<p>Hi there.......I was comparing UM with other schools, and now my daughter got into Maryland, LEP program which is a limited enrollment program in their School of Communications, which falls under Arts and Humanities. She got into University of Michigan Liberal Arts. Both schools are out of state for us. Any insight would be helpful, although her mind is so set on Michigan I don't know that anything can change it........but I'm hopeful. Michigan is a lot more $$$ and a plane ride, UMD is a car ride away so not only is it less $$ to start, it is less $$ all around, but putting money issues aside, opinions on the 2 choices please????</p>
<p>JMPO, the quickest way for a child to do poorly at college is if they don’t want to be there, but at another college.</p>
<p>I would place the money issue aside until you find out about the merit offered. Our DS will graduate from UMDCP in May, and every parent that has a student there will tell you UMD is very frugal when it comes to merit. You may find UMich to be cheaper.</p>
<p>Additionally, the only thing I would say to her if money and distance is an issue for her to understand kids go home during the semester and a long weekend like Columbus Day can be lonely if you can only afford to fly her home for T-Day.</p>
<p>Our DD attends VT , 4 hr car trip, and we discussed this fact. Told her we wouldn’t be driving to get her every 4-6 weeks. She swore up and down the pole that this was not an issue. Mid-Sept she was homesick, and we collected her for Columbus Day weekend. That dorm was basically empty for the 3 day weekend. She came home again this yr as a soph.</p>
<p>She will probably say she will be fine just coming home for T-Day, but I would suggest she either joins here and chats on the forums for the schools, or a FB forum to get a real grasp on what it is like in the fall when the football team is playing an away game.</p>
<p>As far as the schools go, UMich is a higher tier college, but you did not state if they have the LEP like UMDCP, and if they do if she got in. The LEP at UMDCP is great because they live in specific dorms placed aside for just these kids. They also try to room them floor by floor with those in the exact same major. Makes it easier in many ways.</p>
<ol>
<li>Study groups — dorm mate or floor mates all are taking the same classes and many will be taking it with the same prof.</li>
<li>Socialization — you see them in class and on the floor, it is easier to bond because you see each other more.</li>
<li>School size — both colleges are very large, this gives them the feel of the big college appeal, but at the same time the small college connection.</li>
</ol>
<p>Finally, look deeper into the programs. I know for our DS who was a Scholars govt major he was required to do an internship for the citation. He did his for a Sen on the Hill. Many of these kids roll their internship into PT jobs and get picked up FT upon graduation. DC is a media market, and depending on her communication major this may be a factor upon graduation. DC has WaPo, I don’t know of a national paper from Michigan that compares to the WaPo. USA Today is also in the DC area. That is on top of talk radio.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for you reply. There will be no merit money offered at either school so “free” money is off the table. Right now it appears if I force her to choose MD over Michigan I will never hear the end of it, she wants it bad, and she is not mature enough or knows enough about what she really wants to do in college as far as a major is concerned. So the fact that she got into LEP at MD is not swaying her because she’s not so sure she wants communications 100%. I would pick MD because of being near DC, it’s not far from our state (car ride or train ride), and I think she would love it. She saw both schools and loves Michigan more. The price difference is significant, sadly.</p>
<p>Why did you let her apply? You knew the cost of attendance beforehand, and I presume you knew your budget beforehand, so I’m not clear that she’s the immature one.</p>
<p>I have no horse in this race as far as the schools go. (Personally, I wouldn’t choose either.) But you gave her the choice, didn’t you?</p>
<p>U Mich is not a place where kids go home all the time. Superior to UMd in evey way.</p>
<p>
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<p>As a Maryland alumnus as well as husband and father of Maryland grads, I beg to differ.</p>
<p>Exhibit 1-ACC Basketball</p>
<p>Fear the Turtle!</p>
<p>Has beens. UM ranked, UMd-unranked. ACC=down. Big ten-Up</p>
<p>UMd=2001 National Champions</p>
<p>ACC Basketball=12 National Champions
Big Ten Basketball=10</p>
<p>Ooooooh, two more national champions. We’re impressed! Success more than a decade ago doesn’t trump success today. Trust me, I live in B1G country and I’ve dealt with plenty of Nebraska fans whose primary argument is BUT BUT BUT FIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!</p>
<p>I’m from Maryland but am fortunate enough to be able to attend Michigan. While I don’t know enough about Maryland’s academics, I do know that Michigan is world-renowned in almost every discipline that is offered. Ann Arbor is a pretty ideal college town, with its various restaurants, shops and parks. And while Maryland athletics are certainly nothing to sneer at, there is nothing like being in Michigan Stadium on a Saturday with over 100,000 fellow Wolverine fans in attendance. Having said that, I would make sure that Michigan is at least somewhat affordable before attending. If money is not a major concern, then I would choose Michigan. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.</p>
<p>She’s going to Michigan !!</p>
<p>I’m glad she made her choice and is happy! 
I just wanted to add that my D goes to Maryland and absolutely loves it. For whatever reason, she has not experienced that a lot of kids go home on the weekends. Just wanted to weigh in for the benefit of any others that are considering the school.</p>
<p>I do t think a lot of kids go home on the weekends from MD, not the ones from my area anyway! So glad your daughter is happy at MD!</p>
<p>I meant to write I DO NOT think kids go home on the weekends!</p>
<p>
Tangent to the question here: Do you call your kid on the weekends? If yes, when is a good time to reach him/her in your opinion? These days, kids are so busy at school, day or night, weekdays or weekends. It seems it is sometimes not easy to find a good time before mid-night.</p>
<p>I notice for some kids who go to the local state university, the parents occasionally deliver whatever their kid needs during weekends. How convenient!</p>
<p>My son went to the University of Maryland.</p>
<p>Some people do indeed go home for weekends – or at other random times. </p>
<p>However, the majority of the students don’t do this on a regular basis.</p>
<p>The feel of the campus is more that of a big, sports-oriented state university than of a suitcase school. It’s just that this particular state university happens to be located within an hour or so of the places where many of its students live (the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas), so students are more casual about going home than those at some other state universities might be.</p>
<p>We established a pattern of a weekly phone call on Sunday afternoon. S sleeps in on the weekend, so we worked out a system of texting him around 3 to ask for a good time. Later than that he would be doing schoolwork. Worked for us. Now that he’s graduated, we still have a similar pattern. If I go much longer than a week without talking to him, I’m not happy.</p>
<p>$200,000 plus for a communication degree at Michigan? I doubt she is paying for this herself or she would quickly be convinced that there are far cheaper options in obtaining her communication degree.</p>
<p>I am in a similar boat except my child is in state for Maryland. He is great in academics will be either first or second of his graduating senior class in high school, and has a great score on his SAT (~2200). The reason I mention his academic achievements is to emphasize the fact that he is very motivated, industrious and intelligent. He has his heart set on UM. The difference is ~ 30 K/year. He would like to go into Medicine. Is a degree from UM worth the money? Will he have opportunities to participate in research activities at UM?Any advice/insight will be helpful to us.</p>
<p>You may want to point out to him that pre-meds should consider conserving money and avoiding debt in undergraduate, because medical school is expensive.</p>