I have more than 20 relatives that attended UMD. Many of them engineers. Son will start there in fall (didn’t get into MIT). Know a few MIT students. There is NO COMPARISON! At MIT you are going to meet hundreds of world respected minds, both professors and students. It will be more challenging for sure and worth every bit of it. To help you get adjusted first semester is better than pass/fail, it is pass/don’t count (there is no fail). If you do not pass no negative grade is not recorded. Like you my son will have scholarships and Honors college. But the honors college is struggling to revamp it’s Living Learning Programs. Every change they make seems to make it less advantageous. Students can’t get into the program they want, can no longer take honors seminars they find interesting. Rather than expanding popular LLP most students are refused admission and thrown into catch all Univ. Honors. Everything is becoming regimented and less flexible. UMD is still a great school especially for engineers and comp. science. BUT you got into the best engineering school in the country and is worth every penny of the FULL tuition price. The people you will meet, the research you will see and have access to, the advancements in your field that you will have the chance to be a part of… I don’t think there is a decision involved. Go to MIT. Yes, your graduate school selection may be more important but I can’t imagine that any college will prepare you for acceptance to MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, etc. better than MIT undergrad.