<p>For Journalism; possibly Poli Sci or History as an alternate major.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>UW better in those areas. Nicer environs too.</p>
<p>Both schools are solid academically. UW ranks slightly better, but UMD has the benefit of being near DC, which is nice for politics and internships. So I'd say that it about evens out. </p>
<p>Environment wise, both have a mesh of serious academics and serious parties. UMD has a more secluded, traditional campus. UW is more integrated into the middle of the city. Both are aesthetically pleasing. </p>
<p>UMD has a more east coast vibe. UW has a more midwestern vibe. </p>
<p>You (or rather your daughter/son?) would get a fine education at either. It just comes down to personal preferrence.</p>
<p>Wisconsin is a better overall choice. Maryland is a good school, but Wisconsin is just so well rounded.</p>
<p>It's for my son. I wonder how much, if any, the proximity to DC plays a part in a journalism major at UMD, particularly one who is interested in politics. Agree the environment at UW would be much (much) nicer.</p>
<p>UW is the only school I know of with two student run daily newspapers, several radio stations, and it's also the State Capital and has many ties to DC through local House and Senate reps who are virtually all UW grads.</p>
<p>Other opinions?</p>
<p>I would point out that it probably gets pretty darn cold at Wisconsin in the winter. For instance, in Madison right now it feels 10 degrees colder than College Park and the forecast tomorrow is a high of 22 compared to 40. </p>
<p>If that doesn't matter (to me it does--I originally applied to three schools in CA looking for good weather lol), I would also say that Maryland is quite a bit more diverse in terms of a student body (because Maryland is a more diverse state than Wisconsin).</p>
<p>Gourman ranking for Journalism:</p>
<p>U Missouri Columbia
Northwestern
Syracuse
U Minnesota
U Illinois U-C
UNC Chapel Hill
U Wisconsin Madison
Ohio State
Michigan State
USC
NYU
Indiana U Bloomington
U washington
U Kansas
U Texas Austin
Kansas State
Marquette
I Iowa
U Colorado Boulder
Ohio U
Penn State U-P
U Florida
U Montana
U Arizona
U Oregon
Iowa State
U Oklahoma
U Georgia
U Utah
Arizona State
U Maryland C-P</p>
<p>Just for the record, a week ago in Madison it was 45 degrees and the ponds were closed to skaters due to thin ice. It does get cold up here, I am sure it is colder than College Park, but you figure out how to live with it and the coldest times usually are only for a a few weeks out of the year.</p>
<p>Gourman Report undergrad ranking in Political Science:
Yale
Harvard
Berkeley
Michigan
Chicago
MIT
Stanford
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Cornell
Princeton
UCLA
Northwestern
UNC Chapel Hill
Columbia
Indiana Bloomington
Duke
Johns Hopkins
Notre Dame
Tufts
Ohio State
U Penn
UVA
Georgetown
Texas Austin
U Washington
U Pittsburgh
U Rochester
Rutgers
Brandeis
Vanderbilt
Illinois UC
Oregon
Maryland CP
Iowa
UC Santa Barbara
SUNY Buffalo
U Mass Amherst
NYU
Michigan St
Syracuse
Washington U St Louis
US Air Force Acad
US Military Acad
Dartmouth
Pomona
Emory
UC Davis
Boston U
Tulane</p>
<p>I happen to love Maryland but Wisconsin seems to have better programs in the areas you named.</p>
<p>As the lists posted here will tell you, UW has a good journalism school; I know, too, that a number of prominent journalists have graduated from UW. In addition to that, the overall ambience at UW will be one of a really first-class university thanks to the multiple very highly ranked graduate programs in everything from physics to history. (The UW graduate history program is in the top ten in a number of areas, attracting top graduates or top colleges, and it is just one of UW's stellar programs.) Also, for a kid interested in poli sci or journalism, being in an active state capital like Madison may be even more fun than being near DC, and with a chance to see and do things up close. There is a lot going on in Madison, always has been. UW seems a very clear choice over UMD to me.</p>
<p>Weather is certainly colder but the entire ambience is different. The UW has 35% out of state and very international so the diversity is pretty good. The only weak area is the percentage of minority students. But they are working on it. Most student slive away from home and close to campus in both the dorms and off campus housing. Weekends are lively as most student stay and many from other schools come to visit. You don't need to travel more than a few hundred yards from campus to enjoy all kinds of entertainment from the symphony hall to gyros joints. For those who care sports are terrific. The large grad population keeps the intellectual feel high. Crime is still low and no car is needed.</p>
