I have 2 questions, one about majors and one about specific colleges.
Firstly, I planning on doing either a Neuroscience + Computer Science Double Major or a Bioengineering + Computer Science one.
If you have some advice on future prospects of Neuroscience vs. Bioengineering, it would be extremely helpful.
Secondly, I’m trying to decide between George Mason and University of Maryland - College Park
GMU is in-state for me, but if I got UMD I would move there after a semester and apply for in-state tuition.
I would really love some info about the programs in both universities and if UMD is worth the out-of-state tuition.
Thank you so so so much!
Which majors have you been admitted for at each school? Often CS and engineering require direct applications to the major. In particular, getting into CS at UMD is really hard.
What might you like to do after you graduate college? What types of careers interest you? Have you tried coding, and if so, do you enjoy it?
ETA: I just checked UMD: neuro, CS, and engineering are all limited enrollment majors, so you’d need to have applied directly to each program. Not sure what the process would be to change into them after matriculation but it’s described below
After briefly browsing GMU’s offerings, I’d think that this program would appeal to you:
Bachelor’s in Bioengineering with the Concentration in Neurotechnology and Computational Neuroscience (NTCN).
That kills all your birds with one stone, for an in-state price, and avoiding the absolute slog of doing a double major in your fields of interest. Also, a double major would almost certainly require an extra year, which can be expensive.
Are you interested in that program? And if so, have you been admitted to the college of engineering at GMU?
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You won’t get instate tuition simply by moving to Maryland…sorry…you won’t. Your parents would need to relocate to Maryland…and they would need to establish your family residency there. And one semester wouldn’t be long enough anyway. Your parents and family would need to be there at least 12 months before classes start.
And if there is an inkling that your residency is JUST for instate tuition purposes, it could be declined.
Your plan is a faulty one if it is counting on instate tuition for Maryland.
Are your parents on board with relocating?
And adding…you are instate for VA which has a bunch of terrific public universities.
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I will speak to UMD as it’s a very popular school in my area. I don’t know much about GMU personally so I’ll defer to others.
UMD has a very strong CS program (it’s ranked in the top 20). It’s rigorous and provides a wide range of opportunities. Their neuro program is also very strong and the two students I know there who are neuro majors speak highly of their experience.
I believe double majoring in these two fields will be hard as they are both demanding majors. But that’s your call.
I would research and talk to them.
I’m not sure this is a good plan to base four years on if not affordable at your current tuition rate. If it was, many would do so. But if you haven’t seen this page…here you go.
Residency FAQs | Office of the University Registrar (umd.edu)
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Programmer here…NOPE! There is no CS degree that’s worth the cost of paying double/triple the amount of tuition and graduating with a mountain of @#$%^ debt. Even if you could get the loans co-signed by your parents, it would be financial suicide. You got a good thing going with GMU. CS is ridiculously employable, and GMU is a well recruited school. I promise, you’ll find a job and you have a good comfortable well-paid career ahead of you going to GMU.
@SSN000, can you clarify if you’ll need to take on debt if you go to UMD?