Ive gotten into UMD and many other schools that are also out of state. I plan on doing comp sci, is the 50k worth it for the 4 years? I didnt get into my in state schools or applied because one they are not that great as Maryland and the other only one close is harder than Maryland. I can either go to community college for 2 years which I dont want to do because comp sci is horrible or go to UMD.
BUMP
I would say it depends on what other schools you got into and how good your local CC is for computer science. 50K a year is a lot of money, although there are many that pay it. I would not advise it if you would graduate with a lot of debt. See if there are any scholarships you can apply for.
My community college is horrible for comp sci but I would guess thats any community college that doesnt have resources for computer science students. The other schools I got into were really bad and were close. The ones that were great were further away, really far. UMD is only 3 hours away from me so thats all. I did not get a scholarship and financial aid. And other colleges were even more expensive like NYU so 70k vs 50k its just location preference now. Would I get a good job at UMD? and is it hard to do well at that college?
I don’t know how hard it is to do well in CS at UMD. My daughter is a junior and got a job at the cafeteria last year just by asking even though they did not really need anyone (she declined it). Her boyfriend worked off campus (Whole Foods?). At parent orientation they talked about a lot of options for students to work on campus. I believe CS majors do find it easier to get summer internships than other majors.
CS is amazing at UMD, but it does try to weed people out bc of the huge number of cs students. It’s very rigorous but equally as rewarding
So should I go to UMD for 50K a year or go to community college for 2 years then go to Stony brook which would be free for me? In the end, UMD will cost me $200,000 while Stony Brook will cost me a couple of thousands for fees and books only because I would commute?
@ex2x01 - If your parents have that kind of money, fine. Otherwise, I cannot encourage anyone to take on that much debt
@SoofDad Would I get more opportunities in computer science vs going to stony brook and the community college?
If you’re going into computer science, there’s no reason to spend that kind of money going out of state. As a computer professional myself, I can tell you that with 100% certainty. Assuming you could even get the financing, that kind of debt would be financial suicide. Computers is a very high demand field and there are lots of entry-level jobs. Tech companies recruit from Stony Brook as well as UMD. The job you get is going to be entry level with an entry level salary. UMD might make it a little easier to get the first job, but it would never justify that kind of debt.
@ex2x01 - I don’t know anything about Stony Brook, but a a CS degree with a good GPA should certainly get you a decent starting job. I agree with what @coolguy40 posted
@coolguy40 Well I would go to Stony Brook because it would be cheaper with no debt but I did not get in initially. I talked to the head of admissions and with the computer science department and they said I could transfer but it is very unlikely to transfer after a year or 1.5. They told me I would HAVE to go to a community college for 2 years and then be guaranteed admissions because of a joint program with the community college. I looked up what the classes I would take and they are were low Java courses. They teach the basics and nothing real world compared to UMD or Stony first semester. They wouldnt even teach recursion. The community college is so bad, I wouldn’t even get an internship and would be wasting my 2 years there. I was going to go to Stony Brook 100% if I got into initially but because I would have to go to community college for 2 years with low resources and would be low skilled, would it still be worth it with the debt?
UMD would give me internship opportunities and a better computer science department.
BUMP