University of Maryland vs. Rowan honors college

College Search & Selection
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Hi, I know that choosing a college is ultimately my decision, but if anyone could give me any input or advice I would really appreciate it as I’m pretty torn here. Please be brutally honest.

I’m planning to major in mechanical engineering, and would like to minor in something to do with computers or aerospace. I am a New Jersey resident and consider myself pretty smart (33 ACT). I am grateful for the fact that my parents are willing to give me around $15,000 a year to put towards the tuition of whatever school I choose.

UMD is my dream school. I loved the campus when I visited, and it has everything I’m looking for in a college. Good sports teams, good social life, large school, proximity to a major city, solid engineering ranking, internship opportunities, and a good distance from home. They offered me the Presidential scholarship of $5,000 per year, which will bring my COA to somewhere around $35,000 a year. I would be willing to RA to hopefully bring that down, will try to get a job there, and I’m trying to get instate tuition in the later years as I do plan on staying in Maryland after I graduate.

Rowan does have alot of the things I’m looking for in a college. It is definitely up and coming, especially in the area of engineering. One thing that does turn me off of it, however, is obviously it’s overall academics aren’t nearly as good as UMD’s. Some of the kids going their from my high school have no business being in any college at all. I did receive a $14,000 per year scholarship as well as being accepted into the honors college. So going there would cost me around $5,000 per year.

With the ultimate goal of getting a good job in the engineering field after graduating, which option in your opinion would be best for me? Thanks.

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anyone have any input?

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Well as far as I know UMD would be better suited for you if you were looking for a job right after graduation as they have some great placements after graduation. It is a good choice even for that Aerospace minor thing that you mentioned. Rowan has good programs as well, but iv’e never actually visited so can’t say much. Financially, well it’s up to you so can’t say much on that. Hope this helps.

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thanks @Thebloodraven23‌ . anyone have anything else to add?

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My son is in a very similar position. He has been offered almost the same awards at both the schools you mentioned and also has Rutgers SOE honors academy with no aid to the tune of $29,000/yr…NJIT honors would be $11,000 yr. We have offered $20,000.I keep telling him it’s his decision because after all it’s where your going to live. Here’s what I really want to say. Your goal is to be a mechanical engineer. Both schools are accredited. The honors program will offer you some insurance you’ll be with other smart people. If you were to end up with a 5th year which is not so unlikely UMCP would be $143,990. Rowan in our case would be $89,760 because you wouldn’t have that 5th year scholarship. All of this is before you even had any fun, studied abroad, or bought your books. Do you really want to come out of college with that much debt? You could be coming out with almost none. I get the sports part for sure but there in lies the trade offs. Also, I was impressed with Rowan’s clinics. Trust me my son feels the same way. Good Luck!

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UMD sounds like the right school for you. It is a lot better known, and you will enjoy your college experience much more… plus, the job opportunities from there are great!

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I put the wrong figure UNCP would be 183,635 if you went 5 years. The 143,990 is Rutgers. And, that’s if tuition is never increased which is unlikely.

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Right now, you have $15,000 from your parents, $5,500 in federal loans, you can start working right away (as a 4th quarter senior I’m guessing you mustn’t be drowning in hw), and work a lot over the summer for a total job earnings of probably $3,000… and you’re still $12,000 short. Unless your parents are willing to give you the $2,500 tax credit they’ll get to send you to college (which is supposed to be for tuition, and should be added to what they’ve budgeted so far) and your grandparents/independently wealthy relatives/older siblings pitch in for $9,000, UMaryland simply isn’t possible.

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I personally would take out loans/work to try to go to Maryland. While it’s up to you to decide how much debt to acquire, I personally see Maryland as a FAR superior school in terms of both academics and overall student life.

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"Rowan does have alot of the things I’m looking for in a college. It is definitely up and coming, especially in the area of engineering. One thing that does turn me off of it, however, is obviously it’s overall academics aren’t nearly as good as UMD’s. Some of the kids going their from my high school have no business being in any college at all. "

Some of those kids will get their acts together and will be amazingly successful in college. Some will have dropped out by Thanksgiving. Don’t worry about any of them.

Both places can get you a good job after graduation. It really, truly, is OK to choose the cheap one.

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“Dream school”? Nice concept, but with a short shelf life. In the future, your criteria for dream school will have more to do with “without it, would I be as happy and successful?” as it does the ball games.

I’m old. I remember when aerospace was in MD - NASA’s Goddard HQ. But with space being increasing privatized, it could go anywhere in the future. I know Rowan doesn’t have an aerospace program, but I know at least two recent Rowan grads working in aerospace. After graduating, they got jobs at government contractors (one in Mount Laurel, the other at the FAA/TSA Tech Center in Atlantic County) which led to aerospace. Both accepted out-of-state job transfers after a year or two. Lockheed, Honeywell, Raytheon are the big guys.

If you were my son (who is a Rowan engineering grad, by the way), here’s what I would suggest: Think like an engineer. An engineer works backwards, from the solution to the problem, as well as forwards. Go to www.engineerjobs.com and look at who is hiring who where for what. Look broadly at the all the related jobs. Pick some that you could envision yourself doing. See what track they want to see in a candidate. That’s your 7-10 year plan. Then, just for fun, you can narrow back to a 5-year plan.

