HELP! Temple or University of Maryland?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, I am in dire need of opinions from the outside world. I am a current undergraduate freshman at Temple University majoring in Information Science, but have the option to attend University of Maryland majoring in Computer Science starting in January for the Spring semester. When applying to schools, University of Maryland was my first choice. Since I only got accepted for the Spring, I was going to attend a community college for the fall just to get credits, but my parents allowed me to attend Temple, so that's where I am now (I live here, do not commute).</p>

<p>Now that I've been here for over 2 months, I have really grown to like it here. I love that I'm located in Philadelphia, where I have easy access to all parts of the city through the subway and trains, as well as local colleges such as Drexel, UPenn, and St. Joe's. I'm also close to home (about a half hour/45 mins away) which I like, as I can go home whenever I need and still see all my friends and family that are still there, and vice versa (they can visit me easily). I have a lot of friends here, half of which I knew coming into the school, half newly made, and I think the workload here is perfect for me. Also, I have a job in the city, and I'm in a band that's based in Philadelphia that I take very seriously, as we are signed, play large venues with big name bands, and we're trying to make it as big as possible. This is why I'm uneasy about transferring to University of Maryland.</p>

<p>I feel that the obvious choice is to go to University of Maryland because I feel like it's viewed as the more prestigious school, where Temple is kind of in its shadow. I know that UM is ranked a LOT higher than Temple overall, and I actually just saw an article stating that UM is ranked 5th in the country for job recruiters. Included in that same article was a section that detailed specific majors, in which Computer Science at UM is ranked 10th in the country. This all sounds very impressive. But here are the reasons I feel uneasy about UM, besides the reasons why I like Temple listed above:</p>

<p>-My Major: This is the NUMBER ONE reason I'm uneasy about UM. While Information Sciene and Computer Science are similar, they are NOT THE SAME. Unfortunately, UM ONLY has Computer Science and not IT, but Temple has both. If someone on these forums can explain to me a clear cut difference between the 2 majors it would be much appreciated. All I've heard from people is that Computer Science is a lot more difficult, a lot more math intensive (which I HATE), isn't as broad and expansive as IT is, and the "rumor" that CS majors don't have lives because of the time the major requires. I don't want to be stuck at a school with a major I hate just for the name sake of the school, but then comes in the issue of switching majors, which is a whole other long discussion
-I fear that the general workload will be a lot harder and not as easily managable at UM.
-I fear that the campus will be too big. I first viewed it as a plus since it was a lot bigger and nicer than Temple's campus, but now I'm realizing that I like that I can walk anywhere on Temple's campus within 10 minutes compared to an estimated 45 minutes at UM
-I fear that it will be harder to adjust to the school, considering I don't know anyone there really and I'd be 3 hours from home. I don't have a fear of being homesick as I was prepared to go here at first, but now that I'm situated at Temple I like that I can go home whenever, even if it's for something as simple as bringing back a DVD I forgot to bring to my dorm
-Dorms. At Temple, dorms are only guaranteed for the freshman year, but I like that for my sophomore year and beyond I can get an apartment right near campus with a few friends for a very cheap price. Apartments are a lot better than dorms in my opinion. However, at Maryland, dorms are guaranteed until your junior year. While you might say I could still get an apartment if I wanted, it's not as accepted there and A LOT more expensive. It would be a lot more inconvenient to be off campus without a car at UM (which I wouldn't have, at least at first) compared to Temple, and most students stay in dorms which takes out the fun of getting apartments with friends since it's an accepted thing at Temple
-I don't know if this will really affect anything, but I hear that almost all classes at Maryland are huge lecture halls. I don't necessarily mind this but I like that some of my classes, especially math classes, are smaller and more one-on-one. My major is math based so this is why I mentioned this</p>

<p>Now, don't get me wrong, there are a TON of things I LOVE about UM too, but for the sake of this post and the length of listing all of them, I'm not going to mention them. But one thing I will mention is that, before going to Temple, my vision of college was almost exactly what UM offers: a stereotypical, "out-of-the movies", huge, beautiful campus with a large student body, impressive academics, and large amounts of parties (having fun is a huge factor for me, so I like the fact that UM is usually ranked as part of the top 20 party schools and has a dominant greek life). Not to mention it's located between Washington D.C. and Baltimore. This is also the type of school people exclaim that they had "the best 4 years of their life at", which is what I want.</p>

