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University of Maryland vs University of Massachusetts Amherst
collegehelp325
3 replies1 threads New Member
I am currently a freshman at University of Massachusetts Amherst majoring in psychology on the neuroscience track (they do not have a neuroscience major here) and I am debating on transferring to UMD (where I am from) for the fall of 2020. I was rejected from UMD College Park for fall of 2019. I noticed that they recently developed a neuroscience major at UMD. I also could get in-state tuition at UMD. But I do not know if it would be worth transferring since I have already developed a place for myself here at University of Massachusetts Amherst. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or suggestions at to what I should do? Or if anyone has any advice on what being a transfer student is like? Also if I even had a chance of getting accepted into UMD for fall of 2020?
11 replies
Replies to: University of Maryland vs University of Massachusetts Amherst
Your best bet for transferring into UMD is to complete the MTAP at a community college. https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/admission-requirements/transfer-applicant-requirements/maryland-transfer-advantage-program
That said, UMD accepts a fair number of transfers from other universities each year. Go ahead and apply this year if you want to.
You can get a very good education at either school. You will need to keep a very high GPA at either school to have a good chance of getting into medical school, and a fairly high GPA to get into a good graduate school.
Since you are already at a very good university, I also would be reluctant to transfer to a community college in the hopes of getting into UMD in the future.
One thing that I wonder about is whether the fact that UMD just started having a neuroscience major would help you get in, on the basis that they might want to get some students into the program. I don't see how you could find out other than by applying and see whether you get in.
It seems to me that there are three things that you can do: (i) Keep your grades up as much as you can at U.Mass. This will help regardless of what you do next; (ii) Try to continue to fit in at U.Mass, such as by participating in club activities; (iii) Apply to UMD and see whether you get in.
You need to see https://www.lep.umd.edu/
You'll be competing against UMD internal transfers ( from Letters and Sciences) as well as community college transfers.
You need to contact the pretransfer advisor.
https://www.pretransferadvising.umd.edu/
And note: "We will consider your academic record and grades received in all college-level courses. Students who have completed fewer than 30 semester or 45 quarter hours at the time of application are expected to submit high school records and SAT and/or ACT scores for review. If you’ve attended more than one institution, we’ll calculate a cumulative average for all previous college work. Be sure to review our application checklist for a list of all required materials for a complete application..."
If you have B+/A average you will have a chance. But with LEP, you could be admitted to Letters and Sciences and not make it into Neuroscience.
I realize it's many yrs ago but middle brother was a similar bio: UMASS, Psych and Zoology (premed) major. Decided on NeuroPsychology and earned his PhD from Univ Texas. At the time, UNC and UMinn were the other primary contenders based on their programs.
The schools themselves are peers. You'll be fine at either. If you like UMASS and it's affordable, I would stay vs. transferring, especially if that requires a CC route.
A UMD CS transfer is easier than for most other universities, so if you get a minimum of 2.7 gpa in your freshman year you're almost guaranteed into the major. What is your annual budget? Considering tuition increases by 3-5% each year, I would recommend you join UMass and graduate debt-free.