UMBC or UMD-CP for Computer Science/Information Systems (Information Security)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi guys. Trying to decide on where to go after community college.</p>

<p>My overall career goal is to be in the Information Security field.</p>

<p>I am a student at Prince George's Community College in the Information Security program. Downside of this degree is that it is an Associates of Applied Science, which means I won't be able to transfer as well as if I had an Associates of Science.</p>

<p>Most of the jobs I am looking at require at least a Bachelors degree, which is why I am looking at universities. I plan on switching my program to either Computer Science or Information Science.</p>

<p>I want to transfer to either UMBC (Computer Science or Information Systems) or UMD (Computer Science) with a specialization in security.</p>

<p>Which university would be best? Which school gives more financial aid? Which school has better "connections"?</p>

2

<p>For financial aid, you can plug your numbers into each school’s net price calculator to get estimates specific to your situation.</p>

3

<p>Baltimore County is a commuter college and for UMD-CP rejects. College Park is better. I don’t know about financial aid.</p>

4

<p>RAWRRitsEDWINN -</p>

<p>Have you asked the Transfer Advisor and your professors at PG-CC about this? They will have useful ideas for you. The Transfer Advisor will be able to help you determine which credits will transfer to both universities, and should also be able to clue you in to any specific transfer scholarships that you might qualify for.</p>

5

<p>UMD if you can afford it.</p>

6

<p>I do recognize that UM-CP and UM-BC have stronger reputations for Comp. Sci., but you might want to consider UMUC and Towson as well. </p>

<p>UMUC has a bachelor’s in cyber security that might work for you: [Home</a> | Cybersecurity | UMUC](<a href=“http://www.umuc.edu/cybersecurity/]Home”>http://www.umuc.edu/cybersecurity/) </p>

<p>Towson offers a concentration in Computer Security within the Comp. Sci. and Information Sciences department. [Towson</a> University - Department of Computer & Information Science](<a href=“http://www.towson.edu/cosc/undergraduate.asp]Towson”>http://www.towson.edu/cosc/undergraduate.asp)</p>

<p>Happykid and her pals who graduated from MC-Rockville before transferring to Towson have been pretty happy with the financial aid offered there. The Towson Net Price Calculator has been spot-on, and the financial aid office has responded quickly when changes in the family income situation resulted in greater need.</p>

7

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<p>As usual, not even remotely true. Many students have turned down UMD-CP for UMBC. Both are excellent schools for Computer Science, so please don’t let posters who know nothing beyond the USNWR rankings for various schools influence your choice. You should talk with your transfer advisor and visit both schools relevant departments so you will have real information on which to base your decision. I really don’t think you can go wrong with either school.</p>

8

<p>I have talked to advisors and professors. Some say to continue on with the Information Security A.A.S. degree, while others say change to Computer Science.</p>

<p>They say stick with the Information Security because PGCC is the leading institution of the Cyberwatch organization ([Welcome</a> to CyberWatch](<a href=“http://cyberwatchcenter.org/]Welcome”>http://cyberwatchcenter.org/)) and that the courses align with certifications such as A+, Security+, CCNA, etc.</p>

<p>Others say change to CompSci because it is a transferable degree and CompSci is a flexible degree.</p>

<p>I am a little worried about doing CompSci though because of the math. I am good at the science part, but math is what will mess me up. I was good at math all the way through Precal. When I took AP Cal, it was terrible for me.</p>

9

<p>How much Calculus can you get at PG-CC? That’s where I’d recommend you take it. The classes will be smaller and it will be easier for you to get help with it. I took Intro Calc twice at two different colleges and ten years apart. Being older made a huge difference. Well that and doing every single problem in the book over and over and over again until I understood it.</p>

<p>But truth be told, if you can get the certificates you need to walk out of PG-CC and into a job, there is nothing wrong with that either. You can always pick up a college degree later if you need to have one to make a boss happy.</p>

<p>Have you looked at the AAS and AS to see how much overlap there is between the two programs? Maybe a double major would work best for you. It would keep your options open for a bit longer and leave you with the skills to get a decent job while you finish up a BS in Comp Sci.</p>

10

<p>PGCC offers Calculus 1, 2, 3, Linear Algebra and Discrete Structures for CompSci majors. UMBC, UMD, and Towson all want Calculus 1, 2, Linear Algebra, and Discrete Structures.</p>

<p>The Information Security AAS degree program has courses that align with industry certs. I plan on getting the A+, Network+, Security+, CCNA, and CIISP. All that I would be missing for jobs are experience experience experience. I find that it is very hard to get experience such as internships because they mainly ask for Juniors and Seniors.</p>

<p>Yep. I have looked at both the AAS and AS degree. The AAS degree has many more tech courses which begin in the 2nd semester of the program, while the AS degree is many just all general ed classes, with only 3 computer classes, which are Introduction to Programming, CompSci 1, and CompSci 2.</p>

11

<p>It looks like the information security degree is mainly IT-oriented, where you would be using and managing computers. In contrast, computer science focuses on designing computers and their software, and is much more technically oriented.</p>

<p>A computer science graduate will be able to learn the technical parts of an IT job fairly easily; the other direction is more difficult.</p>

<p>Why not follow the pre-transfer curriculum for computer science, while also taking the information security courses of interest in your elective space?</p>

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<p>Never ever believe people that say a tier 2 college is on the same level as tier 1 college.</p>

13

<p>XtremePower - if you think that all major programs at a “tier 1” are better than all major programs at a “tier 2” simply by virtue of being offered by an institution that some magazine ranks as a “tier 1”, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.</p>

14

<p>Is Towson a good school for Computer Science? I heard that Towson was known for their business programs. Haven’t heard anything about the CompSci.</p>

15

<p>I don’t know first hand what Computer Science is like, but based on what some of my friends (at UMCP) are going through, it doesn’t seem to be an easy subject. However, I hear it has a decent job outlook.
Since I went to UMCP I know we have a decent Comp Sci program. It was ranked #14, above harvard and columbia, in 2010. I also know the Comp Sci building is being expanded and is under construction.
In terms of financial aid, I can’t really tell for sure, but I received a decent amount from UMCP. The tuition, w/o aid, there for in-state students was also less than UMBC (which surprised me).
In terms of connections, there are probably more people at UMCP you can talk to about jobs, internships… But i guess the downside to that is you have more competition with more classmates.</p>