<p>I've narrowed my choices down from PSU, Lehigh, UDel, UMD, and VT. Accepted into both VT's and UMD's engineering colleges. Parent's work for Hopkins and APL so i was able to get a Hopkins 50% and 15k scholarship for either school for 4 years. I've heard VT has a better engineering program although Maryland has a better overall ranking. Visited VT and absolutely loved it. Visited UMD today and it's catching up. Any suggestions based on rank, prestige, and the school in general?</p>
<p>....pretend i'm an OOS because i don't have a problem with the distance or tuition.</p>
<p>How important is living near an awesome city (i.e. DC)? I don't know anything about the engineering colleges at either school. Being able to take the metro into DC would flip the scales to UMD's favor in my mind.</p>
<p>i have visited both and d got in to UMDCP, tho didn't accept. she has friends there, tho. VT wasn't for her and didn't have her major. VT is highly known for its engineering. i really don't know about that at UMDCP. they are known more for business, i think. as far as location, this is up to what you want. we saw VT in the fall...incredible natural beauty and the Shenandoahs. best food on a campus i've seen.( even a carving station!) BUT ISOLATED little town. UMDCP is a large very lovely campus in a crumby town. ( see posts on CC talking about College Park). it's a fairly long but doable(especially on a weekend) metro ride to DC. hope this helps. good luck!</p>
<p>Maryland's Engineering school is consistently ranked very highly in the nation.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech is a really good school....i would go with them...and theyre cheaper</p>
<p>vt engineering is definitely better than md's...i mean it is a tech school...really pretty campus/good area</p>
<p>Both engineering programs are very good so you really have to consider the specific department that you'll be in. UMD is strong in mechanical and electrical engineering but weaker in chemical and bioengineering.</p>
<p>thanks guys...lookin at CEE (civil/environmental)....yea i love VT campus and whole feel...i was just curious because i thought UMD was more selective with only 600 freshman engineers vs VT's couple thousand</p>
<p>UMD school of Engineering is a beautiful new building, but not all of engineering is in that awesome building. I suggest you look much closer at the departments you are interested in and see if you like what is going on (internships, lectures, research, etc.). The UMDCollege Park has an excellent web site where you can get a lot of info. If you were accepted into the honors program at UMD College Park, the housing is very nice with free tutoring. The main thing about UMD, is it tends to be easier to get great internships with federal agencies. I don't know what kind of internships you can get at VT.</p>