University of Maryland-Smith v. University of Michigan-Ross(maybe)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
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<p>I would like to begin by saying that I have been following the discussions on CC for over a year, but I never joined until now. I have gotten so much helpful information (especially from Maryversity and Terpmom7 for UMD-thank you both so much!). After months and months of stress and angst it pretty much comes down to the following:</p>

<p>My son was accepted to CP Scholars and Smith. He's visited UMD twice and he loved it both times. However, he was also accepted to the University of Michigan, but not to Ross (the business school), so he'd have to apply his freshman year. The acceptance rate is about 38% so there's no guarantee he'd be able to major in business at Michigan. There is no doubt that he wants to major in business, so the fact that he was not a direct admit to Ross is a big concern. I believe there are SO MANY reasons for him to attend UMD, but I think he is somewhat caught up in the prestige of Michigan. We want him to make the decision himself, but if he were to choose to attend Michigan we would require him to take out loans above the UMD tuition. FYI we are OOS for both UMD and Michigan. I was impressed with the Smith presentation when we visited and from what I've read, I think that there are many opportunities at UMD to make connections for internships and jobs. If anyone has any insight, information or personal experiences they'd like to share regarding Smith v. Ross or just Smith, I'd greatly appreciate it. We are also hoping he gets a little merit money from UMD, but no word yet. From what I've read from you all on CC, it's a crap shoot. Thank you in advance for your input. </p>

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<p>@Epicurian, I’m glad I’ve been able to pass on some useful info to you. Congratulations to your son on his admission to both UMD and Michigan. Both are excellent! As you know my daughter is at Smith and absolutely loves it! She is constantly attending different career events. There are many internship opportunities for those who are willing to get their resumes out there. She also is in a couple business clubs that really push for internships. All Smith freshman are automatically in the Freshman Fellows program. After that the special fellows programs are competitive. My daughter was just accepted to one for her sophomore year. I think the location is fantastic for internships. DC is a short Metro ride away. So, basically I feel that UMD and Smith in particular, is a fantastic choice. Having said all that, I am from Michigan and grew up very close to Ann Arbor. As far as college towns go, Ann Arbor blows College Park away. It is just a really great place for students. Obviously the school itself is awesome. I can honestly say though that I’m glad my daughter is at UMD. I’m sure she would have loved Michigan too, but she is having a great time in CP. I was and continue to be very impressed with Smith. I can understand getting caught up in the Michigan name. There is no doubt about it…it is an impressive university. Not getting admitted directly to Ross is a bit of a bummer though. If he goes that route just make sure he has a backup plan. My daughter was admitted to several schools that are ranked considerably higher than UMD, but she feels she picked the right school for her. Good luck to him. The good news is that he can’t go wrong with either choice! </p>

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<p>Prestige is what you make of it…</p>

<p>First off, is he considering an MBA at any point? If so, undergrad school “prestige” is less relevant. Save the expense of a “prestigious” school for graduate studies. It’s not like Maryland doesn’t have a solid reputation for being a good school, but I do get that people’s impressions are influenced by those rankings reports…</p>

<p>Also, how far OOS are the two schools? Given the distance between the two, is one a car ride and the other a plane ride or are both plane rides? That is another expense to add to consideration of cost.</p>

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<p>Thank you both for your insightful responses. I greatly appreciate it! Terpmom7, I agree with everything you said!</p>

<p>Maryversity, yes he plans to get his MBA. I personally don’t put much weight on the rankings based on how they are derived, but nonetheless, they are still hard to ignore due to public perception. </p>

<p>We are a 4 hour drive to UMD and a 2 hour plane ride to Michigan. </p>

<p>He got into his first choice program for CP Scholars, Media, Self and Society ( I passed on your advice about not choosing the business program due to it being redundant) but he is very social and has no interest in living in the Scholars dorms. If you have any input on that issue I would like to hear. Thanks again!</p>

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<p>My daughter had no interest in living in the honors dorms, but we made her do it for her freshman year. The first semester was rough…not gonna pretend otherwise. She is more social than most, but not all her fellow honors students. She’s now in a sorority and is 1000 times happier. She will not be living in honors housing next year. I told her though that there is a lot to be said about being able to go out and do your thing, and then come home to a quieter and calmer place to study and sleep.</p>

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<p>I honestly don’t think you need to worry about Scholars dorms not being “social.” </p>

<p>Bear in mind that the distinction between the Scholars program v Honors is that Scholars is designed for students that demonstrate more participation in out-of-the-class experiences/opportunities than they demonstrate interest in challenging academics (honors students tend to have taken the most AP classes in high school). </p>

