<p>These are a few schools my sainted son has interest in,we also did the Boston crawl and he loved BC but it will be a reach as he is a high 80's AP student. Any info on any of these schools? He is hispanic and has outstanding community service, is also involved with baseball and golf. Thanks in advance</p>
<p>U of MD is a really good school. The only thing is that it has a large student body and that can be overwhelming for some ppl. Its also close to DC (about an hour from GWU on the metro) and has a metro stop on campus. Football and basketball are pretty popular. Freshman dorms r kinda gross though bc they dont have air conditioning excpet for la plata, but when ur a sophmore u can live in the courtyards and if u visit the courtyard u'll know what i mean. Kids there r pretty nice, a lot of them go to parties in DC over the weekend. I dont think freshman can have cars but i know sophmores can. Ur son will want one bc maryland is the type of place where u need a car.</p>
<p>Just curious. when ur son visited boston did he visit northeastern????</p>
<p>UConn is the top public university in New England. It accepts around 50% of applicants, while the five other major public universities are in the 70s. It is especially known for its business school (top 20 among publics), Neag School of Education (which includes the world's top gifted education program), dentistry (top public in the country, last I heard), pharmacology, family studies, and -- I kid you not -- puppetry. It's one of the top 25 public research universities.</p>
<p>The campus facilities are incredible. They're undergoing a $2B (yes, billion) renovation and upgrade, and their new science building (I think it's science) is considered by some to be the top in the country. The School of Business now has a branch in downtown Hartford to help students with internships and real-life experience.</p>
<p>The location is fairly rural, but the campus is full of life. It's about 30 minutes from both Hartford and Providence, and about 15-20 minutes away from Manchester and Vernon, northeastern Connecticut's two major commercial areas. The university provides bus transportation all around the state and also to Boston and New York City for students. They do shoreline trips fairly frequently, as well.</p>
<p>The school has a bit of a reputation for partying and drinking, but the fact is, most of the stupidity occurs /off/ campus, not on. (There are several apartment complexes in and around Storrs that cater to students and former students who'd prefer "Animal House" over university housing, if you know what I mean.) As a local who has spent a lot of time on campus growing up, I can tell you it's honestly not as bad as people make it seem. Like with any school, the alcohol's only there if you want it, and the parties aren't neverending.</p>
<p>The baseball team is quite good, though I don't know much about the golf team. Even if he doesn't want to play NCAA, there are lots of intramural teams at UConn that he could get involved with. It's obviously a big sports school, especially with basketball, football, and soccer -- it has the highest national attendance average for both men's and women's soccer, and the teams are usually Final Four contenders -- so he should fit right in if he enjoys athletics.</p>
<p>UConn's really a great school. I absolutely love it, and even though I probably won't end up attending, I always encourage people to check it out. All of my friends who have gone have loved it. The academics are terrific, the student body is diverse and good-spirited, and the facilities can't be beat. It's too bad you didn't tour it when you were in the Boston area!</p>
<p>the schools are pretty similar...large student bodies, some partying going on, suburban (30 minutes from a real city), etc. </p>
<p>what state do you live in?</p>
<p>I've been to both schools, and I don't think they have a similar feel at all. Although UConn has 15,000+ undergrads, it /feels/ smaller, if you know what I mean. It doesn't feel like an LAC, but at the same time, you're going to recognize the people you pass between classes and not feel so lost in the crowd.</p>
<p>UMCP has something like 25,000, and it definitely feels that big. I also got a much bigger "party" impression at Maryland, plus the facilities aren't as nice. They're similar statistically, but not in atmosphere. </p>
<p>If it makes a difference, UConn offers non-need-based financial aid based on minority status, while Maryland does not. Minority status is also considered an "Important" admissions factor at UConn, while it's only "Considered" at Maryland.</p>
<p>I guess it really comes down to programs, and which is stronger in his intended area of study. I do agree with kcirsch that they are pretty comparable otherwise, but like I said, the atmosphere seems to be really different at each school. Definitely two to consider, though.</p>
<p>there is a party feel at Maryland, but i think that minority status is important at that school. Maryland is kinda like a small town within itself and is very diverse.</p>
<p>No, it's not. As I said before, minority status is on the bottom rung of factors they consider, and no non-need-based aid is given for it. Only 58% of freshman at Maryland declared themselves as white/non-Hispanic. 13% said Asian, 12% said black, and 5% said Hispanic. Maryland has no need to actively seek out minority students when they're doing so well with minority admissions as it is.</p>
<p>Although UConn is diverse for a New England school, it's nowhere near those numbers. The last freshman class was 7% Asian, 5% black, 4% Hispanic, and 1% international, with 8% unreported. Minority status is a much more important factor there than at College Park.</p>