Penn State vs University of Maryland

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi, everyone! I am currently a sophomore at a Pennsylvania community college. Since the time to transfer is coming up fast, I thought that I would start this thread. </p>

<p>Ever since high school, my two top choice schools have been Penn State and University of Maryland. The two schools are very similar in many respects, which is the cause of why I am so torn between the two. Both schools have exactly what I want when it comes to school size, athletics, party scene, reputation, etc. I will now compare and contrast of the two by giving you the five most important factors (academic reputation, campus, campus life and athletics, party scene, and college town and proximity to big cities) of my Litmus test, as well as add a few miscellaneous items to consider.</p>

<p>Academic Reputation:
Penn State: Penn State is ranked #37 out of all public universities, according to US World and News. Penn State is also very reputable in the Northeast, nationally, and internationally. In addition to Penn State's reputability, there are over 500,000 living alumni (the largest alumni base in the world) willing to help me out once I graduate. My plan is to go to medical school upon graduating, so the quality of their Biochemisty and Molecular Biology program is important to me. Currently, I am not sure where the program ranks when compared to other universities; however, I am sure it fares pretty well given Penn State's overall reputation.</p>

<p>Maryland: Like Penn State, Maryland is highly reputable. Though ranked slightly lower at #62, Maryland is still academically sound. Again, I am ignorant of the quality of Maryland's Biochemistry program. Like Penn State, I am assuming that it ranks well. </p>

<p>Campus:
Penn State: Penn State's campus is HUGE! In September of 2010, I toured its campus, and I was thoroughly impressed. The campus is huge, which is something I look for in potential colleges. It is also located in Happy Valley, which has a beautiful mountain backdrop.</p>

<p>Maryland: Maryland's campus is also huge! When I visited Maryland in June of 2012, I was also impressed. I loved all of the brick buildings with columns. </p>

<p>Campus Life and Athletics:
Penn State: Football dominates campus. The thought of tailgating and getting wasted before a Nittany Lions football game gets me really excited! PSU also has over 900 clubs.</p>

<p>Maryland: Basketball is king at Maryland (from what I've heard). Going to a Terps basketball game sounds exciting. Rioting after the game sounds equally as exciting! :D Maryland has over 700 clubs from the last I've heard.</p>

<p>Party Scene:
Penn State: Penn State was ranked #9 in the latest edition of Princeton Review. Plus, the Greek scene is HUGE! Even though I'll be a junior when I transfer, I still expect to attend frat parties.</p>

<p>Maryland: Maryland was ranked #13 on that list. I'm not sure about the size of Greek life there. </p>

<p>College Towns and Proximity to Big Cities:
Penn State: I will take a second tour of Penn State in August. This will give me the opportunity to look around the town of State College. I have heard, however, that State College is an excellent college town. Now, here comes one of the only downsides about Penn State: IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! I'm from Philadelphia, so I naturally enjoy city life. I do know that Megabus will take me to Philly, however.</p>

<p>Maryland: When I rode through College Park, I saw a lot of development going on. I heard that College Park is a sub-par college town, but I guess that they're trying to turn that around. Even if I dislike College Park, I can ride the Metro into Washington, D.C. This is a HUGE plus to me. UMD is also close to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, so I can make trips to and from Philly on occasion. </p>

<p>Miscellaneous:
Penn State: Penn State is the largest school on my list. It is also the only in-state school that I have.</p>

<p>Maryland: I will receive a RENT FREE apartment if I attend Maryland. This apartment will be in the Mazza Grandmarc, which is owned by Campus Apartments. When I was in high school just a year ago, I had been a member of a group sponsored by Wells Fargo who's aim was to get kids from at-risk neighborhoods to seek higher education. Somehow, they brokered this very awesome deal!</p>

<p>Out of these two schools, which one seems like the better choice based on my interests? I definitely have the stats to get into either one. No matter which one I choose, I'll know that I have made the right choice.</p>

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<p>Apply to both and see how it goes! You can then compare the schools financially and see if that plays an impact on your decision. From what I know, there’s ALOT to do on campus at PS so you’ll never be bored. It seems like you’d be a good fit there or at Maryland, so you can’t go wrong</p>

