Help my BFF!!!! Williams College vs. UMCP

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
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<p>My friend is trying to decide which of these two schools to go to. For me the choice is fairly obvious, but she is still having a great deal of trouble trying to choose. There are a number of factors that are making this decision fairly arduous, and as you all know, time is running out.</p>

<p>Williams:
Will cost very little; no financial hardship, no debt.
She is worried about the distance from her home and feels it is too inaccessible and that she will have trouble coming home in case of a family emergency.
She is worried about the isolation and fears missing out on things like concerts, city life, etc.
They do not have a journalism program, although she likes their English program.
Worried about the smallness of the minority population
Worried about all the stuff people on here worry about...domination of atheltics, drinking culture, etc.</p>

<p>UMCP:
Gave her a loan and a renewable grant worth about $3000; she will have to take out loans to pay for the next 3 years though...about $20000 in debt by graduation.
Has a "good" journalism program, access to internships in DC
Near home (she would actually live at home)
More of a comfort zone (most of our graduation class attends)</p>

<p>My friend is very bright, hard-working, and she'd probably do very well at either school. She is relatively quiet and soft-spoken, but becomes much more vociferous when she is involved in a class or activity that she enjoys. She's been in public schools all her life, so she probably doesn't really understand the difference that small class sizes and dedicated teachers make...</p>

<p>She really just wants an unbiased opinion, because she's only been hearing the opinions of her cousin (who is pro-UMCP) and me (pro-LAC) for the past few weeks. She's never visited and only has a few days to make this decision.</p>

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<p>I would probably pick Williams. I don’t know how large Maryland’s journalism department is but if you don’t stand out, chances are you’ll end up being a number. At Williams you get the care from the staff (without actually having to pay for it in your case).</p>

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<p>“she would actually live at home.” Now why would anyone want to do that. College is college only if you actually live at the college.</p>

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<p>Because she’d already have to take out loans for tuition and taking out another $30000 for room and board is silly.</p>

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<p>I would make this decision based purely on the fact that UMD is gonna cost more. Why go to a place where you will be in debt, especially considering the following:</p>

<p>Williams is in general more highly regarded, more individualized, and there is probably less of a drinking/sports atmosphere. It seems like a smart but shy person would do much better at Williams. </p>

<p>Any college she will go to will be “out of her comfort zone.” I live 30 mins from MD, but don’t hang out with my HS friends here, don’t go home, and have been bombarded with new experiences (including some dangerous drugs). So if she is worried about MD being a “safer” choice, well, trust me, it really isn’t. If anything, it will more likely be scarier - it’s harder to make friends living at home (I made like 98% of my core group of friends from living with them in the dorm), you will be more of a number (it’s bigger in every aspect - classes to clubs to organizations), etc. And 20,000 dollars in debt is nothing to laugh about, especially for somebody considering a career in journalism, in which the average salary is something like 28K a year. I would say that’s just down right scary. Good luck paying off your student loans. Debts have ruined so many people. In contrast, 1,000s go to school far away from home - some even cross coasts - every year without having any kind of trouble at all when it comes to family emergencies/etc. I’m sure getting home from Williams is as easy as hopping on the train.</p>

<p>To address the fact that UMD has a journalism program and Williams does not - this means nothing. Journalism programs can be useful because they can force you to get experience (ex. you may have to write an article for class). But outside of that, there is no point. In fact, I dropped out of the journalism program very quickly at MD after learning it was mostly busy work. Now I am a history and English major, two subjects that are decent at MD but probably much better at Williams. I figured it was more useful to learn about the world and learn to write well than it was to take such technical, busy-work classes. Journalism employers could care less if you are a History, English, journalism, whatever major (sample the majors at major paper and see for yourself), as long as you have some clips to show for yourself. Ironically, because Williams is a smaller school and town, it will probably be easier to write for the university paper (and maybe even the local paper) and hence get experience/clips there.</p>