<p>So basically, I need someone to tell me what the smart choice would be. I really want to stay at Temple in a way, but I have this feeling that it's the dumb decision to make since it's not nearly as highly esteemed of a school as University of Maryland is. A lot of people tell me that I can always transfer, but now is the only time I'm GUARANTEED into UM. If I waited a year or two to transfer to UM, or any school for that matter, it's not guaranteed that I would get back in (no matter how confident I was), and there's always the risk of credits not transferring (I actually made my first semester schedule at Temple based on the "just-in-case" factor of going to UM and made sure all my classes would tranfer; this actually delayed necessary classes for my major to the spring semester here at Temple, so I already know that at least 2 of my classes this year along would not transfer to UM if I waited a year or two to transfer). What I'm telling myself now to make myself feel better (if I wanted to stay at Temple) is that I can stay at Temple until the end of my freshman or sophomore year until I really know what I want to do career wise, and if IT is for me, and if so continue to pursue it here at Temple (if I definitely don't want to do CS) or at a school better for it, or if not to switch majors and possibly try transferring to a school that's better for that major. But all of this seems more complicated to me. Is this a smart decision, though? Would I be able to get a good job with an IT major from Temple, or would it pale in comparison to UM? I don't know. So please, anyone who can guide me in the right direction or give me their opinions please do so. I pretty much have until the end of the month to decide. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I just realized that MIS could be another option for me major-wise too, if anyone knows anything about that.</p>

3

<p>I am currently a freshman at UMD. This wasn’t my first choice. There isn’t a town here really, there is DC but people only go there for the bars. On campus living is very limited after freshmen year and almost all upper-classmen live in apartments. Classes, especially math, are hard here for everyone. I have a friend who’s in an intro calc class and almost 75% of kids are failing. And that is just calc 1. The upper level calc classes are said to be even harder for those who pass calc 1. Campus isn’t as big as you think. UMD has really lost it’s “party school” reputation. It is definitely a bar school and the campus police have really cracked down on underage drinking even at the frats. It still happens a lot but most parties are in the apartments and get broken up by the security. If you like living in the city I would say don’t come here. If you’re happy being in the city and close to home I would say don’t risk coming here.</p>

4

<p>Wow, that’s pretty intimidating, especially since I’d be in a major heavily based on math. I have actually heard about them cracking down on underage drinking, and how it’s more of a bar school. I stayed over the school for a weekend recently with the only friend I know that goes there, and we went to 2 parties and I didn’t think they were anything special. He said a lot of people take the metro to go into DC and sometimes Baltimore and that it’s real convenient, but I guess it’s not the same as Temple is to Philly. And even if the campus at UMD isn’t as big as I thought, it’s definitely a lot bigger than Temple’s campus. But again, I once viewed that as a plus but I kind of like being able to walk everywhere here at Temple.</p>

<p>I really appreciate your advice. At this point, I feel like the only thing luring me to go to UMD is for the name. It’s known as the better school and it’s the best school I got into, so one side of me says that I should go there because of that. But I don’t want to rush into going there, especially for Computer Science, and end up hating it and getting bad grades. My parents would also be spending pretty much double or even more than they do for Temple (since I’d be out-of-state).</p>

<p>I’m thinking of sticking to Temple for at least another semester, and see what IT has to offer. I’m also considering looking into MIS which would put me into the arguably better Fox Business School. From there I could decide to either stay or transfer to ANY school that’s better for my major, so I wouldn’t be restricted to just UMD. If I went the Temple route, though, my fear is that I’d be making a lot less starting out right out of school if I graduated from Temple as opposed to another school like UMD, but would I still be making a good salary as long as I got good grades? In other words, would it be better to graduate from Temple with better grades than graduating from UMD with worse grades?</p>

5

<p>While I am one to usually lean towards going to the school with the most prestige, in your particular case, I would stay where I am. You are happy, both socially and academically. Why start all over again? I am not sure whether Maryland would be considered THAT much better than Temple. Now if you told me it was MIT you could go to, that would be a different story.</p>

<p>I would check with your placement office to confirm that Temple graduates in your major are getting good jobs. If so, stay where you are. If you want to live in Philadelphia when you graduate, then Temple might be just as good as Maryland from a recruiting standpoint.</p>

