified teachers handle the class instruction. I know this is common in large universities.</p>
<p>Just visit UMBC yesterday. Their answer is : NO</p>
<p>Thanks! This is a big advantage over College Park.</p>
<p>I am a sophomore at UMBC and I can tell you from experience that TA’s are used for discussion classes. The teacher (most likely a PhD) will conduct the actual class and the TA will teach the discussion class which can be either mandatory or not. But I will say that ALL TA’s I have had have been exceptional teachers, especially my math and science TA’s! And in some cases the TA’s are actually BETTER than the actual teachers. They take more time to help you and they are often available more for extra help.</p>
<p>Also, as added weight to my review, my twin sister goes to the University of MD College Park, and TA’s have had the same role in all of her classes as they ave had in mine, teaching discussion courses. We are both biology majors and premed. TA’s are popularly used in the math, science, and engineering classes so if you are a liberal arts major, music, etc. then I wouldn’t worry about TA’s as you wont encounter them in classes that are important to your major. But eventually EVERYONE will have a TA.</p>
<p>Personally I’d recommend UMBC. At first I did not want to go there but I am glad that I did.</p>
<p>Rengb6, thanks for this valuable feedback. My daughter is HS junior, so she is a lot of time to decide which college to go to. She likes both UMBC and UMCP, even though they are both quite different. She is interested in majoring in biology. What do you like about UMBC?</p>
<p>I’d just like to jump in here. I’ve always got lots to say about UMBC!</p>
<p>In high school, I had always wanted to attend UMCP just off a gut feeling. Once applications started coming back, I was faced ultimately with deciding between UMCP and UMBC. For one, I was given the Meyerhoff Scholarship at UMBC, so I am financially biased toward UMBC. But then, I looked at it from the stance of a pre-med student. I can’t remember the exact details, but UMBC’s president mentioned that behind Harvard, UMBC is the largest feeder of undergraduates into Harvard Medical School (don’t quote me on that, but I’m almost positive). Needless to say, our premed program is very effective.</p>
<p>Then I looked at it from the position of a biochemistry major. UMBC has some really awesome connections with government and nongovernment organizations throughout Baltimore and DC, especially in the STEM fields. The first that comes to mind is NSA. This summer, I was able to participate in an internship at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health through UMBC. Our president actually set up a pipeline to the Malaria Research Institute at JHSPH that was part of the larger overall internship. I had access to some world-class malariologists, including Dr. Peter Agre, a 2003 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. I can say that without UMBC, I wouldn’t have anywhere near as many summer opportunities as I would through UMCP.</p>
<p>And to top it all off, we’ve got some pretty awesome rankings. We were just ranked #1 (for the second year in a row!) of top up-and-coming universities in the US. We’re ranked #2 most diverse university behind a SUNY school. I believe we’re #7 on the list for quality of undergraduate education (last year we were tied with Stanford). And just anecdotally, there are TOOOONS of opportunities to get into research on campus as an undergrad; professors here love working with their students. And if you don’t like any of the labs here, there’s always UMB and Hopkins right down the road.</p>
<p>So in sum, just about everything was telling me to go to UMBC. I had to put my gut instinct behind me (which was really difficult to do, still!) in order to attend a school where I feel I’ll be better set up for life as a physician researcher.</p>
<p>Do we need to admit to UMBC to get the Meyerhoff Scholarship at UMBC? For example , applying to UMBC, Meyerhoff Scholarship at UMBC and UMCP at the same time, will have result in January, accept from both, choose UMCP and not choose UMBC, in April get result from Meyerhoff Scholarship at UMBC, can we still choose Meyerhoff Scholarship at UMBC at that time? Sorry about my English, I am old parent.</p>
<p>Well, the way I understand it, you don’t need to commit to most schools in Maryland until May 1st. That way, if you’re seriously considering Meyerhoff, you’ll have about a month to decide between UMCP and Meyerhoff. Committing to UMCP that early should only really be done if you are absolutely certain that you want to attend.</p>
<p>UMCP is a better known University and the flagship of Maryland schools, that said UMBC is the next best school in Maryland(with JHU being top).</p>
<p>The facts are even if UMBC can provide a better education UMCP offers higher starting salaries simply because of the name behind the degree. I don’t know how much this matters in Biology but two equal CompSci students from UMBC and UMCP will have about a $10,000 difference in starting salaries($53k vs $63k). UMBC’s education is top notch and employers tell us this all the time often calling us the best kept secret on the east coast; I kind of feel we are kept a secret simply so they don’t have to pay us as much.</p>
<p>That said UMBC by far will have a more rigorous Biology program and will better prep you for med-school if that’s what you want to do. The salary divide might not be a concern since UMCP is considered a top engineering and computer science school.</p>
<p>Concerning TAs, they handle the weekly 50minute discussion sections and can opt to have optional review sessions outside of class. Many of the TAs want to be professors someday so they will get one or two chances during the semester to teach the lecture if this is what they want(usually when the professor can’t make it to lecture). My TA’s have all been better teachers than the professor and native English speakers. From what I’ve heard from a family member who graduated from UMCP the TAs are usually foreigners with thick hard to understand accents.</p>
<p>To all,
drmrbrian is right, I missed it. Thank you. May 1st is the date.
If you have a chance to get in UMCP( Letters and Science, no honor, nothing just get in) or Meyerhoff Scholarship at UMBC, just about academics only, not money , which one you will choose? Why?</p>
<p>Pure academics you need to decide, UMBC will better prepare you but UMCP carries more weight when you have a degree from there. If you want research opportunities let me tell you that UMBC has no shortage at all especially in Biology. </p>
<p>I didn’t like UMCP’s party atmosphere, the huge school, and freshman dorms which lacked A/C and had communal bathrooms, and I don’t think I would have chosen to go there even now despite their much better Computer Science program. I’ve been told by many who got their degree at UMCP that you feel like you’re just a number and I can see why.</p>
<p>That said, all my reasons seem shallow when considering how much better of a school UMCP is recognized as on a national level.</p>
<p>You asked me what my favorite part of UMBC is but let me first say that I did not want to go to UMBC; I wanted to go to UMDCP. After a year of school for both my twin sister and me I have concluded that UMBC is much superior to college park and I am happy with my choice. </p>
<p>The #1 thing that I love about UMBC is the dorms!!! All of them are air conditioned and I have received a single room as a sophomore. At college park you will most likely be kicked out of the dorms after your sophomore year (you are no longer guaranteed housing). So consider that this may mean that your child will move back home or ask you to pay for an apartment. The rooms (especially in Patapsco andPotomac) are much larger than the dorms at other colleges (catholic university and UMDCP to name two). And by larger I mean they can be as much as TWICE as large. Not to mention that your college student will never share a bathroom with more than 3 other people that is always a plus. </p>
<p>Another thing that I love about the school is how small it is compared to UMDCP. This allows for closer relationships with your professors and better recommendations when applying to professional schools. For example, my boyfriend just transferred to UMBC and needed approval from a professor to skip a physics class. The registrar office said it would take a month to get this approved. Instead we went to the physics department found the chairman of the department and handed the materials to him personally with his promise that he would return it as quickly as possible. I doubt this would be possible at UMDCP. </p>
<p>Ultimately it comes down to three things: your major, the size of school that is right for the student, and obviously and most importantly how much living space you’ll need to be comfortable! But honestly I believe UMBC is the superior school and in the next 10 years we’ll be higher rated than UMDCP- I’m proud to be a part of helping to make that happen.</p>
<p>Excellent responses everyone. My daughter and I appreciate it.</p>