<p>I’m not saying that honors students do not have strong ECs, because many absolutely do. However, they just have a lot more AP’s than average. I am also not saying that Scholars students are not as smart as Honors, because some absolutely are. The programs are just designed to meet the needs of different types of students. I think there is a wider range in the type of student admitted to Scholars than there is in Honors, if that makes sense. </p>

<p>My son is also very social and honestly had no problems being in the Scholars dorm/community.The advantages of the Cambridge Community include proximity to the Incon (convenience store) and Eppley Rec Center (gym). Also, if your son elects to take the scholars version of freshman English (ENGL101S), he can literally roll out of bed to go to that class since it, like the scholars classes, is held in the Cambridge Community Center. It is also easier to participate in the scholars programming if you are right there. </p>

<p>My son is not living in the Cambridge Community this year (because of an additional program he is in this year), but he has no regrets about being there last year. He made great friends and really enjoyed it.</p>

<p>Honestly, your son really shouldn’t turn his nose at it until he tries it. It’s not a life sentence and there’s actually a really good chance he will really like it. The worst case scenario, as terpmom points out, is that he will have a nice quiet place to sleep and study - which is NOT a bad thing when there are so many challenges getting acclimated to college life! </p>

<p>With respect to deciding between schoools…</p>

<p>If he only wants to attend undergrad, that may be a different story. However, I think the desire to go for an MBA makes a world of difference. Will attending a “bigger name” school help with admissions to graduate school? Not really, no. Maryland graduates are equally accepted into ivy league grad schools all the time. What you do when you get to school is more important than where you go. So, getting that high gpa and participating in more opportunities (like the Fellows programs terpmom alluded to - scroll through all of them here <a href=“http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-programs”>http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-programs&lt;/a&gt;) will make him more of a standout for admission to a highly-ranked, “big name” MBA program.</p>

<p>As for the rankings, I totally agree that they are hard to ignore when you have so little information to go by when making your decision. However, there is sooooo much more to Maryland than meets the eye which is why I, and likely why terpmom, am such a big cheerleader for Maryland. I have yet to hear of anyone that is unhappy with their choice of Maryland. The rankings just don’t do Maryland justice!</p>

<p>The other thing your son needs to consider is not only the finances, but the ability to come home when he wants. The necessity of a plane ride makes travel home prohibitive other than major breaks. I know my son has enjoyed being able to come home to attend a family function he wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend. It doesn’t happen often, of course, but it has happened. Certainly, it’s not a significant reason to choose one school over the other, but just another checkmark to list in the “pro” column for Maryland. </p>

<p>Phew! See what happens when you wake up early to see if snow will affect school…?</p>

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<p>Has your son visited Michigan yet? I noticed you said he loved UMD/Smith but didn’t say he loved Michigan. I fully understand you wanting him to make his own decision. We were the same way…although I’m quite sure we talked up the many many merits of attending UMD. :slight_smile: In my opinion the fact that he loved UMD on both visits speaks volumes. My guess is that he would be very happy in CP. Another big point would be the fact that he would be a direct admit to Smith but not Ross. I say that because you said he is sure that he wants to pursue a degree in business. Some kids come in and aren’t really sure what they want to do, but your son seems sure. As far as the prestige of Michigan, UMD is nothing to sneeze at. It is really quite respected I believe, and getting more so all the time. I think my daughter takes great pride in being at UMD and Smith. She knows she was accepted and could have attended more “prestigious” schools and that also gives her pride, but she is a very happy Terp!</p>

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<p>Again, Maryversity, thank you for the information and your perspective. I don’t know what’s a lot of AP’s, but my son took 7. Regardless, he wasn’t interested in Honors after hearing the presentation on our visit, so things worked out for him. He’s definitely a more “hands on” kid. I too have never heard about anyone not being happy at Maryland! </p>

<p>Terpmom7, thank you for the information and your perspective. We did visit Michigan. He liked it a lot, but he wasn’t “wowed.” Bear in mind that it snowed the ENTIRE time (no exaggeration) we were in Ann Arbor and it was bitterly cold and windy.</p>

<p>I agree with both of you on your points about UMD and they’re all on my pro’s list for UMD and accordingly, on my cons list for Michigan-lol. From what I’ve read, Smith isn’t ranked because Maryland did not participate in the US News and World Reports undergraduate business school survey. Do either of you know if that’s true? Also, though merit scholarships are somewhat arbitrary from what I’ve read in your past posts, is there a minimum SAT score/GPA that they’re looking for? Thanks!</p>

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<p>It was the Business Week ranking that Smith wasn’t included in because not enough graduating seniors responded to the survey. They needed 8% more students to fill it out then did so. Hopefully that will change next time the rankings come out. It benefits the Smith community at UMD as a whole but also really impacts those Smith graduates that are job searching.</p>