<p>Many smart kids who could get into a bigger name school probably go to Temple because they can’t afford to go away to school, so you would kind of be like them.</p>

6

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<p>Go to UMD and take a systems-oriented courseload as much as they allow. IT is probably just an easier version of computer science that is focused on repairing and maintaining systems as opposed to designing systems. Since UMD is good for CS it also has many areas that are highly mathematical like artificial intelligence and cryptology. CS looks better, even if you want to work in IT, and an IT degree will open fewer doors than a CS degree. UMD will also have much better recruiting. </p>

<p>Do CS at UMD and if difficultly is a concern, take a small courseload or do a B.A. instead of a B.S. (which has fewer requirements) and take IT-like courses whenever you can. </p>

<p>[Degree Reqs for CS Major Computer Science Department: Undergraduate education office at the University of Maryland, Computer Science Department](<a href=“http://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/current-students/degree-requirements-for-cs-major/”>http://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/current-students/degree-requirements-for-cs-major/&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>You could get through by taking:</p>

<p>Programming
Object Oriented Programming I-II
Computer Security
Computer Networks
Database Design
Software Engineering
Data Structures</p>

<p>and really not end up deviating that far from what would make an exceptional IT candidate.</p>

7

<p>College “fit” is about how well your college suits you. It sounds like Temple is the better fit for you right now. If you go to UM-CP you will either be constantly traveling back to Philly or you will find that you have to quit your band. </p>

<p>Yes UM-CP may be ranked higher than Temple on one scale or another. However, what really matters for your own life is how well your college suits you. The difference in rank may not be important enough for you to change schools.</p>

<p>You also have not mentioned the cost differential. Talk that over with your parents. Between all of you, you may find that there are other places you’d rather spend that kind of money.</p>

8

<p>happymomof1: Yes, I forgot to mention cost. My parents are uneasy about sending me to UMD, where it is a lot more expensive than Temple, when I am still kind of undecided and don’t really want to pursue Computer Science (because of how intense the math is). But they are fully willing to pay for it as well if I really want to go there, especially because my mom is an alumni from there.</p>

<p>al6200: Thanks for that info. I will look more into that.</p>

9

<p>floridadad55: That is a good point and I will take your advice about the placement office.</p>

<p>happymomof1: I forgot to mention this, but I would have to quit my band if I went to UMD. This is something my band and I have already discussed many times. While I don’t want to leave and they don’t want me to leave, they understand if I have to and I’m willing to sacrifice the band if need be. And as for the college “suiting” me well, that is exactly right, but this is still a hard decision nonetheless.</p>

<p>In my researching of MIS, I found this article about the MIS Department at Fox School of Business at Temple: [FoxMIS</a> is number 1 worldwide for research ? Temple Fox MIS](<a href=“http://community.mis.temple.edu/blog/2011/02/13/foxmis-is-number-1-worldwide-for-research/]FoxMIS”>http://community.mis.temple.edu/blog/2011/02/13/foxmis-is-number-1-worldwide-for-research/)</p>

<p>What do you guys think of that? They’re actually coincidentally ranked one spot higher than UMD for MIS research, but how does that affect a student majoring in that? Do you think that would be a wiser field to go into if I were to stay at Temple?</p>

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<p>When I first read your message, I was inclined to suggest Maryland (I live about 20 minutes away), but after reading all of your message I would say stay with the good fit. You have found some good info on Temple, you are happy there, you have your band. You know the saying, “If it ain’t broke…” Good luck to yoU!</p>

11

<p>I would normally suggest Maryland but you seem to be doing well and enjoying temple so there is no need for you to transfer. I know people at UMD that major in CS and it is quite difficult. Also you should keep in mind that when you transfer as an undecided there is no promise that you will get into the school for computer science because you need to fulfill certain requirements and GPA.</p>

12

<p>I agree, if you are happy and doing well at Temple, I don’t see why you’d leave.</p>

13

<p>as a manager and consultant in mis for many years, I understand what you are looking for. but, the real money now a days are for ppl with MS/PHD degrees, you can easily finish your BS in MIS and if you do well, you can get in an even higher level MS/Phd program in CMU or MIT for example, that is really much better and cheaper than a BS degree from UMD-CP.</p>