UMD OR PENN STATE

maryversity
Fri, 10 Apr 2015 04:07:51 +0000

" Its only in MD where people say UMD is better"

Wrong. Just plain wrong.

I’m not in Maryland, Delaware or Virginia, so please don’t presume to speak as to what people are saying about Maryland’s reputation outside of the “DMV” area unless you live there.

Penn State is certainly a very fine school but NOT viewed as a better reputation. Yes Penn State has a helluva network but Maryland has a pretty dang good network also and a far better location given its proximity to the nation’s Capitol.

I won’t disparage Penn State but I can’t remain silent over that ridiculous comment that somehow Maryland doesn’t have an outstanding reputation that is continuing to rise. In fact, it is more difficult (average admission stats) to gain admission to Maryland than to Penn State.

What may be causing confusion is the reference to Penn State as “Penn”…“Penn” is the nickname to reference the University of Pennsylvania which is an Ivy League school. In that case, the reputation of “Penn” (meaning Ivy League) is in fact greater than the reputation of Maryland. As for Penn State, no, it is not far greater.

As for the specific major, aerospace engineering is outstanding at Maryland. There is a wind tunnel and a neutral buoyancy tank (the only university to have one!) on campus. Goddard Space Center is about 10 minutes away from campus in Greenbelt Maryland. Really great resources and opportunities. Admission to Maryland’s engineering is guaranteed if u meet the minimum gateway requirements. I don’t know what the process is at Penn State for admission to engineering.

The question is twofold. 1. Which has the better program for what your son wants to study (literally compare 4 year academic plans for each and look at specific classes side by side). FYI, Maryland is great for cross-disciplinary training. 2. Where does your son feel he would be happiest at - what is the better "fit " overall.