<p>OK, I am a senior and applying to schools. My list is almost finalized and it is top heavy with only one match and one safety, both of which I like and can see myself going to. Also, trust me there is no way my safety will reject me unless my essays are exceptionably horrific. My safety is the University of Maryland at College Park (UMD). I was wondering how prestigeous it is as an institution. My parents tell me that it is not seen as very good to people living outside the Maryland/Pennsylvania/Northern Virginia area and that I should have more safeties and match schools. They say that because they can afford, for the msot part, to send me to a private/OOS school that I should try to position myself so I wont have to go to UMD and that I can go somewhere better. </p>
<p>So I am wondering: How do people in the north east, south, midwest, and west coast see UMD? Do you think it is comperable to Delaware, UConn, SUNY, and UMass? or Is it considered one of the better state schools and in the next tier after UVA, UCB, UCLA, and Michigan? </p>
<p>Note: I am talking in general how good is UMD, not specific programs and that it is good for in state tuition. I want to know how prestigeous the degree is and if it is seen as good or average. I am not a prestige whore, but instead trying to see how good/bad my parent's perspective is because they say UMD is crap and that I should make sure I can go somewhere better.</p>
<p>My daughter is also using UMD as her safety school. Most top students in Maryland do. Quite a few of them actually go there because it's cheap and it gives out lots of merit money, which makes it even cheaper. I realize that money is not important to you, but the fact that there are plenty of top students who go to UMD for financial reasons might be. You would have a peer group (especially if you are in the honors program).</p>
<p>UMD is inferior to UVA, William and Mary, and UNC-Chapel Hill but better than any other state school on the East Coast, in my opinion. (You might want to send an application to William and Mary to pacify your parents; it's a very easy application.)</p>
<p>If you think College Park is too much of a slum, you might want to use Penn State as a safety school. Penn State doesn't have higher admissions standards for out-of-state applicants than in-state applicants, and its SAT averages are lower than UMD's. If you can get into UMD, you shouldn't have any trouble getting into Penn State. But Penn State isn't a noticeably better school than UMD. </p>
<p>The thing with UMD is that it has improved a lot lately, due to the state throwing money at it (among other things, for generous merit scholarships for people like you), but older people may still think of it the way it was 20 years ago, when your dog could have gotten admitted (and probably graduated). It may take a little time for the world to be aware of its improved reputation.</p>
<p>By the way, I don't think you need to stress much about the essays. Rumor has it that nobody reads them.</p>
<p>This is my pet peeve as I am all about "fit". We live in an affluent community and so many of DD's classmates had parents with an eye on the prestige. Drove me nuts. Didn't really matter what the kid liked. Over the years we've known kids who were happy at Nowhere U and others who were miserable at Top Ivy U
But frankly, why is it important what a New Englander like myself thinks about UMD, or anywhere else, for that matter? Apply to places you like, throw in a few to make your parents happy and once all those letters arrive, pick the place that feels best to you.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t wish to contradict anything your parents are telling you, but I think UMD is a solid school. USNews ranks it fifty-fourth, right along with Pepperdine and the University of Miami, and just a wee bit below Syracuse. That’s not bad at all, especially when you consider the hundreds of universities out there.</p>
<p>The issue is, does this school have what you want– the environment, class offerings, culture, etc. It may be too big and urban, since it is right outside DC. Are you a super humanities type guy/gal? If so, I probably would not recommend UMD. But I really, REALLY would recommend St</a>. Johns in Annapolis. Maybe somebody else can chime in here. </p>
<p>UMD strikes me as one of those large schools that is solid pretty much across the board. I don’t think anyone, anywhere can legitimately call this school “crap”. If you apply yourself and work diligently, you’ll get a great education there that is well regarded, especially in the DC-Metro area.</p>
<p>I am a science person. The reason my parents think I should go somewhere better than UMD is because at my competitive high school I am one of the top students and it would be a shame to go to UMD where the kids in hte middle of the class are going. They want me to go somewhere "better." They want me to go to a school where the name will open doors. One example would be a Harvard degree opens more doors for you than a U Mass degree. I am concerned about how employers will see UMD, whether it is just annother state school or if it is something special. My parents say my view of UMD is convoluted and that I think it is much better than it actually is. I just think it is a fine institution and want to know how people outside the DC/mid atlantic area view it's prestige so I can either see that my parents are correct, or tell them that they have no idea what they are talking about.</p>
<p>Also, I dont buy this whole "fit" thing because you really dont know if you are happy or sad at college X until you are there for a month or two. One or two visits will tell you if you like the atmoshphere of a small town or big city, but wont tell you if you will make friends or if you will be lonely. Two kids at the same school will have drastically different experiences so just because KidA loves school nooone has heard of doesnt mean htat I will and because KidB hates IvyU doesnt mean that I wont.</p>
<p>They say like GW, Syracuse (I think UMD is as good or better than these two), Illinois (no real problem with it), Minnesota (too cold for me), Wisconsin (too much of a party school), Penn State (no real problem with it). For matches over the one I have my parents are saying Vandy, WashU, NYU, and Rice. I would apply to these schools but the extra apps and essays would push my list over 10 and kill me.</p>
<p>University of Maryland is, in my opinion, a school whose selectivity is one of the the most improved from the time when I was going to college in the late 70s. Yes, anyone could get in at that time, but now it is known in Maryland as a very selective institution. Don't let the old stereotypes of us geezers affect your decision. Everyone here in Maryland knows that times have changed.</p>
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Also, I dont buy this whole "fit" thing because you really dont know if you are happy or sad at college X until you are there for a month or two. One or two visits will tell you if you like the atmoshphere of a small town or big city, but wont tell you if you will make friends or if you will be lonely. Two kids at the same school will have drastically different experiences so just because KidA loves school nooone has heard of doesnt mean htat I will and because KidB hates IvyU doesnt mean that I wont.
