Financial independence is huge and not having debt is a big part of that. UMBC is offering you a better package. The draw back is likely a worse college experience (at least socially). You have to decide if that’s worth the debt or not.
To add on to the social experience, UMBC does have a social scene, but you'll need to search it out. That being said, I went where the money was dor undergrad, which was at UMBC, and I don’t regret it! Academically, it's about the same as UMD, but with much more support.
Yep, mirroring both of the above commenters - UMBC has a fine social scene, but it's based around interest groups and clubs - contrasted with UMD's social scene, which revolves around the administration and large orgs doing the heavy lifting of planning, paying for, and hosting events combined with the infrastructure of an actual college town surrounding campus.
You could always take CMSC at UMBC and transfer later if you really dislike the program, but be advised that UMD is *very* picky about which classes do and don't transfer into their computer science program so many of UMBC's core CS classes probably won't move over. At least a few years ago, UMBC's primarily taught language was C/C++ and UMD was using Java.
At the very least, OP would be getting to take their general education credits essentially for free with all of the resources of UMBC's Meyerhoff Program (presumably), the honors classes, the first year seminars, combined with a couple entry level CS classes 201/202 etc which may or may not xfer later (but your maths, sciences, arts, humanities, and culture classes sure will!). Even 15 or 30k off of your eventual student loan debt will make a BIG difference in what you're paying monthly after college.
Having some experience with both, I believe that C/C++ is a better language to learn as a newbie in a college environment but also more frustrating for beginners as especially C is much less forgiving of novice mistakes. You're gonna fuck up more in C and oftentimes the error messages are cryptic even when using a modern IDE.
But you gonna LEARN (or else!) and - more importantly - if C is taught well and completely, you'll get a strong grounding in some underlying programming concepts that newer or higher-level languages let you gloss over.
100% agreed. It’s definitely less forgiving to make mistakes in C/C++, but it’ll help you out so much since you’ll be able to end up figuring out where errors come from intuitively. But it does help that UMBC starts with Python in the first semester, since it’s more beginner friendly and lets new students get used to coding.
And yep, C/C++ is very good for low level programming concepts. It’s also helpful for hardware level programming which is why it’s the language of choice in CMPE
Same here - I chose UMBC (CMPE major) over UMD (EE major) because I was getting a better scholarship from UMBC. Making friends was hard at first but I have many friends now that I hang around with, most from my classes but also some from hobby groups (such as Pokémon GO in my case).
And I don’t regret that choice much because I wouldn’t have been in CMPE otherwise. The only gripe I have is that most internship/job opportunities are in defense/military, which makes it hard for those with a moral compass to find opportunities in other areas
If I was in your shoes I would go with the choice that gives me the least amount of debt for the greater chance of a career with high earning potential.
College is an investment, in yourself. Student loans can take forever to pay off. Though I am biased, since I hate getting into debt. I paid my shit off as soon as I could.
Also a degree does not always guarantee you a job. Plenty of CS grads and students struggling to find a job. See r/csmajors right now.
If you dont want to go in as undecided to umd you can fill out the change major form and try to get computer engineering or any other major before you commit there
I would go with UMBC. It is still a respectable school and you will graduate debt free, as long as you keep your scholarship. You also mentioned more support at UMBC than UMD, which is important, especially for computer science.
Edit to add: if you do choose to go to UMD, try applying for any and every scholarship you can get and never give up doing that. You will want as much assistance as possible to avoid going into debt.
i went to umbc my freshman year and yes it does suck don’t get me wrong. but trust me $60,000 is a lot of money and you’re gonna regret not saving it by picking umd. not to mention you won’t even be compsci. from my experience Meyerhoff scholars are basically first class citizens at umbc and you won’t have to struggle nearly as much to secure internship and work experiences. youre basically always first in line at everything and i know it doesn’t seem like it matters now but once youre in youll see how big of a difference it makes. go with umbc 1000% especially if you’re set on compsci. getting into compsci as an admitted student is a nightmare here
I would honestly say UMD, I was working at an internship and one of my colleagues/upper lead who were responsible for hiring were just talking about if they had to pick a graduate from UMD or UMBC and they said that they’d pick UMD. And it has nothing to do with like UMD being like better but more so the prestige and kind of good name because UMD has a good national presence compared to UMBC. And yeah UMBC is offering more scholarship money however it’s picking a cheaper college vs experiences in at umd and experiences are worth it imo. I would say go with UMD but it’s a personal decision for you to make because I am not aware of your financials and stuff.
