My son was accepted into UMD college park for the Spring, with the given option of freshman connection. He was also accepted into Penn state university park for the fall. We are torn between the two schools since they are both good universities. My son is interested in aerospace engineering but got in to both schools undecided. Which school would be the better option . Any suggestions?
Are you in state for Maryland?
Yes we are out of state for both schools.
Depends on what you’re looking for. Personally I think College Park gives you more access to internship opportunities and other experiences by it’s location alone. Penn State in my opinion is secluded in the middle of nowhere. You live, eat, and breathe Penn State…seems like it can get old really fast…in my opinion.
Okay, thank you for your suggestion.
I also think that UMD is a better choice because of its location. I know both areas well (I have relatives in State College and live near College Park), and College Park is overall a better place to be. Even though State College is less run-down, it’s fairly difficult to get to and isn’t close to big cities (2.5 hours from Pittsburgh, 4 hours from DC, 4 hours from Philly), and the town itself isn’t very exciting. College Park, on the other hand, has a metro station that can take you to DC, other parts of the area, and an international airport.
In terms of the universities themselves, UMD has a better reputation than Penn State, at least in Maryland. Where I live, a serious student who gets into both schools will probably choose Maryland, even without money as a factor. People I know seem to leave Maryland to go to Penn State to party.
[Disclaimer: I’m going to UMD next year]
Thanks for the advice! My son has been leaning more towards UMD.
Penn State, better network by far! This coming from a student living in MD. Unless he plans on staying in MD for his job, he should really chose Penn. Outside of the DMV, UMD has verrrry little reputation (I have a lot of family away from here). Penn State has a reputation across the country. Much higher ranked too. Its only in MD where people say UMD is better lol
" Its only in MD where people say UMD is better"
Wrong. Just plain wrong.
I’m not in Maryland, Delaware or Virginia, so please don’t presume to speak as to what people are saying about Maryland’s reputation outside of the “DMV” area unless you live there.
Penn State is certainly a very fine school but NOT viewed as a better reputation. Yes Penn State has a helluva network but Maryland has a pretty dang good network also and a far better location given its proximity to the nation’s Capitol.
I won’t disparage Penn State but I can’t remain silent over that ridiculous comment that somehow Maryland doesn’t have an outstanding reputation that is continuing to rise. In fact, it is more difficult (average admission stats) to gain admission to Maryland than to Penn State.
What may be causing confusion is the reference to Penn State as “Penn”…“Penn” is the nickname to reference the University of Pennsylvania which is an Ivy League school. In that case, the reputation of “Penn” (meaning Ivy League) is in fact greater than the reputation of Maryland. As for Penn State, no, it is not far greater.
As for the specific major, aerospace engineering is outstanding at Maryland. There is a wind tunnel and a neutral buoyancy tank (the only university to have one!) on campus. Goddard Space Center is about 10 minutes away from campus in Greenbelt Maryland. Really great resources and opportunities. Admission to Maryland’s engineering is guaranteed if u meet the minimum gateway requirements. I don’t know what the process is at Penn State for admission to engineering.
The question is twofold. 1. Which has the better program for what your son wants to study (literally compare 4 year academic plans for each and look at specific classes side by side). FYI, Maryland is great for cross-disciplinary training. 2. Where does your son feel he would be happiest at - what is the better "fit " overall.
We are from a big city and I just want to make sure my son makes the right decision as to where he wants to go since both universities have different surroundings.
Only he can decide what’s right for him…my son felt it was important for him to be in or at least near a big city. So, Penn State was not even in contention. My daughter doesn’t care about that and did visit/consider Penn State. They are both good schools. The only thing that determines successful outcome is what your son does when he actually attends…making the most of the opportunities the school offers (whichever one he chooses) and performing well in class. So, honestly, he can’t make a “wrong” decision. He just has to figure out where he would be most comfortable/happy - when visiting/walking around which student body did he feel more at home with? Where can he see himself? Which engineering program does he like better? I find that most kids do know the answer long before they are willing to admit it out loud. My friend’s daughter had crossed one school off her list because it didn’t have x y or z but she kept comparing other schools to that one…and guess where she ended up? …They know in their hearts but sometimes they let their heads rationalize why they “should” go elsewhere. She is very happy and doing well! No school is perfect and what’s right for one student is not necessarily what’s right for another. So, in the next few weeks I would try to visit each of the two schools (again) and see where he feels is right …he’ll know. Best of luck!
I was in the exact same situation up until a week ago. I applied to, and was accepted by, both UMD and PSU. Several members of my family have attended PSU, and I spent a lot of time there as a kid (going to football games, and for a project I did for my 4th grade class). I ended up choosing UMD over PSU. While I hadn’t anticipated attending either school (I was shocked not to be accepted to my ED school), but Maryland was always a slight favorite.
For me, it came down to several factors, which may or may not be relevant for your son. The biggest reason that I choose UMD (and why it was my gut-feeling for so long) is the location. I love Washington DC (even though I live ~25min from NYC), so the proximity to DC gave UMD a point.
In my opinion, UMD seems to have better academics, and connections. I attended a invitational session earlier in the fall (a week after visiting a Ivy), and came away beyond impressed. The day-long session gave me a better vibe than the Ivy I had visited just a week earlier. I was beyond impressed with the way that UMD was able to promote it’s image, and ultimately, I came away feeling that UMD was a great institution.
Additionally, the proximity to DC is advantageous for internships. One of the best pieces of advice that I received was to choose a college near somewhere that you want to live. Basically, your internships are likely to be your gateway into employment. Everyone that I’ve ever talked to has said that their first job came as a result of their internship. Therefore, you want to go to a school that has access to great internships. While PSU does have great opportunities for internships (my dad went there, got an internship, and got a job with that company upon graduation), UMD is arguably in a better location for internships. There are more companies in the DMV and Mid-Atlantic than in the middle of Pennsylvania.
Please note that I will be an engineering major, so much of what I said is based on that fact.
Fwiw, Maryland is in top 10 for aerospace engineering…
Thank you so much for all the advice! This has been very helpful as my son is interested in engineering and sees Maryland as a better option academically.
Penn State and UMD are both excellent schools (although UMD does come out ahead on the metrics). The locations could not be more different. Penn State is in the proverbial small town in the middle of nowhere. The closes big cities are 2.5 hrs away (Pittsburgh and Baltimore). UMD is definitely suburban, with elements of urban. Some kids really like the small college town atmosphere and State College is quite nice…but isolated. UMD is part of the large East Coast mega region. There are certainly a lot of opportunities. And as I’ve mentioned before, UMD’s campus is quite nice. It really comes down to best fit for each individual student.
Thank you for all your comments and suggestions! My son has made his choice and is going to UMD :).
Welcome to Terp Nation! 
He’s gonna love it!