<p>Regarding minimum SAT or GPA, there isn’t one that I am aware of. There are many kids in the honors college that received no merit aid and many in scholars that did. Being in one of those programs is by no means a guarantee of any merit money. As you pointed out, it does seem somewhat arbitrary. I’m gusssing they have a method, but I sure haven’t been able to figure it out.</p>

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<p>I think terpmom said more clearly what I was trying to imply by my use of quotation marks around prestige and big name…UMD is nothing to sneeze at. ;)</p>

<p>And yes, 7 AP’s is a lot (compared to my son who only did math and science, ha ha), so go figure. Maybe it has to do with the breadth of the AP’s also? Or did he cram them in the last year or spread them out consistently? Who knows. Just speculating, of course. Like you said, not really a big deal at the end of the day.</p>

<p>I agree there is no set minimum for scholarship awards, but it does seem somewhat related more to test scores than gpa from what I can tell. I’m sure that is NOT the only thing, because clearly two students with the same test scores don’t both get merit awards. Remember though, after the first year, there are additional merit scholarships available if your son does well. <a href=“http://advancement.umd.edu/celebration/listScholarships.php?div=b91d0a73f174e5ad7105c342b7f6f26aba7dce48”>http://advancement.umd.edu/celebration/listScholarships.php?div=b91d0a73f174e5ad7105c342b7f6f26aba7dce48&lt;/a&gt;. </p>

<p>I think that choosing a school has a lot to do with fit. It sounds like your son’s reaction to both of the school visits is telling him the same thing you would like to hear. However, it’s a process, and he has to come to that conclusion himself…which I think he will.</p>

<p>Is he interested in entrepreneurship at all? If so, read this article that mentions both Michigan and Maryland - Maryland was rated number one among public schools…<a href=“http://pando.com/2013/09/28/is-your-school-underrated-for-tech-entrepreneurship/”>http://pando.com/2013/09/28/is-your-school-underrated-for-tech-entrepreneurship/&lt;/a&gt; </p>

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<p>I haven’t read through all of the posts on this thread, but my son is planning to major in business, and we agreed before he received his admission letters that he would NOT go to a college where he was accepted, but not directly admitted to the business school. He is pretty certain that’s what he wants to major in, and we didn’t feel it was worth the chance of not getting in later, given he had an early rolling admission notification that he was accepted to a business school.</p>

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<p>We were in the exact same situation as you - OOS, accepted to UMD Smith School and U of Mich not direct admit to Ross. My son ended up going to UMD. In terms of outcome, he got an internship and permanent job with one of the big 4 consulting firms. There are pluses and minuses to both schools and it will be 100% of what your son makes of it. OOS tuition is definitely a concern for U of Mich, but go to which school he feels more comfortable with when visiting. Do not get caught up in the “prestige” of U of Mich. As you said, UMD can provide great connections and opportunities also. </p>

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<p>I fully agree with you mgoblue1120. All I ever hear is that UMD Smith grads get jobs. Another plus for UMD is he just found out the other day that he got a President’s Scholarship for $5K per year. Now U of Mich $15K additional per year, plus the greater transportation cost for airfare. So, then the question becomes how much more does he “love” U of Mich over UMD (if at all)? $60K+? </p>

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<p>@mgoblue1120, that’s great to hear about your son’s success at UMD. I echo everything you said. It really comes down to what you make of it.
@Epicurian, congrats to your son on his scholarship! </p>

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<p>Awesome! Always great to hear such good news! :)</p>

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<p>So, it’s just over a week later and I was about to book a flight to Detroit as my S wanted to visit UMICH again. Lo and behold, I got a text from him (he was upstairs-lol) that he may not need to go to Michigan. A short time later I received another text that he’d made a decision. I waited…Maryland. So you all were righ!. He came to the decision himself and made the right choice for him! He came downstairs and found the car magnet that Admissions had sent him at some point, and went outside and put it on his car. He is officially a Terp! I couldn’t be more proud of him! =D> </p>

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<p>I’m so happy for both of you! I think it’s a great outcome and most importantly. … he made the decision himself! </p>

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<p>Congrats! I’m sure it’s a relief to have the process over and the decision made.</p>

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<p>YAY!!! I AM SOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! Smartest decision ever! WELCOME to Terp Nation! :)</p>

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<p>Yes, it is a HUGE relief! He’s so excited and relieved too that he knows where he will call home for the next 4 years. If it hadn’t set in already, senioritis has now set in big time! I can’t wait to go to the bookstore next week when we attend the Accepted Student’s Open House to buy all the gear! I’ll see you all at Parent’s Weekend this fall!</p>