UConn (STEM) vs. UMass (Honors) vs. Maryland (Nothing) for Comp. Sci.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Connecticut
1

Hello all! So basically I’ve been admitted into the UConn STEM scholars program which I’m pretty happy about because I hear it is an extremely selective program. I’ve also been admitted to the Commonwealth Honors College at UMass Amherst, and admitted to nothing special at UM College Park. My dilemma is that I would really like to be in an elite and close learning environment like the STEM program, however I know I want to study comp. sci. and the UMass (#20) and UM (#14) comp. sci. programs are ranked much higher than UConn’s comp. sci. program (#84). I don’t know if the STEM program makes up for this, and I don’t quite know if I will be missing out on a better education by going to UConn. I would appreciate any input you guys have into this, thanks!

2

@JoeSweeney83 My daughter (and parents) are trying to decide between Purdue with Honors College and Presidential Scholarship and UCONN STEM Honors and scholarship. She is leaning toward UCONN even though engineering is not ranked as high because of the location in New England where we are from and she is likely to live at some point, and because of the STEM initiatives in Connecticut that seem to be reinforcing the university programs there.

3

Thanks for the reply! It’s very hard to compare honors programs as there are almost no rankings and no statistics to compare them to other programs or schools.

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I agree. For us it is coming down to money to be honest. We make too much to qualify for aid pretty much everywhere, but would find full pay with out of state prices a stretch, and private schools far too expensive. Our daughter’s STEM scholarship was a pleasant surprise.

5

You have some great choices on your hands

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A little late to the game here, but curious as to what you have decided @JoeSweeney83 ? Just toured UCONN yesterday with my hs junior, we both loved the campus and programs. I’m a CT native, but have never seen the campus before. I also have a child at UMASS, loves it. The Comm College has an excellent reputation, often compared to the ivies. Which school, if any, are you in state for?