Is this school a good fit for me?

[FlamingCactus]

So I’n choosing between Towson, UMD, and the University of Richmond. Towson is most affordable by far, costing about 7K a year while UR is the second cheapest, costing about 23K.

I haven’t heard great things about Towson online. People are saying on the forums that it’s a joke school for people who just want to party. I would be in the honors program and majoring in either molecular biology or physics. So I would probably be around more academicly minded individuals. I went to TU4U and met some professors and department chairs. They were all super cool and nice.

I’m kind of stuck. Are there smart and serious people at Towson? What is the honors college like? I love hanging around nerds at my high school and I’m afraid I won’t be able to find a nerdy crowd. I’m also afraid that the classes for the first two years won’t be challenging enough. Any thoughts?

[shellbab]

I hope there are more replies to your post. My son is deciding between Towson and UMBC. He was also admitted to the honors college for both. He has slightly more merit money at UMBC. We also attended TU4U and were impressed by the presentation at the honors college breakfast and the sample honors seminar. I do worry about the academics at Towson which is making this decision more difficult. Good luck to you.

[1stTimeThruMom]

@shellbab Would love to hear what you decide! Congrats to your son.

[FlamingCactus]

I visited UMD and Richmond. I really didn’t like either of them. But I’m rethinking the university of Rochester. It’s at least 23K thousand dollars more a year. The pro con lists are so loooooooooonnnnggggg!!! Some of the pros are also cons and it just makes everything more confusing. I don’t want to end up in debt, especially since I’m going to med school after college. But I also need a challenge in the classroom. If I’m not challenged enough then I usually shirk all responsibilities.

I hate decisions. Whoever said the college search is fun sits on a throne of lies!!! (Reference to Buddy the elf if you didn’t get that.)

[shellbab]

@flamingcactus did you apply to UMBC? Academically that would be a perfect fit for you.

[trackmbe3]

@FlamingCactus Anecdotally I know of a several students from our NYC metro area high school who went Towson. It’s a popular out-of-state choice for students from our high school and they all seem to like it there. But these students are B students and not nerdy or quirky whereas it seems you are an A student and you describe yourself as nerdy. Being in the Honors program at Towson would help you to be around the smartest students such as yourself. You like the professors and it is your cheapest option so unless you are from a wealthy family where cost is not an issue, you should go either there or to UMaryland (assuming you are in-state) —ether UMBC or the College Park campus, where costs are comparable. Anecdotally I have a friend in Maryland who’s son went to UMBC and loved it. I had never heard of UMBC (only the flagship UM college Park) but the friend explained that UMBC is like an honors college and her student is a smart serious and nerdy student who chose it over UM college park. As for U of Rochester, it’s in a separate league above the rest but it’s cost are prohibitive. My D got accepted with a $20,000 scholarship but even with that amount the cost of attendance was still in the mid 40K range per year, which made It unaffordable to us.

[FlamingCactus]

I didn’t apply to UMBC. It was kind of stupid looking back. I slept on it and decided to accept the offer at Towson. Yeah, I’m nerdy and quirky, but at a large public school there ought to be other nerds like me. And if I find that I don’t fit in, then maybe I’ll try out for MENSA. I have no clue what my IQ is and frankly I don’t think that the IQ test is very accurate. I digress.

I think I just got way too stressed out over the whole matter. I have way too many type A friends that believe that if they don’t go to Ivies then they’ll never succeed in life. I know it’s not true at all, and there’s evidence contrary to that, but I’m not immune to that thinking. I believe that being a big fish in a little pond will prove to be more helpful when applying to med schools. More importantly, God’s plan over my life isn’t dependent on what school I choose.

If anyone else is reading this and is in the same situation as me, there’s a great asap science video about it:

https://youtu.be/Ow1-uj0ToVY

[shellbab]

@flamingcactus you will probably meet my son then. He plans on committing to Towson and will also be in the honors college. He doesn’t know what he wants to major in yet. I would say he is nerdy too so I am sure you will become friends.

[shellbab]

@1stTimeThruMom my son will be committing to Towson. He was ready to commit to UMBC until he found out he didn’t get in the Humanities Scholars Program. Even after that disappointment, he was still going to commit to UMBC until I suggested we give Towson another visit on admitted students day. He fell in love with the honors college, honors dorms, and the campus. His scholarship money is slightly less at Towson than UMBC so we will be paying more.

[1stTimeThruMom]

@shellbab Congratulations to your son! Thank you for letting me know.

[FlamingCactus]

That’s nice to know!

[mamaedefamilia]

@FlamingCactus

Can your parents afford the 16K/year difference? Do these estimates include loans or are they based on grant aid? If you were to go to Richmond, what would be the debt burden carried by you and your parents at the end of four years?

[FlamingCactus]

Nope. They could help me out if I chose to go to one of the other schools, but I’d still be left in debt. I already committed to Towson.