<p>Any advice on cp vs American university??</p>
<p>Personally, I think American is great, but it does not have that same college feel as CP.</p>
<p>For our DD, American would be a great fit, she likes city life, and football/bball games are not a huge deal.</p>
<p>For our DS, he likes the ability to be close to the city, but not in it. He wanted the ability to have that “whole” college experience which meant going to football and bball games, on top of crappy dorms.</p>
<p>It also depends on your major, if it is criminal justice, you would be smart to go to UMD because that program is the top tier compared to American. Govt they are comparable. Engineering UMD is better than American.</p>
<p>^Agreed.</p>
<p>I believe MD is ranked slightly higher than American but around here they are seen as fairly comparable academically, though certain programs at each school certainly come out on top (ex. engineering, comp sci at MD).</p>
<p>Though American is located in a sort of suburban-ish atmosphere (in a residential area of the city), it still has the feel of a city campus with a small central academic area, no sports life, etc. and of course major proximity to city.</p>
<p>MD, like bullet said, is a typical state university with the city as an option. Also close to the city but not AS close and definitely has a different campus feel.</p>
<p>I find MD to be more diverse - ex. you have your crazy frat brothers and your politically minded activists, you have b-ball games and you also have DC, etc. MD has a huge, huge campus.</p>
<p>At the same time I can see how American would appeal to people…I know many friends who chose AU on scholarship over UMD. They are just very different.</p>
<p>Think about the program you’re interested in and definitely visit both!</p>
<p>I’m from somewhere in the northeast and in my experience UMD is generally seen as more selective and academically rigorous than American. However, you shouldn’t let something like that influence your decision. I attended Maryland for my freshmen year and then transferred to an ivy league school. While the grading curve is much harder here, I think the academics are virtually equivalent to Maryland. My new school is in a city like American, which is fun, but there is something really great about UMD’s traditional college atmosphere. Maryland and American are both great schools. College is what you make of it, so visit both and go wherever you think you will feel most comfortable!</p>