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<p>I agree. Apply to both. UMD does offer access to DC and internships there, including NIH. UMD is just 2 stops from Union Station on the Camden MARC line… UMD is now a member of the Big 10 and there is a lot of school spirit. As for Greek life. 20% of the students are part of that. This info is from an Orientation Session we attended Monday.</p>

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<p>Seems you are more concerned about the party scene than academics.
Highly doubtful you make med school. Then again, maybe that is why you went to a community college to begin with instead of a PSU branch.</p>

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<p>@TomsRiverParent Actually, I attended community college mainly because of finances. My mom is a single mother who is trying to raise three children, excluding me (though she does support me financially). My community college was offering me over $3,000 in scholarships in addition to the over $3,000 in financial aid that I received. My community college also offered me admission into its honors program. This translated into an opportunity to attend college, complete with a dorm (my community college is the only CC in Pennsylvania to offer dorms) and meal plan, for less than $3,200 per semester. I believe that I have made the right decision in attending community college. Additionally, my GPA is actually competitive for medical school. My cumulative GPA is 3.60, with my science GPA around a 3.5 (Three As and one C) and my honors GPA at a 4.0 (three As in all honors courses I have taken). Finally, I am not more concerned with the party scene, but it is important to me. I know from experience that I will need an outlet for my frustrations. Nevertheless, studying takes precedent over whatever party may be happening at either school. </p>

<p>I am highly doubtful that your assumption will be correct when 2017 rolls around. My attendance of community college has no bearing on whether or not I will attend medical school. The party scene is secondary to me as well. Then again, I guess that we will see who is right when I take the MCAT in the fall/winter of 2015 or the spring of 2016. </p>

<p>@SoofDad Thank you for this information! I will take that into account since I am considering going Greek when I transfer,</p>

<p>@shawnspencer You have a great point there! I will certainly apply to both and see what happens. From what I know, UMD gives out more aid than Penn State; however, I am OOS, so I don’t know if I will receive a significant amount of need-based aid. That won’t stop me from applying, however. </p>

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<p>What I agree with TomsRiverParent. You need a really good GPA and MCAT scores to get into Med School. And Med School is not party time. Can you make the commitment needed to achieve your goals/</p>

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<p>@FutureDoctor31‌
Pretty presumptuous with your name.
If you did well in HS (high gpa and high sat) you could have gotten a free ride based upon merit and need to a good college.
Your Community College gpa is not impressive btw for someone who wants to go to med school.
You attending a CC instead of a 4yr college has a huge bearing on whether you get into a med school. Basically, you better have a backup plan.</p>

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<p>Hmm</p>

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<p>TomsRiverParent: unfortunately, Pennsylvania is VERY stingy with merit aid (the top scholars get $4,000, that’s IT, for 32K instate…) So OP did well attending a community college for such low costs since keeping debt to the lowest possible level is important for premeds. A school like Penn State Abington or Beaver really isn’t anything but a glorified community college anyway, except much costlier and without dorms so OP made the right choice there.</p>

<p>I agree community college classes aren’t well-regarded by med schools but FutureDoctor seems to have done only 1 year there and is then transferring (in the Spring?), which isn’t going to have major bearing upon his/her class list. In particular, OP is likely to take Orgo at either Penn State or UMD so s/he should be fine.
Hopefully OP is also beefing up his/her transcript with a summer class outside the community college, perhaps a branch campus? </p>

<p>However, FutureDoctor, a 3.5 science GPA from community college will not cut it for med school, so I’d forget about Greek Life while at university because it’s a major commitment that is not easily compatible with transferring, maintaining a high GPA, and preparing for med school.</p>

<p>To answer your direct question: apply to both and choose the cheapest cost of attendance.
Do you have free housing at Penn State too, or only UMD?
Penn State in-state is likely to be cheaper, even with housing to pay for, but apply to both, as well as to Penn State Behrend (Erie) since it’s strong in the sciences.</p>