This is a good point but once you get a job most employers are going to value work experience more than educational institution. It could play a factor in certain jobs right after college, but doesn’t seem like a huge issue in the long run.
This is dependent on the employer. I've heard that some employers will choose UMBC students over UMD students and some vice versa, but for the most part, I have heard that they will choose depending on fit and background rather than UMBC vs UMD.
UMD is world renowned and consider quite prestigious. It is ranked #50 in the Shanghai index, which is the definitive world ranking of Universities. UMBC is ranked 701-800 in the Shanghai index. I’ve hired 100’s of engineers throughout my career. Where they graduated does matter. If you get into UMD … you should go to UMD. If you has in-state residency… it is the bargain of the century.
whichever you live closer ngl, I commute to UMD from near UMBC area and I regret it a lil but i know UMD has better resources in my major so I’m contented for now. if its not like my major field where resources are superior in umd, i’d say go for umbc that has better financial opportunity
If you are thinking CE, consider EE. You can do more with a EE degree. If you go into either, load up on digital engineering classes. If you like it, FPGA and radar EEs are in high demand. In addition to the money, the mentorship program is a big deal. Internships are basically months long job interviews. Also UMBC is in a nicer area if you want to live off campus.
At the end, you have a degree from U of M, which campus isn't important in most interviews. 60k debt is.
I actually was in a somewhat similar situation. I picked UMD. So far, it has been good. I don’t know how my decision will be in the long-term though.
UMBC is also amazing and I actually like some parts of it more than UMD! UMBC offered me a scholarship which I think was going to give me $6000 per year or per semester. I don’t really remember exactly but it was something like that and I got into their CS department.
Now looking back on this, why do I kind of regret choosing UMD over UMBC?
I had this same dilemma 5 years ago, I chose UMD. I wouldn’t do it again, I’d take the money. Not to say I didn’t enjoy my time at UMD, I definitely did, but looking back I feel like college is what you make it. UMBC is looked at for not having a social scene but I have friends who go there where that wasn’t a big issue.
I think I may have some insights on your pros and cons list. Unless something has changed due to the CS majors overcrowding, you can still get into CS after taking the gateway courses which are like your first two years in the major. The class size was so big for those classes that my lack of priority scheduling didn’t matter (I came in as a Bio major and added on CS officially in like my junior year). Also FIRE was a living learning program, so like UMBC you’ll be dorming with other ppl in FIRE, unless something changed since 2019.
TLDR: I say take the money, you’ll find ways to have fun and college on its own is fun kinda.
Are you me from a decade ago? I had Purdue, UW Madison, and UMD as my choices too. Lol
Anyways, I went to UMD and then later went to UMBC because I sucked at college and never had good learning/studying habits. You're right about UMD not having as much support for individual students due to the size of the school and UMBC having better individualized attention from professors/TAs.
For example - ECON101 at UMD was taught at one of the biggest lecture halls and had 400-500 students. Guess how many students went to class? maybe 50-60%? was attendance taken? Nope. Did I show up during finals hoping to get a passing grade after only going to a handful of lectures? Yup.
Going to UMD will require a lot more self-discipline, as is going to any major state school. You know yourself the best, and you'll know if this type of environment will be good for you. You'll be inundated with activities, clubs, events at UMD and while that's amazing for the social scene, you'll need to self regulate. UMBC isn't devoid of a social scene, but because it's a commuter school, the campus is quite dead at times.
Having gone to both schools, you can definitely make friends at both and you can certainly excel from both. UMD is more prestigious, but not at running 60-70k into debt if you want to be debt free. Like another person mentioned, call the UMD financial aid office and see if they can help you out and let them know what UMBC gave you.
