| I chose what would possibly have been a ton of money from UMD to go to Penn. If you can afford to shell out 50k a year (or if the aid is really good) go to Penn. If you have to take a ton in loans (over half the cost each year) it's not worth it to go to Penn.
About the engineering rankings, what do you want to do after college? Ask yourself two questions: 1) do you want to study engineering? and 2) do you want to do engineering after college?) If you want to be an engineer, it probably won't matter too much which college you go to. If you want to go to med school, law school, go into business, or something else that isn't very engineering related, Penn will give you many great options and better advising to achieve your goals than UMD.
In the end, it's up to you, what you can afford, and where you feel more at home. For me, it was Penn. For you it may be different. I strongly encourage you to visit both colleges (Penn Previews end next Monday, and I think Friday will have tons of kids), meet your fellow incoming students, and learn more about what each has to offer. | 
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