Which of the two schools has a stronger CS program?
1 Like
Most places I’ve looked at rank UMD higher than UMass Amherst for Computer Science. I know UMD has a very strong program, with particular strengths. However, UMass Amherst is also top 25. I believe UMass Amherst limits enrollment in that major. UMD does not (and will not – even though they are bursting at the seams and struggle to get more faculty and teaching space for them). UMD is bigger overall which could be a plus or a minus.
Are you in-state for either of them?
@crowlady I’m instate for college park
My son is also looking at both, we are in-state for UMD. If he gets into both it won’t be an easy decision though it is possible he won’t apply to CS but some other major like linguistics. I would say you should consider other aspects of the schools, too.
UMD. However, UMass is not too far behind UMD so the difference in strength is almost negligible. I know several people who got accepted into both programs. I’d recommend the cheaper option in this case.
I am debating same but can’t decide on applying because I keep hearing from friends that UMass is like a military school now. Confidential informants, caught with one beer can and you go to court, kids getting kicked out of school. I don’t mind rules but hearing too many “over the top stories”
Those 4-5 stories are not that common and only happen because there are fools who aren’t careful with their liquor. I I’m not going to speak on the informant program, but in terms of other things it’s not that bad. I’ve seen RAs not write-up residents who were speaking to them when drunk. People get away with stuff all the time. The only times it really feels like military camp is when we have strict guest policies for event weekends (Superbowl, Blarney etc.) because people couldn’t handle themselves the first time around.
It’s going to be similar at many schools in terms of rules, even worse at some actually.
Good to hear that. I have been told by at least ten people that police are everywhere on and off campus just looking for kids for minor violations. Seems like it would be a tough environment; even for someone who doesn’t really party. I read about it online too and saw that I can not even be around anyone else who might be drinking. yikes!! Maybe I should stick with College Park.
If anything they’re ignoring the minor violations. The RAs/UMPD have far more important fish to fry and they’re not going to make a deal out of things as long as you’re (a) not causing a disturbance (b) not doing much beyond alcohol and weed for substances. Seriously, it’s not that bad.
Anybody still look at this thread? My son is choosing between these 2 schools. Was admitted into CS major at Umass, (not everyone is) We are in-state for UMD, but he’s not thrilled with UMD since its “home” university. Where did you go and are you happy?
Well since you bumped the thread back to life, there’s a higher chance someone will look at it. First off, congrats to your son on getting in! People with really high stats are not able to get in, so it’s an accomplishment. My choice wound up being RPI vs UMass, and I went with UMass. I love it here and I don’t regret my choice. The department is really strong with some great opportunities. The university beyond the department has a lot to offer and better balance of life vs. work. Feel free to PM me with questions if you have any.
Thanks @Violet1996. We recently attending admitted student day at Umass, they rolled out the red carpet and my son loved it. We are attending UMD admitted day next week, after that my son will make his choice, but right now he is leaning towards Umass.
beaner 89–we were similarly impressed with how well UMass handled accepted student days–extremely well organized. His time at UMass will be over in a few months–flew by!
Just a follow up, we attended admitted student day at UMD, and I was sure my son would still choose Umass since we live in MD and he wanted to go out of state, but he was very impressed with the presentation they gave and he ended up choosing UMD.
@beaner89 That’s interesting – my son also wants to go out of state but will be at UMD for the high school programming competition tomorrow. We haven’t gone to a UMD admitted student day and he has pretty much decided for UMass. I guess I’d like to think that both are excellent choices!
Both are great programs. Why pay out-of-state if you don’t have to. Head-scratcher. I’m a UMass Comp Sci alum and loved the school, but I would imagine UMD is probably very similar. Unless you and he just believe he will thrive more at UMass, go with the lower cost.
@crowlady they are both good for Compsci. UMD is always ranked higher, but not by much. As I said we went to both admitted student days, 1st Umass, son loved it. Then UMD, they gave a very strong presentation for CS, my son made his choice. If your son wanted to check it out they do offer a presentation just for prospective CS kids. We had signed up for it, but the presentation is the same at the admitted day, that’s what they told us. Also, just food for thought, while I was researching both schools for compsci I came across someone who went to UMD for undergrad, but has a Umass.edu email. I emailed him and asked if he wouldn’t mind sharing some light on both schools. Here is what he replied:
I went to UMD for undergraduate (I studied psychology and computer science there) and am a PhD student (in computer science) at UMass now.
Personally, for undergrad I think UMD is vastly superior to UMass, especially for computer science. With in-state tuition the value is incredible and your son will (hopefully) have very little loan obligations. The UMD CS department also has more and better relationships with companies – from a single UMD CS career fair I got interviews with Palantir, Amazon, and a local tech company (that’s since been acquired by a larger player in their vertical). UMD is ranked higher for computer science and has a bigger and more productive department academically (UMass is growing its department but it’ll be a few cycles before it gets to UMD’s level). Finally, if your son is interested in startups at all (if he stays in computer science, he should be, because that’s where the real money is), it’s my impression that UMD has a much better tech transfer office and entrepreneurship resources. Feel free to ask me for more detail in any of the above.
I had a great time at UMD in undergrad and went to UMass because I wanted to work with the professor who’s currently my advisor and the lab he’s affiliated with. At the grad level, this matters a lot more than the surrounding department, and because my advisor is well -networked, I haven’t had trouble getting internships at top-tier companies. But for undergrads, it seems much harder to get top-tier internships and jobs than it is at UMD, and there are a lot more recruiting visits from companies from the Boston area than the standard huge tech companies in silicon valley.
I think the best reasons to go to UMass over UMD is that College Park is an suburban/urban area and Amherst is very remote/rural, and that UMD is somewhat apolitical where UMass and the surrounding colleges are very hyper-progressive, and have much more of a hippy/west-coast vibe than the DC area’s more achievement-oriented focus. Again, feel free to ask me to elaborate on this.
Hope this helps,
- Ted
Good luck to your son where ever he makes his choice!
Thanks @beaner89, and congrats on your son’s decision. I should get that guy’s name from you! My son was impressed by the UMass psychology department (at least at the grad level it ranks higher than UMD). Also, he really would like to get out of the MD/DC bubble and experience another part of the country (and get far enough away from us to be truly independent). Currently he’s more interested in research than industry, and maybe cognitive psychology more than CS but would like to do both. We won’t have to take any loans, thank goodness. While it will be more expensive than UMD he did get a couple of scholarships that definitely help. And it is certainly cheaper than his private university options. Finally, he got spring admission to UMD and is not interested in waiting or doing the Freshman Connection program.
@crowlady if you want Ted’s email I can give it to LOL! Typically a strong grad program filters down to undergrad, with that and all things considered sounds like Umass is a good choice for your son. My son liked it very much as well. Tell your son congrats for getting accepted and best of luck in all his future endeavors!!
OMG the UMASS ranking of 25th in CS is for their GRAD school, not undergrad. The Undergrad program was just given "college " status 2 years ago. Prior to that it was part of the Natural History program. Its amazing the misleading advertising that goes on everywhere.