Fordham v University of Maryland CP
My son is trying to decide which one to go to. Fordham gave him a little aid but we would still have to pay $60k a year. We have in-state status at UMCP so it will cost about $18k a year, including room and board. Additionally, he was admitted into the Global Communities/International House program at UMCP. He is interested in majoring in a language or linguistics but isn’t 100% sure of his major and wants to explore some different things.
Fordham will be really difficult for us financially but my son feels like going to our home state school will not give him the prestige boost that Fordham will, even though UMCP is well ranked. He also wants a city environment.
Help! I’m torn between what he wants and what seems like a better value.
Help us decide!
Fordham is not $42k/yr better than UMD. I would argue it isn’t any better than UMD. Fordham is not what I think when I think prestige. Both are good schools but UMD is very strong in some areas and Fordham does not stand out in any. Especially as the cost will be a financial burden for your family, this is an easy pass on Fordham, imo.
I agree with ^^^, this one is pretty easy, I know of several kids from here paying OOS to UMD with little merit, my daughter was interested but it was too much.
Not worth it unless he was thinking business at Gabelli and even then probably not worth the difference.
Not so sure city life is all it’s cracked-up to be right now.
Pick UMD, save $ for study abroad or housing for summer internships in NYC.
University of Maryland is a great, affordable option. The obvious choice here . Unfortunately, you may be in a bind here if you did not provide a clear budget to your son beforehand and he really wants to go to Fordham.
I say this as a Fordham grad and a MD resident who faced this same decision four years ago when my oldest got into Fordham, we simply could not justify the cost when she had much better offers from other schools. While I absolutely value the education I received and the experiences I had at Fordham, when looking at the overall cost difference compared to my daughter’s other choices, we, and she, knew that the Fordham education was not worth the extra $$. It was my daughter’s first choice, but when she compared with the merit she was offered at her other options, she realized on her own she needed to let it go. As a grad, it was disappointing to me that Fordham is just too expensive now for any of my kids.
That said, UMD and Fordham are very different environments. Was your son interested in UMD when he applied there, or was it more of a financial safety? I understand where he is coming from - UMD was almost in my backyard and I wanted to go away to college, and my kids feel the same way. OTOH, we know so many kids at UMD who are very happy there. Even though we are only 30 minutes away, their kids rarely come home.
Good luck with the decision.
Did you say a better school (in most majors) is $42K a year better than the other school and you want to know which to attend? Unless you absolutely need access to NYC, I guess I don’t understand the question. Is it a trick question?
I was going to write this exact same thing. It’s tough to have to go to a more local college when you have your heart set on something more “exotic,” but a couple semesters abroad and summers spent elsewhere can more than make up for it, especially if he’s interested in language and linguistics.
I guess it’s a case of familiarity breeds contempt. UMD is a better university than Fordham overall. The Jesuit experience is worth something more, certainly, but not 42k more.
As an international studies student, he’ll need to speak a language and know its culture well so he’ll need to study abroad, and this way he may be able to afford a semester abroad + a summer abroad elsewhere and/or perhaps a semester “away” in NYC?