<p>Now, the one good point she makes is that if you like the city life, well, UMD beats Williams hands down there, as DC - and nightlife, concerts, etc. - are extremely accessible (of course this does nothing to curb the “stay in campus apartments and drink all weekend” culture, which is alive and well at MD and I’m sure any college on the planet). HOWEVER is 4 yrs of nightlife and concerts worth 20,000 extra dollars? Is it worth living at home (therefore a less fulfilling social life)? Bigger classes and clubs and poorer funded humanities programs (therefore a less fulfilling academic life)? Your friend should save that money for when she leaves college to get a career and enter the “real” world. Then she will have the money to afford rent in a city loft instead of her parent’s basement ;). Plus I’m sure campus life at Williams is awesome and they bring in plenty of fun lectures/acts/concerts/etc right to campus. </p>

<p>Take it from a College Park student who loves Maryland and wouldn’t trade it for the world - in the case of your friend, the choice is easy: Williams.</p>

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<p>LOL!
does your name by any chance start with a y and your friend’s name start with a D?</p>

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<p>I’m curious as to why Williams will cost very little? They don’t give merit aid, and if your friend got need-based aid at Williams, didn’t she (?) also get financial aid at UMD?</p>

<p>FWIW, D1 chose UMD and turned down an early admit to Williams. We could not justify the cost difference (Williams was going to be full-pay, and considerably more $$ than UMD). She really wanted to be near a large city, wanted to be near Goddard Space Flight Center, and wanted larger science departments, and a school with lots of depth in academic choices in the event she got there and decided to drastically change her major (which she has not done). Even though she would have had some great opportunities in her science majors at Williams (and some nearly one-on-one classes), I think liberal arts are more the strength at Williams than math/sciences.</p>

<p>In your friend’s case, if Williams is significantly cheaper than UMD (???), I’d probably recommend going there.</p>

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<p>UMCP gives horrible financial aid. I don’t know a single person who got more than loans or merit aid from them. Williams is on the other side of the spectrum when it comes to aid…they are 100% committed to no loans, and occasionally give more than your EFC even says you need (like they did with my friend).</p>

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<p>That’s awesome! Yes, the private schools can tend to be a lot more generous than publics, and with a no-loan policy, that’s great! I’d still weigh in on the pro-Williams vote, even though we obviously think UMD is awesome!</p>

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<p>astromom - one of the things about Williams’ FA is that they don’t start with loans, unlike many other schools. (Williams has said that may well change in near-term future years, due to financial constraints.) Anyway, let’s suppose Williams offered $40K in FA to go from approx $52K to $12K. That probably has no loan but work study. Now suppose UMCP offered enough bucks to take its price to $12K. I assume that $8K-ish discount would likely include a loan instead of a straight grant (not counting merit aid), right?</p>

<p>Well, that’s my guess as to how the numbers might play out.</p>

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<p>I’m a Williams alum and am from Baltimore, so I know lots of people who went to UM. On education value and intellectual stimulation, Williams is by far the better choice, and she should take a chance on Williams because it’s a wonderful place to go to college, surrounded by really talented, bright, yet down-to-earth individuals. I don’t think the lack of a journalism program should be a concern. Most journalists weren’t journalism majors, and having a broad liberal arts background provides a good background for journalism. You do have to consider the trade-off of city life vs. being out in the country (and the associated focus on parties/athletics, since there is not as much to do), but honestly, I think the point of college is to make good friends for life and that will happen both places.</p>

<p>The one concern that I would have your friend seriously investigate is the diversity issue, as it sounds like your friend is a minority. Even though Williams continues to push hard to increase diversity on campus, I know that some minorities missed their friends and their homes and some felt out of place, as the area around Williams is not ethnically diverse and it really is out in the country. My suggestion is that she reach out to the various ethnic associations on campus and talk to a few current students to get their thoughts. I know it can be tough leaving friends and what you know best, but for a place like Williams, I think it’s worth the risk.</p>

<p>Also, if Williams doesn’t work out after a year, she transfers back to UM, probably with little problem (assuming grades are good). The opposite is not possible.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>