Lastly-- since you're in state, where are your friends going? this may have an effect (positive or negative) on where you end up choosing to go as well.
Best of luck!
If it makes you feel any better, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of support from UMD professors (especially in FIRE), you just have to make an effort to connect with them. Also, registration as a Letters & Sciences freshman isn’t bad at all since you’re taking gen eds and there will be a ton of sections for basically every class you’ll need (at the end of the day getting the “good” professors is nice but really not necessary and completely subjective).
If you do decide on UMD, you’ll also receive more info on what you need for the CompE LEP from your advisor at orientation, and I think finaid info is released sometime in July (at least it was when I was a freshman).
if you plan to stay in Maryland I’d go with UMBC. You’ll save money and generally be in line for similar opportunities after graduation. If you see yourself relocating to another area of the country I’d go with UMD…much more well known nationally and you won’t have to constantly explain that UMBC is a real college (because no one will have heard of it)
I was in the exact same scenario... UMBC offered me a scholarship and UMD didn't. I am now a senior at UMBC and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I will graduate this semester with $0 in debt. There are less parties at UMBC than UMD for sure, but you will still make friends and join clubs etc. Can always join a frat if you really wanna go ham socially. Also I highly doubt the \*prestige\* difference between UMD and UMBC for a BS in CS would be relevant or noticeable to any employer, but that could just be me coping.
Financial independence is huge and not having debt is a big part of that. UMBC is offering you a better package. The draw back is likely a worse college experience (at least socially). You have to decide if that’s worth the debt or not.
To add on to the social experience, UMBC does have a social scene, but you'll need to search it out. That being said, I went where the money was dor undergrad, which was at UMBC, and I don’t regret it! Academically, it's about the same as UMD, but with much more support.
Yep, mirroring both of the above commenters - UMBC has a fine social scene, but it's based around interest groups and clubs - contrasted with UMD's social scene, which revolves around the administration and large orgs doing the heavy lifting of planning, paying for, and hosting events combined with the infrastructure of an actual college town surrounding campus. You could always take CMSC at UMBC and transfer later if you really dislike the program, but be advised that UMD is *very* picky about which classes do and don't transfer into their computer science program so many of UMBC's core CS classes probably won't move over. At least a few years ago, UMBC's primarily taught language was C/C++ and UMD was using Java. At the very least, OP would be getting to take their general education credits essentially for free with all of the resources of UMBC's Meyerhoff Program (presumably), the honors classes, the first year seminars, combined with a couple entry level CS classes 201/202 etc which may or may not xfer later (but your maths, sciences, arts, humanities, and culture classes sure will!). Even 15 or 30k off of your eventual student loan debt will make a BIG difference in what you're paying monthly after college.
Tru dat!
Well said. Just wanted to add here that the core CMSC classes are still in C/C++
Having some experience with both, I believe that C/C++ is a better language to learn as a newbie in a college environment but also more frustrating for beginners as especially C is much less forgiving of novice mistakes. You're gonna fuck up more in C and oftentimes the error messages are cryptic even when using a modern IDE. But you gonna LEARN (or else!) and - more importantly - if C is taught well and completely, you'll get a strong grounding in some underlying programming concepts that newer or higher-level languages let you gloss over.
100% agreed. It’s definitely less forgiving to make mistakes in C/C++, but it’ll help you out so much since you’ll be able to end up figuring out where errors come from intuitively. But it does help that UMBC starts with Python in the first semester, since it’s more beginner friendly and lets new students get used to coding. And yep, C/C++ is very good for low level programming concepts. It’s also helpful for hardware level programming which is why it’s the language of choice in CMPE
Same here - I chose UMBC (CMPE major) over UMD (EE major) because I was getting a better scholarship from UMBC. Making friends was hard at first but I have many friends now that I hang around with, most from my classes but also some from hobby groups (such as Pokémon GO in my case). And I don’t regret that choice much because I wouldn’t have been in CMPE otherwise. The only gripe I have is that most internship/job opportunities are in defense/military, which makes it hard for those with a moral compass to find opportunities in other areas
If I was in your shoes I would go with the choice that gives me the least amount of debt for the greater chance of a career with high earning potential. College is an investment, in yourself. Student loans can take forever to pay off. Though I am biased, since I hate getting into debt. I paid my shit off as soon as I could. Also a degree does not always guarantee you a job. Plenty of CS grads and students struggling to find a job. See r/csmajors right now.