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<p>@FutureDoctor3 - Now, I remember you from the UMD thread last year. I know that you are dedicated to your goals. Think hard about joining Greek life, cause you really do need a good GPA, as well as LORs and MCATs to get into Med School. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Take a look at Common Data Sets of the two. Maryland has much higher admissions standards for freshman. The reason Penn State ranks high on USNWR rankings is that it greatly over-performs in the area of graduation rates for its less-than-stellar calibre students. </p>

<p>Maryland is the more academically challenging school by far.</p>

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<p>@TomsRiverParent I am sorry for the way that I responded earlier yesterday. I was thinking about what you said throughout the day, and you are right: the party scene should not be as significant as a factor as I am propping it up to be. You were trying to be stern and honest with me (which I do appreciate), and my response was totally uncalled for. </p>

<p>P.S. I was actually accepted into Penn State-Altoona. Indiana University of Pennsylvania also sent me a letter in which an application for a full ride was enclosed. I forgot to apply, however (how dumb of me!). I was also going to apply to other schools where I knew that I would receive an acceptance letter; however, my minimum wage job at Kohl’s simply didn’t provide me with enough money for all of those application fees. Additionally, I am a first generation college student, so there were communication issues over how and where to apply (even though I wanted to go to a large university, my mom was pushing hard for me to go to community college for my first two years).</p>

<p>@MYOS1634 This is exactly how I felt! I live in Delaware County, so the two closest PSU branches were Brandywine and Abington. Last semester, I paid a little over $3,200 for tuition and fees, and room (it’s the only CC in PA that has dorms) and board. It will be even less this semester as I am now an RA in the dorms, my scholarship has been renewed, and my state and federal aid has slightly increased. Financially, it made more sense to attend community college than to attend a branch that would cost me at least $6,000 more with aid included. </p>

<p>I know that a 3.5 is a bad science GPA. I attained a 3.94 GPA during my first semester with a 4.00 science GPA; however, my science GPA took a hit because I earned a C in General Chemistry II (I take full responsibility for that). I have As in Gen Chem I, Bio I, and Bio II, but that C really brought it down. For this upcoming semester, I will be taking Organic Chemistry I and Calculus-based Physics as science courses. I will also be taking Calculus II and Honors Speech Communication (with the completion of this course, I will graduate with honors). I will work hard this semester to bring both my cumulative GPA and science GPA up to par. I will also heed your advice on not joining Greek Life. Sometimes, I attempt to bite off more than I can chew.</p>

<p>Finally, Penn State is not offering me free housing. The only other schools I will apply to with free housing are University of Georgia and University of Arizona. I will, however, still apply to Penn State. I will also check out Penn State-Behrend and see what I think of it. </p>

<p>@SoofDad Thank you for believing in me. I am a product of the statistically worst school district in Pennsylvania; however, I don’t use that as an excuse for my shortcomings. Instead, I use it as inspiration to carry on and achieve whatever goals I set. With that said, my GPA takes priority over my social life. If that means backing away from the party life and Greek scene, then I will do just that in order to remain competitive for medical school!</p>

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<p>Work your hardest to get A’s in all 4 courses you listed. </p>

<p>Remember that many Greek parties are open to non-Greeks :)</p>

<p>Apply to both Maryland and Penn State, and since you have free housing look into UGA and AU - UGA has a good honors program, see if transfers can qualify. Even if you don’t, ask under what conditions transfers can participate in CURO.
You can’t qualify for Shreyer if you only have 4 semesters to go, ie., you’d have to be admitted to Penn State Spring 2015 and apply to Shreyer at the end of the Spring in order to qualify.
If you’re a woman, apply to Bryn Mawr.</p>

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<p>FD has identified himself as a male in other threads, so I think acceptance to Bryn Mawr is unlikely :slight_smile: But what MYOS 's good advice is to consider any opportunity to attend a college that might be a fit for you. </p>

<p>FD, the concern over which one to choose is premature. Once you apply, the choice is restricted by two circumstances- where you get accepted and where you can afford. </p>

