<p>Hi all. So I'm having a bit of trouble making my decision between these two...well my mom is having some trouble and I need some firing power to convince her to let me go to UNC lol</p>
<p>UMD is Instate btw.</p>
<p>So why is UNC better than UMD? Is it that much better? My mom thinks that UNC is not good enough to warrant attending there over my instate school.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses :) I'll try to answer your questions as well!</p>
<p>Sit down with your mom and run the numbers: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>
<p>I cannot think of a single program at UNC that is enough better than the program at UMC that the difference in cost is justified for a MD resident. Maybe for your specific major the difference is justified. If so, there should be plenty of evidence available to you.</p>
<p>What’s your major?</p>
<p>I’m undecided. I’m looking at political science, psychology, environmental studies, global studies, or business. I’m all over the place lol</p>
<p>surfwakesnow165 -</p>
<p>If you are undecided, there really is no reason to spend the money just so you can go a bit farther away from home. Sorry. I’m voting with your mom on this one.</p>
<p>Buy a Terps sweatshirt, take your general ed classes at UMCP, and think about transferring to UNC or elsewhere once you know what your major is, and after you have determined which college/university would be a better place to complete it at.</p>
<p>Well im actually a transfer student, entering as a sophomore… I haven’t heard about financial aid yet and will be able to make a more informed decision then. My guess is that I will get loans at umd because that’s I got last year and hopefully a combination og grant/loans/work study at unc. The reason I want to go to unc is that I get on campus housing whereas at umd I will not and feel that it will be more difficult to meet people and make me more likely to depend on hs friends who are already there. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 using CC App</p>
<p>surfwakesnow165- </p>
<p>I have a college degree from UNC-CH and received my Master’s degree at UMCP, so I can probably provide some thoughts on your problem.</p>
<p>I understand you’d like to go further away from home just to see what’s it’s like to live in a different area of the country, but I would also agree with Happymomof1 that it really doesn’t make sense to spend extra money without knowing exactly what your career goals are. If finances are a big issue in your family, it is not advisable to graduate from college with a lot of student loan debt. </p>
<p>Like Maryland, UNC has a beautiful campus. The undergraduate population is a little smaller than UMD. The cost of living is a little lower than the DC area…but I don’t think it’s worth an extra $15K per year for an OOS student. </p>
<p>The atmosphere at UNC is a little more conservative than in DC (this is the Bible belt . . . ) . </p>
<p>I believe UNC only guarantees housing for the freshman year. I remember in my sophomore year I had to participate in a lottery to get back into student housing. My roommate and I tried to get into the same dorm. We applied separately - I got in, she did not and had to move off-campus. Based on this experience, I would not say housing would be guaranteed all four years at UNC.</p>
<p>It looks like you’ll be majoring in some field in the liberal arts (if not business), so you might also want to consider where you want to live and work after college graduation or after graduate school. Washington DC is a great place to find employment for liberal arts majors because in addition to nonprofits and private industry, the federal government is a major employer here. In central North Carolina where UNC is located, private industry centers on scientific research, the state government and some manufacturing. You would need to be really aggressive and work with UNC’s Career Placement office to secure job interviews.</p>
<p>Enjoy your trip to Chapel Hill in May. PM me if you have questions.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. </p>
<p>Happymom - sorry if it seems like im resisiting your advice. Your suggestions are very logical and do make the most sense. </p>
<p>Id- that does make sense about the dc area being better able to provide jobs/internships. I know that umd is really good and was satisfied going there prior to my unc acceptance. As for housing, i think it may be different now as everyone I have talked to says it is relatively easy to live on campus. I guess I will decide once fa is availabe, although I do not think it would be an undue burden for my parents to go to unc…</p>
<p>Also should my number of credits transferring play a role in my decison? At umd some of them are not and I may have to take an extra semester or year to graduate whereas at UNC many of them are and I have more ap credits there to get me out of gen eds.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 using CC App</p>
<p>If there are more transferable credits from UNC, you should let your parents know that. Do a spreadsheet that lists the COA (cost of attendence) of both school for each year - sophomore through senior - so you and they can see the numbers.</p>
<p>In the end, you’ll probably have to go with your “gut” feeling of which school will be a better “fit”.</p>
<p>Yeah I think in the end ill be able to make the decision about what is best for me, but I still want to take into account my parents finances as well</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 using CC App</p>