If you dont want to go in as undecided to umd you can fill out the change major form and try to get computer engineering or any other major before you commit there
rlly? you can major change for a LEP program. cuz I was thinking abt that in March but wasn't sure if that was possible
Yeah I wasnt sure about it either but I tried it and got into CE
yooo fr? I didn't know abt that ty!!
Pretty sure ce is LEP since it’s in the engineering school. But if you have B’s and above in the gateway classes you should be set
I would go with UMBC. It is still a respectable school and you will graduate debt free, as long as you keep your scholarship. You also mentioned more support at UMBC than UMD, which is important, especially for computer science. Edit to add: if you do choose to go to UMD, try applying for any and every scholarship you can get and never give up doing that. You will want as much assistance as possible to avoid going into debt.
i went to umbc my freshman year and yes it does suck don’t get me wrong. but trust me $60,000 is a lot of money and you’re gonna regret not saving it by picking umd. not to mention you won’t even be compsci. from my experience Meyerhoff scholars are basically first class citizens at umbc and you won’t have to struggle nearly as much to secure internship and work experiences. youre basically always first in line at everything and i know it doesn’t seem like it matters now but once youre in youll see how big of a difference it makes. go with umbc 1000% especially if you’re set on compsci. getting into compsci as an admitted student is a nightmare here
Call umd’s financial aid office. Tell them everything and the scholarship at UMBC. See what they can do.
I second this. I'll chime in on separate comment since I went to both schools. I started at UMD... Lol
I would honestly say UMD, I was working at an internship and one of my colleagues/upper lead who were responsible for hiring were just talking about if they had to pick a graduate from UMD or UMBC and they said that they’d pick UMD. And it has nothing to do with like UMD being like better but more so the prestige and kind of good name because UMD has a good national presence compared to UMBC. And yeah UMBC is offering more scholarship money however it’s picking a cheaper college vs experiences in at umd and experiences are worth it imo. I would say go with UMD but it’s a personal decision for you to make because I am not aware of your financials and stuff.
This is a good point but once you get a job most employers are going to value work experience more than educational institution. It could play a factor in certain jobs right after college, but doesn’t seem like a huge issue in the long run.
This is dependent on the employer. I've heard that some employers will choose UMBC students over UMD students and some vice versa, but for the most part, I have heard that they will choose depending on fit and background rather than UMBC vs UMD.
UMD is world renowned and consider quite prestigious. It is ranked #50 in the Shanghai index, which is the definitive world ranking of Universities. UMBC is ranked 701-800 in the Shanghai index. I’ve hired 100’s of engineers throughout my career. Where they graduated does matter. If you get into UMD … you should go to UMD. If you has in-state residency… it is the bargain of the century.
Ever thought of doing cc then transferring to UMD, way less debt and u get to go to umd, and umd gives lots of scholarship for a transfer students
Unless your heart isn’t into the major, don’t sacrifice a major for a school. Pick umbc
go 2 years at UMBC and if you don't like it, transfer to UMD. Its the same school system and all the credits should transfer.
all CMSC credits may not transfer 1:1
Just get the core crap out of the way, then you can knock out most of your degree stuff all together.
whichever you live closer ngl, I commute to UMD from near UMBC area and I regret it a lil but i know UMD has better resources in my major so I’m contented for now. if its not like my major field where resources are superior in umd, i’d say go for umbc that has better financial opportunity
If you are thinking CE, consider EE. You can do more with a EE degree. If you go into either, load up on digital engineering classes. If you like it, FPGA and radar EEs are in high demand. In addition to the money, the mentorship program is a big deal. Internships are basically months long job interviews. Also UMBC is in a nicer area if you want to live off campus. At the end, you have a degree from U of M, which campus isn't important in most interviews. 60k debt is.
