<p>Hello, I am 22 years old, and I was accepted into the UMD College Park for the spring semester. Due to being lossed mentally and academically, It has taken me this long to get on the right track in school. Now I am in my first semester of sophomore year at UMUC, University of Maryland University College. I will be a senior next fall. Problem is I feel like I am not 100% getting the best. I want to be great at what I do, and I want to know a lot about my field. Since UMUC is mostly online, I do not get lectures or anything like that. Also, a lot of the topics aren't super in depth, or focused on heavily I feel. I think it is not rigorous, But I do not know if I will still do well after graduating. The school is geared more towards working adults so the semesters are split into two two month parts. The courses are accelerated only lasting two months each. Anyway, I am so conflicted on whether or not to transfer. I am a computer science major and UMD does not take credits from other schools. If I do not test out of the two intro CS courses It will take me 7 semesters to complete my degree. Even if I did test out of the intro courses it would take me atleast 5 semesters. I cannot decide whether or not it is a mistake for me to transfer. Should I continue and finish spring 2016 at UMUC, or should I tranfer and possibly take another 3 or 4 years at UMD just for the sake of competency? I am so torn and time is running out for me.</p>
<p>What is your goal ? If you finish at UMUC, do you have a job lined up?</p>
<p>GuyFarcus, Continue on the path you are now on and graduate on time. It does not pay to transfer and take another 4 years. Online programs are the wave of the future. Don’t think you are missing out on much by being in a traditional classroom. Once you get your undergraduate degree next year, you can always go for a Masters Degree the classroom route. If you want to get great at what you do, the Masters is important. The first step is to get the undergraduate degree and then move on to the Masters which you can do the traditional classroom way. You will then discover that the online program was not as bad as you tend to think. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I do not have a job lined up. My goal is to get a good job and be competent. I do not want to get fired etc or miss out on jobs because my CS knowledge is not thorough.</p>
<p>GuyFarcus, Every job right out of college is usually entry-level where they will train you to do things their way–not the college’s way. You will have enough of an education in CS to successfully talk your way through an interview and will be surprised at how much you actually know. Have confidence in yourself and you will do just fine.</p>
<p>Are there competency exams you can take? If you apply to jobs now, you can get some feedback about what to do.</p>
<p>I cannot help but to feel that is easier said than done. Also UMD is ranked in CS, does that not matter?</p>
<p>So finish up your degree and get a MS in Computer Science at UMD. You started something so stop analyzing so much and just finish it. I have 2 Master Degrees. I just went and did it (one was online and it was harder than the classroom degree.)</p>
<p>I feel like if I do not analyze and make the right choices, employers and other people will analyze and make decisions/ judgments about my future based on the decisions that I have made.</p>
<p>Talk to career services. I bet there is a job waiting for you. Then your employer can help you get a masters.
<a href=“http://www.umuc.edu/students/support/careerservices/”>http://www.umuc.edu/students/support/careerservices/</a></p>
<p>What do you mean by a job waiting for me? </p>
<p>You should be working on you degree and CONFIDENCE. People who believe in themselves are the most successful. Get your degree and do the best you can. In this day and age, there are so many people with the undergraduate degree you need the MS to be competitive. Therefore, worrying about the undergraduate degree and taking another 4 years to do so would be a waste of time and energy. In that period you could get 2 Master Degrees and be the most educated person applying for jobs. Take each step one at a time and you will do great.</p>
<p>But this school has tons of students, a lot of the resources are online. Going to College Park and getting a solid CS degree will probably make me more confident.</p>
<p>They just had a job fair in October. Possible the employers looking for someone like you.</p>
<p>College Park has job fairs too, and more companies go there. Even companies like Google. It seems as though College Park really puts a lot of effort into their CS curriculum.</p>
<p>I understand what you are saying Hippo, I just do not want to screw up, give up, or make a big mistake.</p>
<p>Guy, can you clarify a couple of things? </p>
<p>So far all your courses are through UMUC? And UMCP will give you sophomore standing? What is your standing at UMUC? Are you saying that UMCP wont apply the UMUC intro to CS credits? Wow they don’t even stand up for their own online program, clearly it is inferior.</p>
<p>I think your assessment of UMUC vs UMCP is correct. UMCP is highly regarded in CS, companies recruit regularly from there and you will have a very good shot at a good internship from there as well. Students from UMUC are just not going to have the recruitment, you will have to do it on your own, UMUC is not UMD. Degree completion programs are more valuable for adults who also have work experience. So companies will want to know more about what your actual skillset is. In addition I really think you don’t get the same from an online class as going to college and having peer interaction. In CS you have to work with others, my daughter even had pair programming experience on her resume. You are still college age and if you aren’t working now I think you will get more out of it going to college. You will be able to compare yourself to your classmates in skills and feel you stack up. </p>
<p>But at what cost? You will only graduate early by accelerating the coursework yes? You still need 120 credits. What is the cost difference to you? Are you able to pay for UMCP?</p>
<p>I have accumulated about 21, give or take, credits from a community college. The rest are from UMUC. I have about 70 or 80 credits. UMD took all of my credits, alot of the CS courses were counted as electives. Their website says they do not take CS credits from outside of UMD. All their starting CS courses have prerequisites and since I do not have those credits I have to take those courses. I have to take them in order. This is why it will take so long for me to graduate even though I have like 70-80 some credits. I have to start from the starting CS courses and work my way up semester after semester in order until I get to upper level where I have more choosing. Either way, in order to reach upper level is like 4 or 5 semesters. Currently I work part time at a grocery store. I just started volunteering at a non profit that refurbishes PCs for people in need, but that is all I have. The prices are not too far off from each other. I do not come form an affluent background, but the extended time makes me feel as though my financial aid picture may not be as good anymore in the future. My aid has always been okay, for example, after my aid at College park I am only left with about $500 to pay in tuition (not including books), my fin aid covered the rest. You still take 4 or 5 courses at UMUC but you only take 2 or 3 at a time since the semesters are split, 2 classes first half of semester and 2 or 3 the second half.</p>
<p>If you are already accessing federal financial aid, you need to look into whether you could continue to receive loans or grants if you were to start a new bachelor’s program.
for example
<a href=“https://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#eligibility-time-limit”>https://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#eligibility-time-limit</a></p>
<p>Is this your major?<a href=“http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/bachelors-degrees/computer-science-major.cfm”>http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/bachelors-degrees/computer-science-major.cfm</a>
Did you see that UM offers exemption exams for placement? <a href=“Prospective Students | Undergraduate Computer Science at UMD”>http://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/prospective-cs-students</a></p>
<p>What is your goal, to program? cyber security? network administration? I don’t see where you would go dropping out of UMUC to start a new bachelor’s program at UM College Park.</p>