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<p>If you feel this way, I don't understand why you care what people think of UMD or the other schools you mention. Why not just apply to the schools ranked the highest and include those that satisfy your parents?</p>
<p>Extra apps and essays will kill you? yikes...</p>
<p>If you are already applying to any other Common App schools (Harvard? Cornell?), go ahead and apply to WUSTL and/or Vanderbilt to please your parents. Their Common App supplements don't require any additional essays. You can fill out both forms in an hour.</p>
<p>I think I can do the extra apps, just that it's senior year and I have so much going on I dont want to waste it by staying home finnishing up my 20th app. </p>
<p>I guess why I started this thread was because I have on opinion, my parents have annother, and I was wondering how many parents share mine and how many parents share my parent's. This isnt about where I think I will fit in (I really dont know) but the prestige of one school. Example answers could be: UMD is a great school and on par with ABC, or UMD is an average public, or something like that. I just want to know how Maryland is percieved by people who dont live in Maryland/DC area and not that I should go where I want to go.</p>
<p>Well, I am oos, and I see UMD-CP as an above average public, that is pretty competitive for admission. I know that some very bright students from my son's hs have matriculated to UMD. Believe me, they are not average students, but very bright and have a work ethic. I am sure that there are some average students that attend too. Public schools are meant primarily for instate students with stats within a certain range, and are not meant to be elitist.</p>
<p>"I was wondering how prestigeous it is as an institution. My parents tell me that it is not seen as very good to people living outside the Maryland/Pennsylvania/Northern Virginia area and that I should have more safeties and match schools."</p>
<p>I think U. of Md. is a pretty good school - especially if you get accepted to the honors college program. It was my nephew's safety - he had MIT and Caltech at the top of his list and was accepted by Cornell, Rice and Johns Hopkins for what that is worth.</p>
<p>Before I moved to Maryland and got to know UMD, I would have said it was just another flagship state school. But I would have said the same thing about Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Penn State. </p>
<p>Now that I live in Maryland, UMD is growing on me. I have a son there (for him it was a match, not a safety), and he is having a good experience in one of UMD's best departments (computer science). I like the special interest programs for freshmen and sophomores (Gemstone, Honors, College Park Scholars). They make a big campus smaller. I like the ready availability of lots of summer internships in the DC and Baltimore areas, which students can find through contacts and programs at the university. I like the fact that on the rare occasions when my son has had problems, he has been able to get the help he needed rather easily, despite being at a very large university.</p>
<p>I would still consider UMD comparable to the other four state schools your parents mentioned, but at least I know there are a lot of good things happening at UMD. I don't know that about the others.</p>
<ol>
<li> I see UMd-CP as "one of the better state schools", slightly below Mich, Wisc, UVA... I see it as a level above UConn, UDel, etc.</li>
<li> I am more concerned with the proposed additions to your "match" list: Vandy, WUStL, Rice.... These are quite a selective set of schools to be in a match category rather than a match/reach or reach category.
I don't even need to ask re your stats etc. to say this. Have you read the saga of andi's son? If you have not, you should. He had such schools as his matches and safeties and reachier schools than that on his list. He got in to NO SCHOOLS and his stats were stellar and he had national recognition EC's. So, if you currently have only one match school on your list and it is of similar caliber to those three, I think your list may need serious tweaking.</li>
</ol>
<p>I've lived on both coasts and in all honesty have heard little about UMD, but I do know UVA, UNC, UMich, UCB, UCLA and would have to say it isn't thought of in that category.</p>
<p>I'm with Herbrokemom on the prestige question -- as a Midwesterner, we don't think about UMD at all (except when they are televised playing Duke in Bball), but what difference does that make? We have enough large, good quality, bargain state flagships in the region to occupy our attention.</p>
<p>I also question the matches. WUSTL had an admit rate of 22% for 2006, which puts it in the reach category for almost everyone. I know a lot of smart, accomplished kids who were wait-listed. The smart, accomplished kids from our area who were admitted were legacies and recruited athletes.</p>
<p>My parents said WUSTL Vady and Rice were matches. My jaw hit the floor when they said that. They put schools in those categories, not me. I'm pretty sure if I dont apply WUSTL ED I'll be waitlisted at best because they take 5+ kids ED from my school and Rice and Vandy will be tough. I took these schools off my short list because they are too competitve for matches, and not worth it in my mind for reach schools.</p>
<p>I like zagat's and amdgmom's posts the most because it means my parents are correct on some level. If UMD is not really thought about in most areas of hte US, then it's prestige may be an issue if I apply for a job in Chicago or St. Louis. </p>
<p>And jmmom, my safety admits everyone with my stats from my school and most people with much worse stats. My match school is truely a match because my stats say I should get in based on past applicants from my school and my school's college counsellor told me that it is a match school. Also, it admits 50% of applicants and my SATs are 100 points above the median scores in each category. It also has rolling admissions, so I should hear back by early December at the latest and rework my list accordingly if I get in or not.</p>