<p>I am currently a senior, and have been accepted to both the Rutgers and UMD engineering programs. I am leaning towards UMD, however I was curious of other's opinions on the matter. The cost for Rutgers would be 26k, and UMD would be 38k. Cost is not a huge concern but holds some weight. Which program would you recommend and why? (I know this is the UMD forum, but costs/biases aside what would be the benefits of me attending UMD over Rutgers, and vice versa)</p>
<p>Rutgers has a solid engineering program and is a great school, but I obviously prefer UMD… </p>
<p>There is a big difference in the feel of each campus. Maryland is huge, but self-contained. Rutgers is a little more…fragmented? Not sure how to describe, but I felt the separation between the parts of campus made it feel less cohesive. I would try to plan an overnight on each campus to see where you feel most comfortable. </p>
<p>Let me refer you to another thread where I highlighted some of the positives of UMD engineering, even though the school UMD was compared to was different…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1481313-help-decision-engineering-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1481313-help-decision-engineering-major.html</a></p>
<p>Hope this helps…</p>
<p>As someone who effectively eliminated Rutgers from their list (also in-state)…
Rutgers wasn’t actually THAT much cheaper than UMD for me. Maybe like $4,000 a year, which adds up, but not what you’d expect since one is in-state and another isn’t. UMD was actually more kind with aid, which isn’t how it’s supposed to work, but whatever.
That being said, which engineering are you looking at? UMD has an aerospace major (pretty rare for undergrad), and their ECE and mechanical eng majors are pretty top notch, definitely among the best for publics in the country. I’ve heard that their chemical and biomed eng majors are, while good, not QUITE as good as the others, so maybe Rutgers might hold an advantage there.
So you can have a bit of perspective as to why I prefer UMD, I got into their ACES honors program, and the school is right by Washington DC. Cybersecurity and DC = golden opportunities. That is something Rutgers simply didn’t provide for me. I’m also going into ECE, where, as I mentioned, UMD is amazing. I also just enjoyed the UMD campus a lot more than Rutgers’ campus. UMD had a nicer campus, and it’s slightly warmer, which helps.
This all said, you can’t go wrong with either. UMD may be better, but not by so much that a $10,000+ a year difference is worth it. It’s not. The finances just fell in a way that it worked for me. Rutgers has a wonderful program… I just liked UMD’s more.</p>
<p>@maryversity: After visiting both schools I have felt the same way about the campuses, and thank you for showing me that thread, it has been very helpful!</p>
<p>@FastNeutrino: I am also majoring in Electrical engineering! And I made a mistake with the costs, because for Rutgers that is without the books and misc costs, so it would be more of a 6 to 8k difference (For me it wouldn’t be very significant, considering the various benefits of attending UMD for my major). And I completely agree with the amount of opportunities available in DC. I feel as though I am close to ruling Rutgers off of my list as well, I am just curious about what others think of the program before I do so.</p>
<p>One thing to consider is that Rutgers’ location provides good opportunities at both NYC and Philly. They’re just not as close to Rutgers as DC (or even Baltimore) is to UMD.
Also, the big draw to DC for me is due to the ACES Honors Program. DC is essentially the hub of all things security-related, so that is ideal for such a program. If you’re not in that program, then the fact that it’s DC (as opposed to NYC, for example) isn’t as big of a deal. Unless you want to work something federal, then it is.
Just to play Devils’ Advocate.</p>