My S is accepted to both and has Honors program at UMD. What do you see as key differences, which CS program is stronger - or are they basically the same?
Does he have direct admission to the CS major at each school?
Net price at each?
Yes he has direct admission. UCSD cost more.
I would say UMD is more renowned in terms of CS. But since they both are solid schools, you won’t go wrong with either of them. I recommend you to look at their CS programs and see which one is more appealing to you. I have gotten into 4 schools, one of which is UMD CS, and have chosen to go to UMD after 2 months of contemplation (sorry, I’m a hypocrite). But, honestly, undergraduate schools are mostly the same because rankings are mostly based on grad schools.