PSU vs. UMD

<p>My sister wants to apply to ten universities as a business major. She has 11 choices at the moment and wants to remove one. Which one do you think is better, Penn State or the University of Maryland?</p>

<p>I have been debating which business school to choose as well. I would think Maryland would be better because it's by 2 cities so better internships? But it's still a hard decision.</p>

<p>They're pretty much ranked the same, so it should come down to the atmosphere of the school, the students, the location, etc.</p>

<p>UMaryland has a less attractive campus and overall Penn State is probably a better school, but Maryland, IMO, has a better location, being so close to big cities while Penn State is kinda in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.</p>

<p>Penn State is BY FAR a much better school then the University of Maryland.</p>

<p>But their business schools are ranked the same...and you look biased since you live in Pennsylvania lol</p>

<p>The schools as a whole are only ranked 7 spots apart according to USNWR also.. 48 for PSU and 55 for UMD. It's not really "FAR better"</p>

<p>and I'm going to Penn State (fall 06 already accepted).</p>

<p>In terms of business schools, Penn State's Smeal School is very well recognized. The school just poured a ton of money into the program as well. Also, although PSU is not near a major city, when it comes to internships you cannot beat the Penn State network - 1 in every 100 college grads in America graduated from PSU, making it very easy to find internships and jobs in every area imaginable. I didn't believe it until I started meeting Penn State alumns EVERYWHERE - and they're always willing to help you out.</p>

<p>yeah PSU pride is pretty high...so the network is a plus</p>

<p>what other schools is she applying too?(if you dont mind telling)</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback, it's still a tough decision though.</p>

<p>Here are the schools she's applying to:</p>

<p>UVa
UNC
UMich
USC
Indiana University
U of Wisconsin
U of Illinois
PSU
UMD
U of Kansas
Kansas State</p>

<p>Do you think she should keep both UMD and PSU and remove a different university? Our biggest concern at the moment is money because we're both going to college next year and our total family income is about $40,000 (family of 6). Which ones might give her a good financial aid package or merit scholarship?</p>

<p>do you have U of Kansas and KS there for any specific reason</p>

<p>also-Is she applying this year? if so id hurry up and apply to the schools with rolling admissions</p>

<p>We grew up in Kansas so she just chose them as her safeties. And she is applying this year, she's nearly done with all her applications.</p>

<p>Hardly any state schools are going to give you much financial aid as an international. UNC and UVA usually give good packages (especially to low-income people), but I'm not sure if people outside the US can qualify.</p>

<p>You should definitely look into private schools...publics are very stingy when it comes to international financial aid.</p>

<p>PSU and UMD are in completely different settings. UMD resembles the south more and is near DC (about 5-10 minutes away) and Baltimore (15-20 minutes away).</p>

<p>We're not international, we're US citizens. We moved to the UAE 5 years ago.</p>

<p>If she does apply to PSU, make sure she considers the Schreyers Honors College, which is really sweet.</p>

<p>PSU is better than UMD, though I may be biased as well (I'm a Nittany Lions football fan...)</p>