I’m not sure how we get a “discount” by paying the market rate (no merit here) but we sure do get a very reasonable cost compared to some other state flagships (even for their in-state students). OOS tuition is very high in most instances. Even with the high levels of merit my son received at OOS colleges, nothing could touch the value of UMD. It really is a great value for in-state families. Most state flagships are much more affordable for in-state families.
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The “sticker price” / market rate for in-state is in fact a discount. The actual cost to UMD exceeds what they’re charging for in-state tuition. The deficit is made up via state appropriations, federal grants, OOS tuition, etc.
Overall, it’s a very good deal for in state students.
Not unlike many other universities out there. It’s a common practice for states to subsidize the cost of colleges for in-state students. Marylanders pay a lot in taxes and much of that money is used to benefit our citizens. It’s absolutely a good deal for in-state students just as many flagship universities across the country are in similar ways. If you look at the chart below, Maryland citizens provide a substantial portion of funding for UMD. It makes sense that UMD tuition is reasonable for in-state students. It’s also not shocking that OOS tuition is so much more, just as it is at most of the universities around the country.
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My son was offered honors college but no merit. I was a little surprised, but I guess that’s how it goes. It is still a VERY affordable and good option for him since we are in state and he will be a Government and Politics major. Can’t beat the location near DC- for the price. Of course actually being IN DC would be closer, but GW is not affordable for us, nor is Georgetown, and he didn’t really like American. So we are pleased with the outcome. I wonder if UMD looks at the students, and tries to figure out which higher stat students are less likely to come to UMD without a scholarship, and offers to those students? We already have a daughter that is graduating this year from UMD who didn’t get any merit (we were actually surprised she even got into UMD- so we were just grateful she did), so they probably know we are likely to send another one there. It’s a mystery that only UMD knows, for sure!
Yes, that’s typically how it works at colleges that offer merit scholarships. Although called “scholarships” - they are in reality discounts to make the college more financially attractive. If they believe an accepted student is already very likely to enroll they are less likely to offer a merit scholarship. I’m speaking in general, not specifically about UMD, but I expect they are in the same bucket.
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I believe in looking at the numbers. Last year, UMD had about 17,700 In-State applications and about 32,700 OOS applications.
UMD admitted about 8,100 IS students and about 13,400 OOS students, so proportionately, there would be more OOS students getting scholarships than IS students.
I know that this is a simplistic analysis, but numbers do have an impact.
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Just out of curiosity, how do you know the highest Presidential for in-state students is $8k?
Ok…any thoughts on direct vs not direct admit to CS? My OOS kid was not a direct admit to CS but got a big scholarship, invite to FIRE, no Honors invite, big SAT (800 math), but no BC Calc.
I’ve personally let it go (no direct admit to CS) - I think its super random and a bit off-putting but seems to make no difference.
Does anyone know if UMD has a facebook group for admitted students/parents? Purdue does and its super helpful.
Thank you - though it looks like this is for committed and we are still unsure.
Are there parent or student groups on any other platform? Asking because I don’t have a Facebook account and don’t intend to create one. Also, I think kids prefer Discord, etc. over FB.
I understand if there isn’t anything other than FB, but wanted to check.
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My son recently joined FB just to join the admitted student groups.
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The schedule for in-person admitted students days wouldn’t work for us - so we are visiting the campus and take our own tour. S22 would be in Clark Engineering. Would you have some suggestions how to make the most of it?
I agree that the determination of who gets direct admit into CS is somewhat random. I do not think the school has enough CS advisors to scrutinize each individual application and that they essentially "punt’ on a lot of the applications. Also it does seem like a higher percentage of OOS CS applicants are not directly admitted although this could be more due to the number of each set of applications. Also, as an aside, one of the CS advisors who is directly involved in these decisions is a member of the 2026 Parents Facebook page (and the main parents FB page) and has been answering CS related questions. Of course no one has directly asked her why the CS department application process seems to be so random!
Yes- University of Maryland Class of 2026
When my oldest was awarded the President’s Scholarship, we were told that $8k was the largest in-state amount. I suppose that the amount could have changed by now, but I don’t think that I’ve seen anybody in-state receive any amount larger than $8k for the President’s.
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I see, thanks for the response!
I would contact the engineering school to see if they can connect you with a current student who could meet up with you when you visit. The most helpful information comes from current students. For example, when my son was a perspective engineering student, we were advised that he should take Calculus 2 at our community college because Calc. 2 at UMD is a weed-out class that often discourages very smart kids from continuing on in engineering. We took that advice and never looked back. That came from Honors engineering students. Very very helpful!
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