Hi everyone. I have received acceptances from Purdue and UMD for Computer Science. I’m an international student.
After doing some research I came to the conclusion that both colleges were similar in terms of the course and cost of attendance. Location wise, I feel like UMD is better because College Park is really close to DC and Baltimore, whereas Purdue isn’t very close to any big cities. UMD seems to be well know for its cybersecurity program, which is something I’m really interested in (at the moment).
I’m not too concerned about the weather or accommodation because those are things I can get used to, but I’d like a little insight into which college is better in terms of:
Internships, Job Opportunities, Research, what people do in the summer
Entertainment - Are there good restaurants, shops, outdoors-y things?
Class size - I prefer smaller classes to bigger ones.
To the best of my knowledge, most people get internships over the summer (some that lead to job offers) and research is done during the school year. However, there are also programs to do paid research over the summer. I think a lot depends on your interest.
The best restaurants and unique shopping is probably found either in DC (a metro ride away) or in Baltimore (a bus ride away). The "good" restaurants need campus tend to be more casual, but def have good food. One of my faves is in Hyattsville (about 10 min south of campus on Rt 1) called Busboys and Poets. Closer to campus (2 min drive), I happen to love Sardi's (Peruvian chicken) or right outside campus on Rt 1 I also enjoy Nando's.
I'm not sure what your question is on professors? There are some amazing ones and some that are meh everywhere. In general though, most profs love when you come to talk to them during their office hours.
Transport to DC is easy - just take a campus bus to the metro station down the road and you're in DC within 10-15 minutes.
My son also looked at Purdue- we visited twice (also Georgia Tech). These were his three top choices for aerospace. In the end, he did not like West Lafayette/Lafayette as we currently live in a large town and he wanted a more metropolitan experience. There is not great public transport there, although they said there is a shuttle to the airports in Chicago and Indianapolis.
Also, you are not direct admitted to Computer Science at Purdue. There is a chance you will not actually get into the major. At UMD, you’re in. You and my son are both out-of-state. That’s a lot of money to gamble on with no guarantee to get into the major of your choice.
The Honors College there is also kind of strange- instead of putting the top students in it, they divide it up by college and THEN assign the top students- so a much smaller percentage of engineering students are in Purdue’s rather than any other college we visited, and my son did not make the cut as his competition was other engineering students, instead of all students. He would have been admitted to the Honors College if he had been, for example, in the College of Education. At Maryland, half of the engineering students are in the Honors program as they tend to be the top students. They don’t discriminate against you for having other smart kids in your college. When my son realized this, it was a big black mark against Purdue.
Finally, Purdue doesn’t get as good of marks from its students on Niche (3.5 stars out of 5), as UMD and Georgia Tech do (both with 4.5 stars). It’s a huge campus and in my opinion, not a lot of effort expended to make the average (or even above-average) kid feel especially valued. YMMV.
I have a junior at Purdue and a freshman at UMD. I pay two out of state tuitions. Neither of their majors were offered at UCONN.
Purdue is a tough school. They are known for having no grade inflation. You will work hard for the grades you get especially if you are in engineering or a science related field.
On the other hand my daughter’s tuition has not gone up for the past three years and will not change for next year either. You are treated very well when you are in honors…first to pick classes and first to pick dorms. There are buses that run to Chicago and Indianapolis everyday.
Both of my daughters really like their school. My daughter at UMD loves the diversity and the location to DC while the one at Purdue loves the fact that people from the mid west are so nice and there is a lot to do on campus.