<p>my daughter was accepted to univeristy of maryland scholars, american university regular, and stony brook university
the cost of umd for out of state student is so so expensive parent loan $30+, american university give her alot of grants . i will be paying the same $ as stony brook which is a
state school in my home state ny.
has anyone have kids in either of the school and are they happy there?
thanks for any info</p>
<p>What does your daughter plan to study?</p>
<p>Depending on what she wants to study (UM has some very strong programs as the others do, too), I would lean towards AU and Stony Brook. Does she like a smaller school? Has she visited both? You could easily visit UM and AU in one visit if Maryland stays in the picture.</p>
<p>American is top notch in a few fields and has not only access to internships, but a culture that makes it very easy to have internships during the school year - assuming one has an interest in government or international affairs at least. (The only aspect of the school we explored in detail.) It was my youngest son’s safety school and part of me still wonders if he would have been better off attending.</p>
<p>I have taught at Stony Brook and live ten minutes away if you any questions for me. I have nothing to weigh in on your choice, but I do like Stony Brook, more than word-of-mouth has it.</p>
<p>My son is a junior at AU, if you have any specific questions. </p>
<p>He is in the business school but has taken a good number of classes across all academic disciplines. He has loved it there…he loves that the school is urban but has a real campus, and a real campus culture. He loves that he has friends, not just from his home area, or his own country, but from all over the world. </p>
<p>He loves the opportunities he has had academically and also professionally—he has had a variety of internships, which have both given him real work experience and also have helped him figure out what he does and does not want to do.</p>
<p>His classes have been small…there are not any gargantuan lecture halls on campus. Almost all of his professors have been accessible. The other students are articulate and ambitious and serious about school. Yes, they do party (this is college)…but generally, not til their work is done.</p>
<p>My son had a great experience at the University of Maryland, but I don’t see any particular advantage of that school over American University, if American is cheaper for you.</p>
<p>Your daughter could easily visit both schools on one trip and probably should.</p>
<p>If UMD stays in the picture, I think she could be happy there. The College Park Scholars program, in which freshmen and sophomores live in a dorm with people who share their interests and take some classes with them, does a good job of making the huge campus seem smaller. Also, most of the out-of-staters are from your region, so your daughter would not feel out of place. And in my son’s experience, at least, it’s not difficult to get attention from professors and even opportunities to participate in research, if you want them.</p>
<p>The school she likes best that you can afford to pay shoule be the choice. My personal favorite of the three is American. It gets her out of NY, and opens her horizons. It a very good school. She is getting a great deal in terms of price for it that may not be offered if she ever wanted to transfer there. If it doesn’t work out, the cost and admissions for Stony Brook would likely still be an option she has in her pocket.</p>
<p>Stony Brook has some strong programs, but I don’t think it has the same on-campus life as American or Maryland. A lot of Long Islanders go there and do not stay for the weekend. My neighbor (a HS senior) visited and just did not feel comfortable there - I think it was the very tech-y atmosphere. </p>
<p>What does your DD want to study? That could help her determine which school. Also, she should spend time on each campus - in dining halls, in the library - and see if she feels comfortable.</p>
<p>All things being equal (including price, which is amazing considering how expensive American is), I know my DD would choose American. (In fact, American, Maryland and Delaware were her top three choices - she was deferred at UMD, accepted to American with very little money, and accepted at Delaware, where she is now a happy sophomore. But she really liked American too. We are from LI and Stony Brook was not a consideration -mostly due to location to start with).</p>
<p>Actually the Art and Music departments of Stony Brook are as much a draw as the techy stuff. The Music program in particular is very highly ranked and the Emerson Quartet are in residence.</p>
<p>Stony Brook benefits from Manhattan artists and musicians on the faculty and giving master classes.</p>
<p>I am not arguing that someone’s neighbor did not get a good feel there, but I know many kids who have loved Stony Brook. The valedictorian and number 3 spot in DS’s graduating class went to Stony Brook, the children of European physicists at Brookhaven Labs who believe in public education. These two were more brilliant than the kids who went to Princeton and UPenn (and my own S, Williams.)</p>
<p>So, if MD or AU is preferred, by all means, but there are many boosters of Stony Brook, too. I got my BA there and then got into an Ivy grad school.</p>
<p>I would go with with what is most affordable. All are good options. Maryland does have a very high retention rate. 95.2% of freshman come back after one year.</p>
<p>In your instance, I would send her to AU assuming she doesn’t have one of a very specific few majors. (If she’s interested in music, the choice becomes Stony Brook or MD and there’s no way I would take out parent loans like that for a music major so I would send her to Stony Brook. If she is interested in engineering, I would send her to MD.)</p>