<p>When finances are an issue, this influences choice in a large way. Getting accepted anywhere doesn’t help if the cost is out of reach. Getting a good financial aid opportunity is a gift- no matter what that college is.
Financial assistance is limited for transfer students in general, so being open to many possibilities can increase your options. Some of these possibilities are women’s colleges (for females ), HBCU’s, religious colleges for someone interested in that experience, and more. At the moment you are focusing on popular state schools, and yet, opportunities might lie somewhere else. </p>

<p>In general, states take care of their own with scholarships for transfers. Besides Penn State, there might be other branches that might award decent financial aid to community college transfer students. Since you can live at Campus Apartments, look at where they are and apply to opportunities that are in driving distance to several of them. There are several in PA and many other states. </p>

<p>Your focus is a good thing because it will keep you on track for your goals, so keep them but also look beyond them. You don’t have to give up your dream to expand your possibility- especially when you need financial aid. Apply to Penn State, and UMD, and your other schools - and add schools that might work for you financially- the branches of PA State Schools, and others. Then, don’t choose now. Wait for your results to come in and look at the numbers. Then you will know what your choices are. </p>

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<p>I want to commend the OP for his mature responses to some of the criticism he’s received. That humility will serve you well in college and life.</p>

<p>The quality of their undergraduate bio programs is good enough. Which is better matters little to med schools. You’ll get a good education at either if you work your butt off. I agree it’s early to “make a decision,” but, based on what I know, the decision is easy: PSU in-state is about 34K and UMD OOS is 43K minus room fees. UMD will come out as more expensive than PSU by about 20K over four years. That is 20K more than the debt, OP, that you will already have accumulated by paying the baseline 34K for four years.</p>

<p>OP, you’ve been reasonable and frugal to this point and have shown some ability to delay gratification. Medical school, assuming you get in and a lot of other things, is very expensive. Most CCers will tell you to save your debt dollars for medical school and go undergrad as debt-free as you can. </p>

<p>Stay away from the frats and parties and grind out these last 2 or 3 years to your B.S. You’ve already done enough partying to realize it ain’t no big thing. You can get the same endorphins by helping a physician in the ER or acing an orgo exam. Make a commitment. If you do, you’ll rarely miss all those frat parties.</p>

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<p>You can reserve “party time” as a reward for good grades on assignments and exams. I’d still, though, limit that to one night on the weekend (Fri or Sat night, not both), max.</p>

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<p>I agree with jkeil911 in that FD has shown a lot of maturity through his posts. I think the decision to attend a CC was a good one- both fiscally and that he has done well there. I also understand that as mature as FD is, he has the perspective of a college student and that he does want to experience some of the same college fun as his peers have, but I think he is willing to put that into perspective.</p>

<p>I, on the other hand, see things from the point of view of the parent who pays those college bills. I get a bit worried when I see a young person with an eye on an expensive state- and OOS college and financial need because I know that these colleges don’t meet full need. Our public school system is open to all up to grade 12, but then the situation changes. All good students don’t necessarily get to go to any college they like- especially if they can’t afford them. So while I encourage FD to apply to the schools he likes, I also take the path of caution and ask him to consider expanding his applications to include less costly options.</p>

<p>Schools like UMD are huge, and process many applications. FD is going to be one of many, and it would be hard for him to stand out among all those well qualified applicants. I’m not familiar with the PA schools, but I noticed that there is a Campus Apartment in Blooomsburg, so I clicked on the college and took a look. Bloomsburg is not a big star like Penn State, and so I doubt it is as popular, nor is it likely to be as appealing to FD as his other choices. However, the tuition is lower, there may be FA for in state students, and if FD is at the top of the applicant pool, he might get some merit aid, and he has his apartment covered. If you add this up, it could be an affordable choice. It could even be a more supportive choice and being smaller, FD could be a big fish in a smaller pond. With med school in mind, this might be an advantage. </p>

<p>FD, an application isn’t a commitment, but it opens up a door. Find as many affordable choices, and apply to them, even if you are not interested now- because when you see the final acceptances and financial aid awards, any one of them could be an opportunity. Then you can make a choice with the information you have. </p>