<p>I just moved to Maryland a few years ago, and I know absolutely nothing about UMCP... I have an impression that it's not a very good school, because one of my classmates (who occassionally slept in class, didn't do recommended readings, had average test scores) easily got into UMCP. But many of my friends tell me that UMCP has a great business program, one of them even said something about it being the "ivy league" in terms of their business programs. Is this true? How's UMCP's business program compared to UVA's?</p>
<p>UVA is probably better, but if you live in Maryland, it’s way cheaper to go to MD than UVA. No it’s probably not similar to ivies but it’s a good school. UMCP is not that easy to get in nowadays. If you plan to stay instate. This is probably the best choice.</p>
<p>Smith is a top 50 business school. It’s not any Wharton, but it’s a pretty respectable business school. Though, UVA McIntire is #2 in the country and most likely has better recruitment.</p>
<p>be warned that UMD undergrads VERY RARELY end up on wall street. a graduate whose a bond trader told me he could count the people from Maryland on one hand. a Smith degree doesn’t have a reputation on wall street so you might want to look somewhere else or transfer if thats were you want to go</p>
<p>jigreens-- UMD is not an easy school to get into anymore. Your classmate who didn’t do recommended readings probably had pretty high SAT scores or something else going for him. The business school is great, but if you’re looking for rankings status alone, UVA is higher. I agree with the Wall Street comment made earlier, although of course not all business majors are looking to end up there (I, for one, would rather cut my foot off than work on Wall Street). While recruitment is probably better at a higher-ranked school like UVA, being near DC makes for some great internship/networking opportunities that I’m not sure you’d get at a school nowhere near a city.</p>
<p>worrywart, your link doesnt work but Im assuming that you were trying to post employment statistics. </p>
<p>You have to remember that just because a Wall Street firm recruits, doesn’t mean they are front-office positions. Many ppl that I know that got offers from them were back office positions (operations, hr, etc) at regional offices in Baltimore. </p>
<p>To the OP, I am currently a student here and I seriously don’t know why this place is getting so much hype. There are a few kids that are very smart and probably turned down more prestigious schools (probably for financial reasons), but the average student here is mediocre academically and cares more about partying and boozing then doing well in school and getting a good job.</p>
<p>If you have a choice between UMD and UVA, DEFINENTLY go to UVA. Like a previous poster said, UVA is the 2nd best business school according to business week (although some would disagree - MIT Sloan?) and you will have great employment prospects; you will have firms like Goldman Sachs front office!) and McKinsey actively recruit there. </p>
<p>However, there is an exception. If you want to go to a Big4 firm then I say go to UMD (if they give you money). Getting into Big 4 is more about good grades and the right major than school pedigree. You will also have pretty good exit opps after a 3-5 yr stint at a Big4. </p>
<p>Ehh…I wouldn’t call them top tier. They’re more like the top of the okay schools. UMD will be in the middle of the okay schools. Top tier - HYPSM and a couple others.</p>
<p>When looking at the strength of recruitment at each business school, one doesn’t really blow another away; they’re all pretty similar. Just look at businessweek.com for all the stats.</p>
<p>In fact, if you were to choose among those three schools, UMD will probably be the best choice because the other two don’t have THAT much of an added benefit and UMD is much cheaper. </p>
<p>Also, you should consider the location that you will want to work in post graduation. If you want to live in MD, go to UMD or William Mary. If you want to live in the South, consider going to Emory.</p>
<p>Emory and W&M are two of the best colleges in the country. UMD is an avg large state school. This isnt even a comparison unless you just want the cheapest.</p>
<p>I always assumed that UMd and Penn State were pretty even as far as overall reputation and especially for the business program. Lately though, I have been reading more positive things about Penn State, ( alumni connections, recruiting, etc.. ) but I guess it may, in the end, come down to personal preference. For non residents, the costs are about the same and I would assume the “value” too.</p>
<p>Now I’m not arguing with you over the fact that Emory/W&M are better than UMD. In fact I agree with you 100%!</p>
<p>It’s just that given the costs of Emory and W&M, and running a cost-benefit analysis, it’s smarter and probably a better choice to go to UMD. You don’t get that much of a prestige edge from going to those two schools and recruitment isn’t that much better either; all three schools are considered non-target by banks and consulting firms. It’s not like we’re choosing between UMD and Harvard here (in this case go to Harvard!).</p>
<p>Also, if you have the stats that will make you competitive for W&M and Emory, why not go to UVA? It’s considered a target and has the prestige-factor that W&M and Emory lack.</p>
<p>This is the top 25 undergrad business school rankings from 2009 US News. Maryland is 17th. No William and Mary in top 25 and Georgetown is after Maryland.</p>
<p>1-UPenn
2-MIT
3-Berkeley
3-Ann Arbor
5-NYU
6- Carnegie Mellon
6-Chapel Hill
6-Austin
6-Univ Virginia
10-Southern Calif
11-Cornell
11-Indiana
13-Emory
13-Uof I Champaign
13-Madison
13-Wash U
17Ohio State
17 Purdue
17 Maryland
17 Notre Dame
21-Georgetown
21-Penn State
21-Minnesota
21-Univ Washington
25-Arizona State
25-Babson
25-Boston College
25-Michigan State
25- Arizona Eller</p>
<p>My son goes to Emory. No offense to UMCP or other large state schools but going to a smaller private college does have its advantages, aside from rankings in magazines.</p>