I know that it is 4 years total wit 2 co ops. Meaning I won’t be spending 4 years of classes, as two of the semesters are co ops.
That makes more sense. The way I read it, you were thinking that you had one year (of the four) where you wouldn’t need to pay tuition.
Run the numbers here, and see how much difference there is after your aid packages. And do remember, there is no reason why you couldn’t arrange co-op experiences while you are at Pitt if you do end up there. http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
So I was reading some reviews of Maryland. I personally liked it there, but when I read reviews of it from students, most of them seemed to have patterns. One, for instance, says that the student body there is arrogant, close-minded, and snooty. A lot also say they care too much about partying and the like and never actually care about their work. The professors were said to not budge on grades no matter the circumstances and say they dont care about the students as individuals. Finally, they say the work is insane and impossible to pull good grades, despite paying attention, doing the work, and most everything else like that. Not all the reviews were like this, but a lot had the same things, and not just similar, but the same. It is ideal for me in so many ways, because it is closer than my other schools, warmer, better rankings, own campus, and a lot of green space. However, it is more expensive, and these reviews are not so comforting…
OK so I am going to lay out some info about the schools for me. price of Pitt for what my parents have to cosign for will most likely be about 16,000 a year. This is including money given and other scholarships added in. UMD is about 26,000. When it comes to rankings and supposed quality of education (not from students) UMD beats Pitt by quite a bit. However, the student reviews of UMD on studentreviews.com were not so positive. There were some positive ones, but for the most part, they had a common theme in the negative ones. I will give comparisons in each part for both schools. There are more positive reviews for pitt than negative, and more negative than positive for UMD.
I liked Pitt and the people there seemed friendly and helpful, although it seemed the same at UMD, but that is just from a visit. The campus was part of the city, but accessible. The buildings were cool and fascinating as they look like they came out of Harry Potter. The academics there seemed solid, but not eye-popping. They did seems to focus there more on helping the students and teachers seemed inclined to assist. They do have co ops there, but I have not heard good or bad from them. They seem to be quality, but not outstanding. Dorms there are nice no matter where you live, but I would be in a suite freshman year through the honors college as well. There seems to be a lot of food options within the school and in nearby city eateries. Negative reviews of Pitt were often about the feel of the city of buildings, which I liked. Some say the classes are too easy or are not hard to get an A. Others say it is challenging. One review was for my major and said it did not teach some of the newer computer languages and just taught mostly concepts rather than the engineering part, although that was the only review of the major I could find. What I like is that is not overwhelmingly huge and is most professors seem student oriented and caring.
Now to UMD. When I went, the campus seemed big and intimidating at first, but once I got to know my way around a bit, it did not seem so bad. I like how it was its own campus, since I grew up in rural/suburban environments all of my life, It had a very green and beautiful campus. Its known for academic excellence, but a lot of student reviews don’t seem to agree. It seemed like they had very updated and advanced labs and were doing a lot of cool things there. My tour guides were saying that the teachers do care about the students and provide aid, but most, again do not agree, and most entry classes are around 200-300 people, but major specific classes have around 20. I was impressed with the engineering, but they are supposed to sell it and it may not be quite as it seems. They did keep saying that engineering was hard but didn’t quite say why. The reviews say the work was absurd and unfair. It is closer to home and warmer (I hate the cold), but more expensive. Here is the thing that keeps me going for the school. Almost every positive review is along the lines of “I don’t know why there are so many negative reviews for this school” and they say that you can easily not just be a number by trying not to be. They also say it is hard, but just basically that they don’t baby you.
There is probably more I could think of but I dont want to write too much in one post (sorry). If you have any questions regarding any specific parts of the school for me I would be happy to answer,
Most reviews usually aren’t comforting. if you use something like StudentsReview.com, you’re bound to come across a lot of negative reviews. I found that ■■■■■■■■■ had a balanced yet more positive amount of reviews. Check out ■■■■■■■■■ for a less gloomy perspective.
Also, for anything regarding courses and curriculum (aka the computer language/concept crisis) check the official website for the course catalog and/or ask around here! You’re bound to receive clearer information.
As others have said, run the numbers and see how it clashes with what your parents can comfortably afford.
((Apologies for any asterisks…I didn’t originally use the .com! Didn’t know that names of those websites were crossed out by CC. Any reason? If someone can clarify why, please PM me.)
OK so using the calculator given, I imputed the info the best I could. Not sure what the difference is between direct cost and out-of-pocket cost. I included both.
UMD Pitt
Out-of-Pocket Cost (COA - Gift Aid) $31,499 $14,423
Direct Costs - Gift Aid $24,128 $13,523
@TimS3434 - Last year my D was deciding where to go. She was accepted at both Pitt and UMD, and several other schools. I read the same reviews you did and I didn’t give them much credibility. My D is a freshman at UMD now and has not experienced the problems I read about in the reviews. She has in fact had some grades corrected upwards when she pointed out some errors in grading.
If you are majoring in computer engineering, then you must have been accepted into the Clark School of Engineering at UMD. In my opinion, this is more of an accomplishment than getting into Pitt Honors. My D is in UMD Honors and it is far better than Pitt honors, although, in general. the dorms at Pitt are a bit better.
Engineering is hard because it is hard. Nothing high school really prepares you for the rigors and discipline of engineering. You have to learn new concepts and principles and apply to your class work.
I’ve worked in software/system engineering in the DC area for a couple decades and I can tell you that UMD grads are highly regarded. Just about every major computer engineering company you can think of, has facilities in this area. Plus all the major Government organizations - DOD, NSA, DHS, CIA. FBI, etc.
I believe you will get a better computer engineering education at UMD, but you will also get a good education at Pitt (it is a great school too).
Normally, I would advise the lowest cost option. Here I am not so sure.
Good Luck
OP, go with UMD for Engg. or CS. Pitt is renowned for its Health Sciences streams (Med, Nursing, Pharmacy, etc). My D1 attends Pitt Med, she did her undergrad at Pitt as well. My D2, who is a Freshman at GTech, applied to Pitt for ChemE only as a safety.
Pitt provides a wonderful college experience, along with easy access to Pittsburgh’s “social happening” areas like the South Side. The weather is rather gloomy and chilly for most of the school year though.
That is what I believe too about UMD. I believe it is better in engineering and I do love the school. The last question I have is about loans. My parents do not have a lot to contribute towards college. What they are unsure of is if we will be able to get the loans needed to go to UMD. We know just getting some types of loans is likely, but will we be able to get enough from loans they do not have to pay back immediately? If we get the loans and they do not have to be paid until after graduation, then it will work out fine. Does anyone know the likelihood we do/don’t get enough of the right loans? The cost per year is likely to be 25,500 a year if I receive a scholarship that I am a finalist for and my interview went extremely well for. It is highly likely I will get it, but, without it, the cost would be able 33,000 a year. I am also a finalist for another scholarship that everyone gets something, just how much is still up in the air. That will at least drop it more. There are also over 500 engineering scholarships at the school for sophompores, juniors, and seniors each year that I could apply to to lower my cost. I also hope to become a dorm hall person (forget the actual name for it, sorry) and that would cover room and board if I get it. Co oping also has me not pay tuition during the time I am out on a co op. So there are tons of ways to lower my costs. How likely is it we won’t get the loans needed and is it a good idea to commit to both schools and see what we can get? Like if we get enough for UMD then forfeit the enrollment deposit for Pitt?
OK so it’s official. after long consideration and advice, I have committed to the University of Maryland! Thank you all for your help!
Congratulations!