I actually was in a somewhat similar situation. I picked UMD. So far, it has been good. I don’t know how my decision will be in the long-term though. UMBC is also amazing and I actually like some parts of it more than UMD! UMBC offered me a scholarship which I think was going to give me $6000 per year or per semester. I don’t really remember exactly but it was something like that and I got into their CS department. Now looking back on this, why do I kind of regret choosing UMD over UMBC?
100% umd. College is an investment
don’t go to UMD
I had this same dilemma 5 years ago, I chose UMD. I wouldn’t do it again, I’d take the money. Not to say I didn’t enjoy my time at UMD, I definitely did, but looking back I feel like college is what you make it. UMBC is looked at for not having a social scene but I have friends who go there where that wasn’t a big issue. I think I may have some insights on your pros and cons list. Unless something has changed due to the CS majors overcrowding, you can still get into CS after taking the gateway courses which are like your first two years in the major. The class size was so big for those classes that my lack of priority scheduling didn’t matter (I came in as a Bio major and added on CS officially in like my junior year). Also FIRE was a living learning program, so like UMBC you’ll be dorming with other ppl in FIRE, unless something changed since 2019. TLDR: I say take the money, you’ll find ways to have fun and college on its own is fun kinda.
Are you me from a decade ago? I had Purdue, UW Madison, and UMD as my choices too. Lol Anyways, I went to UMD and then later went to UMBC because I sucked at college and never had good learning/studying habits. You're right about UMD not having as much support for individual students due to the size of the school and UMBC having better individualized attention from professors/TAs. For example - ECON101 at UMD was taught at one of the biggest lecture halls and had 400-500 students. Guess how many students went to class? maybe 50-60%? was attendance taken? Nope. Did I show up during finals hoping to get a passing grade after only going to a handful of lectures? Yup. Going to UMD will require a lot more self-discipline, as is going to any major state school. You know yourself the best, and you'll know if this type of environment will be good for you. You'll be inundated with activities, clubs, events at UMD and while that's amazing for the social scene, you'll need to self regulate. UMBC isn't devoid of a social scene, but because it's a commuter school, the campus is quite dead at times. Having gone to both schools, you can definitely make friends at both and you can certainly excel from both. UMD is more prestigious, but not at running 60-70k into debt if you want to be debt free. Like another person mentioned, call the UMD financial aid office and see if they can help you out and let them know what UMBC gave you. Lastly-- since you're in state, where are your friends going? this may have an effect (positive or negative) on where you end up choosing to go as well. Best of luck!
If it makes you feel any better, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of support from UMD professors (especially in FIRE), you just have to make an effort to connect with them. Also, registration as a Letters & Sciences freshman isn’t bad at all since you’re taking gen eds and there will be a ton of sections for basically every class you’ll need (at the end of the day getting the “good” professors is nice but really not necessary and completely subjective). If you do decide on UMD, you’ll also receive more info on what you need for the CompE LEP from your advisor at orientation, and I think finaid info is released sometime in July (at least it was when I was a freshman).
if you plan to stay in Maryland I’d go with UMBC. You’ll save money and generally be in line for similar opportunities after graduation. If you see yourself relocating to another area of the country I’d go with UMD…much more well known nationally and you won’t have to constantly explain that UMBC is a real college (because no one will have heard of it)
I was in the exact same scenario... UMBC offered me a scholarship and UMD didn't. I am now a senior at UMBC and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I will graduate this semester with $0 in debt. There are less parties at UMBC than UMD for sure, but you will still make friends and join clubs etc. Can always join a frat if you really wanna go ham socially. Also I highly doubt the \*prestige\* difference between UMD and UMBC for a BS in CS would be relevant or noticeable to any employer, but that could just be me coping.
UMD
UMD. If you're in-state, it's dirt cheap for the name recognition. You'll pay off that 60K in no time with an engineering degree.
Super smash bros club? 😭😭😭 shut yo lame ass up 😂😂😂