maryland senior, deciding between UMD and UC Davis soon. family can definitely afford either, even with UC Davis OOS tuition, although UMD would obviously make more sense financially. added wrinkle of winter 2025 (or freshman connections) at UMD. might rather be in Davis, but unsure whether it is worth it to go all the way to Cali for UC Davis, compared to UMD. current plan is Environmental Science or Biology focus in school.
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no, definitely not worth the OOS costs for a typical undergrad degree.
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For the $33k/year extra (and without any big differences in prestige or program quality), she can go to UMD, take plenty of beach vacations, and still have saved money.
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I would choose UMD and save the money for grad school.
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Both of these are areas where some form of graduate program is likely.
I would not worry about or even bother looking at small differences in ranking between two very good universities at this level. You can get an excellent education at either of these schools.
Personally I would stay in-state, avoid long flights, and save money. If I were the parent, then I might allow the student to apply the money saved (or at least most of it) towards a graduate program.
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What would she do Fall semester?
I get the hesitation - so to explore UCD, since you can afford - it’s a great school but know that geographically, Maryland will not be high on the list. It wiill be mostly CA students.
Yes, the degree will likely lead to a low paying job or grad school but if your family is content and you’ve visited and love Davis, then I see nothing wrong with choosing it.
Best of luck.
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Freshman Connection at UMD means student can live on campus and has to take classes between 3 and 9pm. They get smaller classes and can still graduate on time.
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So, OP can choose starting in thr Winter OR freshman connections, right?
@vscooooott : do you have a preference?
I would stay in-state to save money and it’s closer to where you live. Although IF you have visited both colleges and find that UC Davis is a better fit for you, and your family can afford it, then I don’t see a problem.
“take plenty of beach vacations, and still have saved money”.
The same holds true for attending Davis. Take plenty of beach vacations because Davis is in the middle of farmland in inland California. It takes a while to get to any beach from there.
Our daughter attended Davis and loved it but she didn’t have to pay out of state fees. Save your dollars and go to UMD.
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