Next step is to ask, “What can go wrong?”. The first thing that most don’t consider is they take for granted their ability to graduate in four years. Fact is, many of them are smart enough to, but can’t get the all the classes they need to do so, for whatever reason. Sometimes, stuff just happens. While Springsteen made a fortune from songs about getting out of NJ, and actually did so, he came back. A lot of kids get unexpectedly homesick, or hit a financial bind.

Once you reverse-engineer your plans, you’ll be much better equipped than other candidates to answer the inevitable question from recruiters and hiring managers: “Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?”

Rowan engineering grads do well. Don’t know anyone from the class of 2013 that doesn’t have a job in their field or attending grad school. It’s a good program. My son accepted it over Cornell, MD, VaTech, Penn State, et. al. because it fit HIM best. Not to mention he was offered four years of tuition & housing, as long as he kept a 3.0+ GPA at the height of the Great Recession. Was very active at Rowan - academically, socially, and athletically. He’s happy with his choice, no regrets. If he needed to go to a big football game, he’d go to Rutgers, Penn State, MD. For basketball, he’d go to Philly.

His girlfriend attends UMD. It’s great, too. Rowan engineering, in general, isn’t academically inferior to UMD at all. It’s sort of its own bubble within Rowan. Socially inferior? What does that mean? More homogenous? One big difference I can tell you is that MD is more of a frat school. Rowan is a club school. That could be good or bad, depending on the “you” variable.

But just by your tone, it sounds like you can envision yourself in Maryland, even after college. That tips scales, for me. You only seem to be questioning the bang-for-the-buck and parental justification. They know you better than I do, but I’d say they’d OK MD if you demonstrated the commitment and thought you’ve shown me.

Forget about qualifying for in-state tuition in MD. It’s easier to pull the “roommate switch”. Don’t forget your NJ parents will be co-signing on your loans; you’ll need to take them with you to MD to qualify.

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@spacemanEd thanks you so much for this. Can you clarify what you mean by the “roommate switch”. Also could you tell me more about rowan as a “club school.” Thanks again this was really helpful

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@MYOS1634‌ why can’t I take out private loans to cover the rest?

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@MYOS1634‌ I’m hoping to get a couple outside scholarships that will go with me to either school as well

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“Forget about qualifying for in-state tuition in MD. It’s easier to pull the “roommate switch”.”

This means that it would be almost impossible for you to get in-state tuition in MD. It is not as easy to do that as just changing roommates once you are in college. Your parents would need to move to MD and would need to live there for 12 months before you would qualify as an in-state student.

You can only borrow the federal loans on your own. To borrow more than that, you need a qualified co-signer (like a parent), or your parents would need to borrow the money.

We understand that you prefer UMD, but it is not affordable for you.

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Because with the financial crisis and the student loan crisis, you can’t take private loans. Your PARENTS can take on Parent Plus loans, for which they have to qualify every year, or if they co-sign (which is worse than Parent Plus) and you have the slightest problem, they’re on the hook for everything.
I agree UMD is better, but it’s not affordable, and you really don’t want to do that to your parents.
If you win enough scholarships (and they’re not just for your first year), then it’s another matter, but there aren’t many covering $12,000 that are still being given out.
It’s impossible, unless your parents move to MD, for you to become a resident and thus to become eligible for in-state tuition.

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@plzletmeincolege: Sorry for the delay.

The “roommate switch” refers to the Seinfeld episode in which Jerry decides he likes his girlfriend’s roommate better and wants to make the switch without offending either. George devises a scheme to make the impossible happen - a scheme which parodied the great philosopher/mathematician Archimedes.

Back around 250 BC, Archimedes was given the seemingly impossible job of determining whether the king’s gold crown had been diluted with silver. Thinking of it while bathing, he noticed that his body displaced its own volume of fluid. There was his answer. He ran out of his bath shouting “Eureka!” (“I’ve got it!”). From there, he designed the water-screw which led to irrigation and canal locks, the lever, a pulley system, a model planetarium, and many other inventions. And “pi”. Archimedes was the first great engineer.

As to the other question, many colleges rely on the frat/sorority system for students’ social life. There are frats and sororities at Rowan, but (don’t tell anyone I said it) they really don’t have as much stroke as they do at other schools. Clubs of all sorts, rather than frats, dominate Rowan’s social activities. Off the top of my head, there’s RAH (Rowan After Hours) which puts together special events, PROS (Peer Referral And Orientation Staff), the Rec Center staff (that’s where “Insanity”'s Shaun T got his start), many academic-related organizations, and scads of intermural (they play other schools) and intramural sports and games. Varsity games aren’t that well attended by students because they are more likely to be playing something than watching something. I’ve driven by the campus many weeknights, and it’s always bustling, especially in the Fall and Spring.

Different culture than MD and other schools. The Club scene was a good fit for my kids. But the frat system has its place, too. Depends on your tastes.

As John Lennon sang, “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night Is Alright”.