<p>Maybe you're right, but you don't have to be so condescending.</p>
<p>He also already stated that his parents would loan him the money and he would then pay it back with a bit of interest.</p>
<p>Bill Gates came and spoke at Wisconsin too. Even lectured in a class.</p>
<p>UW-Madison</a> > Univ. Comm. > Photo Library</p>
<p>CMU is good but it's not all that special either-there are many good places for CS and UMd is one of them.</p>
<p>Ifcollegeguy....it is interesting that you call me wrong. Perhaps you misunderstood. It is a fact that Lockheed does not offer CMU grads more money as a new-hire undergrad than a UMCP new-hire undergrad on a statistical basis. Further, I might add that Raytheon and Northrop would offer similar starting offers to graduates of both of these schools as well. Our companies pool this information, by the way, so it is not conjecture.</p>
<p>I feel that it's time to realize that you made your decision, and that's it. No second guesses, no self-doubt. Move on, and make the best at Maryland.</p>
<p>I think you missed my point with regards to that post. I was saying outliers are exceptions. I am fully aware that a Harvard grad at Lockheed makes the same as a CC grad, which was actually my point concerning outliers in that these two grads can very well end up in the same place but mode companies should be accounted for. This was not in response to your previous post.</p>
<p>Like I said, its a personal choice for science.</p>
<p>For CS though, there is a difference, as there is a difference between Stanford/MIT CS and UMD. UMD states 55k median for CS while CMU is 71.7k. <a href="http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/employ/salary/scs.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/employ/salary/scs.pdf</a></p>
<p>However, even Wharton and Stern tie in median salaries so the key factor here are the mode companies. CMU's #1 and #2 mode companies being Microsoft and Google, respectively.</p>
<p>So in those cases, you also have to realize that those companies are in quite expensive parts of the country, while people getting hired at UMD might be at less prestigious companies, but they may also be having a similar quality of life.</p>
<p>For example, one of my former lab mates was offered a job at Lawrence Livermore labs at around $100k a year. He was also offered a job at a local (Pittsburgh) specialty titanium casting company for around $75k a year. The difference? He was able to afford a brand new house in Pittsburgh and borrow a significantly lower percentage of the house on his mortgage, so in the long run, it's perfectly feasible for him to have a higher standard of living in Pittsburgh than the Bay Area while making 25% less.</p>
<p>It is very easy to provide misleading salary statistics. Geographic area is just one metric that needs to be accounted for. The aerospace companies all adjust starting offers dependent on the geographic area for the work location. When I say that aerospace starting offers for CMU and UMCP are statistically the same, I am accounting for the diverse collection of work areas as well. I cannot speak for Google's or Microsoft's hiring policies, and they may very well favor CMU in this regard, but the major aerospace companies do not.</p>
<p>I will add, however, that CMU is a wonderful school, and I've worked closely with many of their graduates. In fact, my last intern was from CMU. But back to the OP's post: graduation from UMCP will not hold him back in the slightest. It is really his own performance that will determine his future. CMU and UMCP both will provide him the opportunities he needs to reach his potential. The rest is up to him.</p>
<p>If you do not like UMD, study the CMU catalogue, talk to some CMU kids and profs and take courses at UMD in anticipation of the most seamless transfer. Apply for a transfer. If you took the right courses at UMD to prep, you can cut your debt going to CMU in half as you will do two years there.</p>
<p>dksmarte:</p>
<p>Don't know if you have seen this thread but it may help you sort out your thinking about your situation:</p>
<p>Hope you are enjoying your summer!</p>
<p>Attending UMD turned out to be the best decision of my life.</p>
<p>I was thinking about this thread today and decided to post an update, in case someone else with my dilemma stumbles upon it. I made this four years ago after graduating high school. I graduated from UMD two months ago.</p>
<p>At UMD, I had an amazing time, made lifelong friends, was active in several clubs, had a busy social life, played intramural soccer, and graduated debt-free. I grew into a confident and responsible young adult.</p>
<p>Despite my initial fears, I was extremely challenged. And those challenges motivated me to work harder than I ever had in high school. I earned a Beckman Scholarship, Goldwater Scholarship, and Fulbright Scholarship. I graduated with High Honors in Chemistry, a minor in Mathematics, and Magna Cum Laude. This fall, I am attending graduate school at Caltech. My greatest success, however, was being happy.</p>
<p>I will never know how much better/worse my life would have been had I attended CMU or transferred. But I can’t imagine it would have been much different.</p>
<p>The moral of my story is that it doesn’t matter where you go to school. The actions that you take in college and your attitude will determine your happiness and success.</p>
<p>Thank you for posting an update. Many, many years ago I was in a similar situation, and passed on UMD, and a scholarship, to attend a prestigious top 10 private university elsewhere on the east coast. Back then, the difference in cost was nothing like it is today. I do not have very fond memories of my college experience; I worked very, very hard to graduate high in my class at the expense of my social life and friendships. The atmosphere was extremely preprofessional and the very few friends I infrequently keep in touch with are scattered across the globe. I essentially never see them. Most are people absorbed, indeed consumed by, their careers. At my office, I am surrounded by uber-successful colleagues who mainly attended schools in the state where I reside. All seem to have known each other since college; I am an outsider. I have my prestigious sheepskin, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from a school that most only dream of attending, literally sitting in a cat litter box (unused!) on a closet shelf along with my professional degrees and sundry awards. In the end, they just don’t matter, people do. I am very successful because of who I am, not where I went. This is possible to say confidently only after many, many years have passed. </p>
<p>When my son was admitted to my alma mater, and several other equally prestigious schools, even receiving a large academic scholarship to one school, I was elated. It was initially very difficult on me when he chose to attend the most prestigious honors program at our state flagship instead, although it is just as competitive for admission as an Ivy League school. Money was not a concern, we could easily afford any school he chose to attend. He genuinely felt that this school and program was the best fit for him. Reflecting on my experience, I realize that he was correct, and far wiser than me.</p>