Hi everyone! I am having a really difficult time with my college decision, mainly from a financial standpoint. I was accepted into the Smith School of Business as a marketing major (no honors college or scholars program), but I got no financial aid or merit scholarships. As an OOS student, the cost of attendance is considerably higher for me so suddenly my first choice school seems a lot harder to choose. My other final college choice is UMass Amherst, mainly because it is in state tuition, and will work out to be about $15,000 less than UMD per year. While I know both schools are great and I will get a good education at both, there is a feel to Maryland’s campus that feels more like home than any other school I have looked at. I am hoping some people (current students or alumni especially) could tell me about their experience with paying for UMD. Are there a lot of scholarships for enrolled students, have you found it likely to get a good job out of college to pay down debt, etc. Anything you could tell me about this would really help
Also, if anyone has any personal favorite aspects to Maryland that stand out and make it feel worth the extra money, I would love to hear those too!!
It depends on how well you do, just like in any college. You would waste your money by going through the motions in IVY league schools and some people maximize their time in college and turn out extremely successful. Be realistic with yourself; how much time will you be able to dedicate to using every opportunity available, and what are your future plans? Base your decision on your personal grit, because the thing about higher education is that different schools provide you with different amounts of opportunities, not necessarily knowledge. Generally, the cheaper, the less opportunities, but if you’re not going to use the extra ones that are offered then don’t waste your money.
Stand out at Maryland? I think my son got a lot out of the QUEST Honors program, but it is definitely very competitive as there are only 90 students admitted (2 cohorts of 45). Only students from Smith (business), Clark (engineering) and CMNS (Math and Natural Sciences) are eligible to apply and they admit based on college performance only, not high school.https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-programs/quest/what-quest
Favorite aspects? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1743639-things-to-love-about-maryland-p1.html
Bottom line, however, is that no how many “great” things are at any one school, if you truly can’t afford the tuition, it is not worth it. I firmly believe that at the end of the day, it does NOT matter WHERE you go to school, as much as it matters WHAT you do when you get there - no matter what school you attend.
@acs116 Maryland’s cost of attendance for OOS will be about $44,000 this Fall. In contrast, UMass for instate will be $26,000. That’s at least an $18,000 difference in cost or at least $72,000 over the 4 years. That is not an insignificant amount of money. If your family does not that extra amount saved then it’s not worth it in my opinion. The rule of thumb for attending OOS flagships for those students where cost is an issue, is to try to get enough merit aid and/r need-based aid so that the cost differential between your in-state college and the OOS college will not put you in a lot of debt --meaning not more than the amount you can personally borrow–which is $27,000 ($5,500 for freshman year, $6,500 for sophomore year and $7,500 for junior and senior yer).
I agree the differential is closer to $18K per year and seems not to be worth it, but it’s a personal decision.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions! My parents and I are heavily weighing the financial aspects of the school and I am hopeful that there will be good news at the end of that. And thank you @maryversity for always being attentive to everyone’s posts and giving helpful comments on all of these feeds! They have certainly helped me along this entire process! I know no matter where I go I will take advantage of as many opportunities as possible, so I do not intend to waste my investment. Thank you for all your help everyone!!
You don’t apply for Umass Lowell?
It’s more affordable.
Good luck.