<p>How do these schools stack up academically, is either better or more highly regarded?
Also what is the difference in type of student and social scene at these schools?
Difference in campuses?</p>
<p>I think nationally PSU is generally thought of as a better school than UMD-CP, but I’m not convinced of that. Their rankings may be higher, but UMD’s students bring much better test scores to the table and Maryland’s public schools are generally better than PA’s. Both schools are strong in STEM, business (UMD probably holds an edge), politics (UMD again), english, communications (PSU maybe), languages, et al. Both are good schools academically and both offer a lively social scene. UMD has a reputation as a commuter campus, but that’s less and less the case. Students do have two great American cities to explore on weekends, and that might account for some of that sense, whereas PSU has no city within 2 hours and people are kind of stuck in the middle of the state. Many people find UMD to be a very nice campus with its many Georgian facades, but I’d take PSU and its trees and countryside any day. PSU is a larger campus, and takes longer to get around in but there are shuttles, of course, just as there are at UMD. PSU is a lot tighter with its money than UMD. I don’t know types of students.</p>
<p>For engineering in PA, PSU will give you a big edge. The opposite might be true in MD. I have no clue how other majors stand up in relation to each other.</p>
<p>Otherwise, PSU is more of a rural campus with a lot going on. Team/college spirit is huge and “once a lion, always a lion.” If you want that sort of experience, this would be the school to pick.</p>
<p>If you prefer college with a bit of city and more “outside of college” experiences, then UMD-CP would fit better.</p>
<p>Neither is right or wrong fit-wise. It depends upon the student.</p>
<p>They are both good. PSU may be in the middle of nowhere, but it has fun college town.</p>
<p>FYI
<a href=“Job Recruiters Prefer State Universities Over Ivy League Colleges - WSJ”>Job Recruiters Prefer State Universities Over Ivy League Colleges - WSJ;
<p><a href=“Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ”>http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704554104575435563989873060</a></p>
<p>A lot may depend on what you want to study. For example, Penn State has been known as a good engineering school for some time, but Maryland is well known for computer science. And Penn State is known for having one of the most effective career placement and alumni networks around, rivaling even some Ivies.</p>
<p>It all really comes down to the individual student, either one can be great, it just depends on what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Post #4. Pretty much nails it. </p>
<p>The Clark School of Engineering at UMD is very highly regarded and UMD is involved in the formation of a cyber security Center of Excellence at NIST. Also, UMD is definitely NOT a commuter college these days</p>
<p>Which one is in-state for you?
They’re similar enough that you should pick the cheapest one :)</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 well i live in new york
does one usually give a better financial aid package or merit scholarships</p>
<p>public universities do not give ANY financial aid to OOS students. In order to have a shot at a merit scholarship, you’d need to be in the top 10% admitted students (use collegedata) but essentially you need to be able to pay at least 40K out of pocket. Keep in mind that you’re “only” allowed to borrow $5,500 for freshman year. Penn State has virtually no merit money ($4,000 if you make it into Shreyer - ony 1 in 9 applicants does); Maryland has some but it’s very competitive (you’d need something like 1440-1500/1600 SATs and awesome ECs).</p>
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<p>That’s not necessarily so.
<a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php</a>
(see the second to last column.)</p>
<p>Try running UMCP’s Net Price Calculator for a hypothetical OOS student with a family income less than $30K. Estimated grant aid is $9550.</p>
<p>Now, that might include Pell or other non-institutional grants. It IS generally true that public universities don’t give very generous need-based aid to OOS students. Some, like Alabama, do give merit scholarships to students with minimum GPAs and test scores. However, you generally will get more need-based aid (and sometimes a lower net price) at a more selective private school than you would at an OOS public school. At the most selective ~60-75 private schools, a student with a family income below $30K probably would pay less than $10K (compared to almost $32K at UMCP/OOS) … if s/he is admitted.</p>
<p>Be sure to run the NPC on your own financial data for every school on your short list. If you live in NY, you might get more bang for the buck from a SUNY, or from a private college.</p>
<p>^okay, that was a generalization if you look at ALL public universities but OP is considering two schools … should have written “THESE public universities, like most universities except for UNC-CH and UVA, do not give institutional aid to OOS applicants”, but I figured OP would get my point better with the more direct wording.</p>
<p>Do we know what OP’s budget or EFC is?</p>
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<p>I’ve lived in MD for 30+ years, worked with many UMD-CP grads, and currently have a student attending the university and have never once heard of that reputation. Are you sure you haven’t confused it with UMD-BC? UMD-CP does have a large percentage of out of state students from the northeast and I really doubt that they go home every weekend (my student certainly doesn’t).</p>
<p>I don’t personally think that there is any real academic difference between the two schools overall. The locations are very different so if you want a pretty campus which is near a major urban area (with all the associated opportunities and problems), UMD is the easy choice. If you want a more rural, pretty college town (with the associated pluses and minuses), go with Penn State. If you can’t chose based on that, then base your choice on the better financial deal.</p>
<p>@Joblue, it’s a reputation I hadn’t heard until I got on CC last year. I’ve lived in MD 25 years, and I agree with you. I was seeking to diffuse something I hear about UMD occasionally. Maryland has built a new residence hall for students that opened last year so that more students can stay on campus instead of moving into the CP neighborhood rentals and high-rises. These just-off-campus residences from which students walk and bike are responsible in part for UMD’s rep as a “commuter school”–a twenty minute walk to class. It’s very similar in State College, btw, which I’ve been visiting all my life.</p>