<p>I was recently accepted to both the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and to the Honors College at UMD in College Park. I am going to major in computer science. I was planning on attending UMich over UMD but now that I was accepted to the Honors college I'm reconsidering. Umich is ranked higher, but does the honors program make UMD worth it?</p>
<p>Honors colleges can be a great choice for those attending a larger school. Honors colleges offer valuable perks and let you meet some of the top students at your college. However they are often oversold with glossy pamphlets implying a small LAC has been set up inside the larger university giving an elite private education at the public school price. On this forum you’ll read posters who also say/imply that.</p>
<p>Depending on the program offerings may range from separate honors classes to taking just one honors seminar per semester. And some of the “honors” offerings may just be a special discussion section of the regular class (at many U’s you meet 2-3x a week in a large class with the prof, then everyone meets weekly in a discussion section with a TA). You really need to dig in to find what a particular school offers.</p>
<p>Keep in mind honors programs typically offer the small classes and hand-picked profs only the 1st two years of college. They can do this because doesn’t take that many classes to come up with a set that will meet the lower-division requirements for most majors. It is rare to find more than a token amount of upper-division classes since the honors program simply doesn’t have enough faculty members to create entire major(s). So the last two years most/all classes are taken with the rest of the students in the regular U’s classes. The teaching of the profs will be geared towards the normal U level, the discussions and student involvement in class will be dominated by the regular students, and so on. Class sizes may balloon, too, if you’re in a popular major.</p>
<p>Peer effects are big, too; when almost everyone around you at school is a strong student you have lots of good student to emulate in class or outside it such as doing research or internships. If the top kids are a few hundred strong dispersed among tens of thousands at the U then strong examples may be harder to see. When it comes to finding a job, employers are less likely to send recruiters to a campus with a limited number of honors seniors when they can get a campus-full at more highly regarded schools.</p>
<p>Honors colleges do offer some valuable perks, in addition to the classes. Typical ones include registering for classes before everyone else so you get the classes you want (a perk worth its weight in gold!), special counselors, guaranteed housing, special library privileges. They will mark your diploma with special recognition. </p>
<p>That said, both schools are well regarded publics and the difference in ranking is largely immaterial. If cost is an issue, attend the less expensive one. Otherwise if UMD gives priority in enrolling each term to Honors College students I’d go there. Getting the schedule you want every term at a large public is something not to be discounted!</p>
<p>BTW I looked at UMD College Park Honors website and it seems like the relatively weak offering of a school that says “We need an honors program!”. Lots of nice verbiage on their page about the small atmosphere, yada yada yada, but look at what they really offer. 80 seminars each term, the classic liberal-arts stuff blending a few disciplines together into courses with wonderful titles but little useful content. ‘American Tensions: Searching for the “Real Thing” from Mark Twain to Bob Dylan’ anyone? Or perhaps ‘Ancient Rome in Historical Fiction: Narratives, Sources and Screen Adaptations’? See the entire spring list at [UMD</a> Honors - Current Students - Honors 100](<a href=“http://universityhonors.umd.edu/1301seminars.php]UMD”>http://universityhonors.umd.edu/1301seminars.php)</p>
<p>On top of that they have a small number of courses, almost all lower-division, listed at [Honors</a> College University of Maryland](<a href=“http://www.honors.umd.edu/h_versions_fall_2010.php]Honors”>http://www.honors.umd.edu/h_versions_fall_2010.php). Think about the thousands of courses UMD teaches each term, then look at this list. You’ll quickly understand that most of your classes are not going to be taught thru the honors college. Like most programs, they give you the option of taking a regular class but agreeing to do some extra work (with the prof’s consent). Is that the same as a honors class? You decide.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to malign UMD here. I honestly think there is no academic reason to pick it over or under UofM. The US News relies on a handful of factors and survey responses; it strains belief to suppose their results apply for every student, for every major, or even capture the important factors in undergrad education. But I also think the UMD Honors Program is not anything special, and would not consider it to be much of a factor unless it offers something you want that UofM doesn’t.</p>
<p>bump 10 char</p>
<p>My son faced the same choice several years ago & is happily pursuing an Engineering degree at UMD College Park. Here are a few things that helped him decide: 1) Generous merit $ from UMD which will allow him to graduate debt-free 2) Distance from home & climate 3) Fact that UMich Engineering campus is a bus ride from main campus. Yes, he gave up a touch of prestige and that great sports atmosphere at UMich, but he does not regret his decision.</p>
<p>Really, this is a great dilemma to be faced with. Going to Accepted Students Day at both schools may be helpful. Good luck.</p>
<p>For CS UMD and UM are pretty equal. UM is very expensive so…</p>
<p><a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings</a></p>