<p>Ahh..I forgot to mention weather. Upper midwestern winters can get brutal; although there are some days above freeing, it's not unusual to see days of -20 degrees with windchill (that is, below zero). </p>
<p>UMD is definitely more moderate in the winter. You still have the season (with snowy days and all), but it's not nearly as cold. </p>
<p>Another thing of personal preferrence, if it's even a factor.</p>
<p>A contrary view to some listed above.</p>
<p>In the interest of full disclosure, my oldest daughter is a freshman at Maryland in the j school. However, until she became interested in the school, and chose to attend there, we had no predisposition whatsoever to UMD. We are midwesterners, and, three years ago, it would never have occurred to me that Maryland would be where my daughter wound up, or that I would compare it favorably with Wisconsin, a school I respect a great deal.</p>
<p>Ironically, we learned of the quality of Maryland's j school in the summer of 2005 from the Dean of Admissions at another top rated j school. In a question and answer session, he was asked to name the top ten j schools in the country, and answered, in alphabetical order: Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Missouri, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio U., Penn State, Southern Cal, Syracuse, and Texas. He also discussed, candidly, the particular allure of the various schools, and named Maryland as number 1 in political reporting.</p>
<p>My daughter was intrigued, and sought advice from other professional journalists who appeared at her school's media day, or with whom we were acquainted. All spoke highly of Maryland's program, pointing out its proximity to large media outlets and its seven Pulitzer Prize winners on the faculty (most in the country). In the end, buoyed by the school's incredibly diverse student population, she chose UMD over other top rated j programs. Thus far, she is very happy.</p>
<p>This is not to say that Wisconsin doesn't have a fine j school--it does--or that it isn't a terrific school--it is. The programs are simply different. Maryland's j program allows for direct admission as a freshman; Wisconsin's is junior year admission. Wisconsin's program has more extensive on campus journalism opportunities (two student papers), but less extensive off campus opportunities for school year internships than does UMD, which is within 30 miles of D.C., Baltimore, and Annapolis. Wisconsin's j faculty is almost exclusively composed of full time professors, while Maryland makes more extensive use of adjuncts who work in D.C. or Baltimore (David Broder, Leonard Pitts, and George Solomon (the former Sports Editor of the Washington Post) are a few examples.Which model one prefers is a matter of personal choice.</p>
<p>With all due respect to collegehelp's lists, the Gourman report rankings (at least the journalism ones) are a decade old. Maryland, which was known as a party school as recently as 15 years ago, has undergone a significant transformation in the last decade plus. At this point, the student profile at UMD and Wisconsin is very similar in terms of SAT/ACT/GPA--in fact, at my daughter's high school, there were a lot of people who applied to, and were accepted at, both schools. More chose Wisconsin--whether that was because of closeness to home, somewhat higher USNews ranking, or other factors, I cannot say.</p>
<p>Overall, if your child is interested in journalism or political science (at Maryland, it is called Government, and my daughter is double majoring in it), UMD is an excellent school, and, in my opinion, its proximity to D.C. makes it a slightly superior choice (though you can't go wrong at Wisconsin). In many other departments, Wisconsin has a better reputation, and might be a slightly superior choice (although, again, UMD has really improved its overall reputation). In truth, the decision should probably be based on feel--Maryland has a more East Coast, urban feel, than does Wisconsin. Different kids, different preferences.</p>
<p>Hope this helps, though in point of fact, your son has two excellent choices. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your input! S will find out next month if he's accepted at Maryland. He's already in at Wisconsin, and he's visiting both schools within the next couple of months (UW for the first time, UMD a repeat visit).</p>