<p>They call them LAN parties or Land Parties..not sure..but they gather and play computer games I think? All I know is that they have a good time and none of it involves drinking. I will ask her.</p>
<p>angstridden, is the school worth out-of-state tuition?</p>
<p>I think it depends on what your other options are...Do you have a good instate school? If you do, than you might get a better value there.</p>
<p>If you are considering a private LAC then thats where the debate would come in ...</p>
<p>In my opinion UMD offers much more than many LAC's in terms of opportunities, classes etc. so if the cost is essentially the same or higher in most cases I would select UMD..but there are others who don't feel that UMD offers what a private college might. </p>
<p>I have a friend whose son is going to a private, small LAC and she is paying quite a bit for that but is he getting a better education, social opportunities etc? No, I dont think so..in fact I dont think its anywhere near as challenging, but that school is right for him as he is more comfortable in the environment.</p>
<p>In D's case she was offered a substantial amount of scholarship to several LAC's but she wanted a large school with a lot of opportunities and she found UMD very appealing.</p>
<p>Oftimes the ticketed price at colleges is not the sales price..and you can get good scholarships at private institutions often more than you can get at state colleges. </p>
<p>We have a friend who is sending her daughter to USC to major in business (no scholarships). And I thought now why would she do that when UMD is so good in business. And so class to business opportunities.
I couldn't justify that expense.</p>
<p>However, my other daughter who wants to be a pop singer needs to be in CA or NY so in her case I can justify the expense. (She is a junior and is considering USC, University of Miami, New York and a few others just because they are located or have access to the industry she wants to work in)..</p>
<p>So I think you have to look at all of your options to find the best solution for you.</p>
<p>I'm glad to read that your daughter is having a great experience.</p>
<p>Its great when you make a good match. She was leaning towards business but wasnt really sure..so it was not like we had to find a college that offered a certain specialty like the kids that major in MT for example. Business is found at most schools.
So what we did was decide on the area and she wanted East coast. Then we visited a few schools...UNC, Wake, Duke, Elon, Davidson...and she toured some of them. From this she knew she liked the larger schools and did not want something like Elon or Davidson.
So that eliminated a ton of smaller schools. We also felt that UMD offered as good if not better an education than most public U's on the East coast..so we eliminated alot there.
Then she went to a few of the bigger schools like JMU and UMD and toured them.
We also looked at what the schools seemed to offer ie the feel of it..was it science oriented like we felt Johns Hopkins was or was it more general like UMD.
At the schools we talked to the kids. At UMD one girl said to me she couldnt imagine going anywhere else..all the kids we spoke with seemed happy and many of her relatives went there and loved it..and fortunately she loves it too!</p>
<p>5 good things:
-journalism program
-school spirit and support for the terps
-proximity to baltimore and especially washington (it has its own Metro stop)
-diverse student body
-definitely rising through the ranks of great public schools...it has gotten SO much harder to get into</p>
<p>5 bad things:
-cost. UMD is not that cheap, and cuts in state funding won't help much
-crime in college park. the locals have been known to cause occasional troubles with the students
-outside of the mid atlantic, not many people know how much better maryland has become
-bureaucracy/red tape, as with any large university...sometimes (i've heard this from friends, not first hand) its hard to register for required classes, or even fulfill requirements for full-time status
-off route 1, college park gets a little sketchy...i guess this goes along with number 1</p>
<p>all in all, definitely a good college experience</p>