UMD vs. Montgomery College

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Which would be better to attend UMD or Montgomery College??</p>

<p>UMD is very big but I heard the lecturers are a little better…
Montgomery College is somewhat smaller with 30 people classes but I heard some lecturers arent good at all…</p>

<p>And what is better??</p>

<p>Live at home and attend Montgomery College or live on UMD campus…</p>

<p>My friend is wondering about it…
He got admitted to both… And he needs to make decision…</p>

<p>He wants to study Computer Science and Montgomery college has a very good CS program…</p>

<p>Montgomery College - Rockville is the campus he got into…</p>

<p>Would UMD-CP have a comparable CS program???</p>

<p>And do you know what college has better college parties and sports???</p>

2

<p>I’m a little suspicious as to whether this is a serious post!</p>

<p>Montgomery College is a community college. UMD-CP is a university with all levels from undergraduate to PHD and professional schools. There is no comparison about quality–UMD would win in all categories. </p>

<p>As for parties and sports–Mont. College is commuter, UMD is a residential college, although there are many commuters as well. UMD has fraternities and sororities, plus many other social groups–lots of parties on and off campus. The sports are huge as they are part of the ACC and are Division I.</p>

3

<p>Montgomery College is state owned…
And it has dorms it in it…
and Bachelors+Associates programs… No PhD or professional though…
but my friend is interested in starting on CS major close to home</p>

<p>Then he wants to transfer to MIT where he didnt get in originally…</p>

<p>so he doesnt really care much whether its UMD or MC-Rockville</p>

<p>arent both schools pretty much on the local level anyways</p>

4

<p>With all due respect to Variance, UMCP is a major, national university, with some outstanding programs and all the opportunities that a large state university has to offer.</p>

<p>Montgomery CC is a CC.</p>

<p>And btw, Montgomery doesn’t have an intense bb rivalry with UNC and Duke, and its football teams haven’t be ranked in the top twenty-five in Division IA or been to a BCS bowl in the last few years.</p>

5

<p>UMD is ranked about number 53 in the nation. It’s a great opportunity to go to a place like that paying in-state tuition. I recently attended Maryland Day, their open house for the entire community. My friend and I were highly impressed with the facilities. My sons loved it and can’t wait to go there. It is big, though. Some people would feel better in a much smaller school. My friend did feel it might be too big and overwhelming for her son, who was with us. We ate in the food court of the student union. It had about 8 major fastfood restaurants. We were shocked to find out later that there is a bigger food court on the other side of campus. The kids, of course, were highly interested in the fast food and sports facilities.</p>

6

<p>yes, but MC has the same number of ppl attending as UMD…
and its not that easy to get into…
and they competed in several NCAA’s for sports…
they have very good volleyball…</p>

7

<p>Let me see. Should you go to UNC-Chapel Hill or Wake County Tech? Same thing.</p>

<p>BTW, community colleges do not compete in the NCAA. They compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association.</p>

<p>So let’s see: would I prefer to see the University of Maryland basbetball game against Duke or the Montcomery College–Tacoma Park vs. Montgomery County-Germantown volleyball game. Geez, really hard decision.</p>

8

<p>“Not that easy to get into…”–I have never heard of someone being turned down for their local community college–although I imagine it is possible. But if your friend seriously applied to MIT, then he will surely not have a problem getting into Montgomery College.</p>

<p>I’m still suspicious about how serious your post is…</p>

9

<p>yes… UNC-Chapel Hill is a great school… Top 20 of the nation…
Wake Tech is extrememly underfunded… I been there b4…</p>

<p>UMD is in the Top 100…
And Montgomery College - Rockville Honors Program is still recognized as one of best in the state…
Their acceptance rate is very low…</p>

<p>And stop talking about sports… My friend doesnt play them…
He just wants to go there for 2 years… Get the core classes for Computer Science then transfer to MIT: Computer Engineering…</p>

<p>I used to live in MD and many of my friends chose Montgomery College - Rockville over UMD for several reasons…</p>

<p>1) It is $1k-2k cheaper
2) It is closer to home (no on-campus fees)
3) Has a very good honors program
4) Teachers are pretty good
5) Great Computer Science Program
6) Tons of State Funding
7) Good ECs/Clubs
8) Very easy to transfer to Ivy or Another Expensive School after 2 years
9) Offers a bunch of associates programs and some bachelors programs
10) Honors Program is one of the best in the state
11) Many people from his school go there… (including many ppl from 1st and 2nd deciles)</p>

<p>MC is not an ordinary CC… It has 4 year programs and it has state and federal funding… It’s classes are taught by professors and other high-ranked lecturers… Some of them are extremely helpful
There is some research but not that much… But students are upon to participate in any lab or research…
The building looks like a museum…
And MC is only labeled a CC because it has main funding from Montgomery county…</p>

<p>Don’t forget… Montgomery County, MD is one of the most presitigious places to live in the USA… And most people there seek a good education and pay high taxes…</p>

<p>So MC is probably a better college than an average State college… Most people that graduate from their 4 year programs go to Grad School and most people that graduate from thier 2 year programs transfer to decent and good colleges…</p>

<p>I know people that went to MC for 2 years and then got into Georgetown, UNC, and Emory… Many colleges know about MC and value it…</p>

<p>I been to UNCG and I been to Montgomery college and I prefer MC a lot more…</p>

<p>Of course, UNC,Duke, and NC State are still old colleges w/ tons of research and special programs that are offered sparingly in the USA… so I seek to go to one of these…</p>

<p>But if I lived in Montgomery College, i would def. consider MC-Rockville as one of my choices…</p>

<p>And the Scholar Program is great…
<a href=“How To Apply and Register | Montgomery College, Maryland”>How To Apply and Register | Montgomery College, Maryland;
With Study Abroad and Great Transfer or 4-yr Diploma (in rare cases on the MC Scholar program) prep</p>

10

<p>This is a serious post…
He really wanted to go to MIT but he doesnt want to waste his money on going to an expensive UMD on-campus living…</p>

<p>Montgomery College itself is not that hard to get into… But the Honors Program is really hard…</p>

<p>I heard the averages are something like:</p>

<p>-High 1200s SAT
-3.5sh Unweighted GPA
-Interview
-Hard Placement Test (if already accepted into MC)</p>

<p>for MC itself, its very easy (especially Germantown):</p>

<p>-1000sh SAT
-2.5sh GPA</p>

11

<p>Montgomery College - Rockville still has selectivity since half of MCPS schools apply there…
Many people want to go to MC-Rockville but there is only certain amount of seats…</p>

<p>Last time I heard:</p>

<p>Acceptance Rates were: (instate, local)</p>

<p>-MC-Rockville (70%sh)
-MC-Rocville Honors Program (40%sh, same difficulty as UMD)</p>

12

<p>And UMD is huge…
1st and 2nd year classes are 350 people typically
unlike MC-Rockville’s 50 people
FOR SAME MONEY…</p>

<p>If you don’t play sports, WHY PAY MORE??
if you are transferring anyways…</p>

<p>Thats the question</p>

13

<p>Quote:</p>

<p>Acceptance Rates were: (instate, local)</p>

<p>-MC-Rockville (70%sh)</p>

<h2>-MC-Rocville Honors Program (40%sh, same difficulty as UMD)</h2>

<p>There is more to selectivity than the percent of students accepted. If you only went by that percentage, the most selective college in the country each year is the US Coast Guard Academy. The 50% SAT ranges at Univ of Maryland College Park are Verbal 560-660 and Math 590-690.</p>

<p>If a person wants to go to a community college for the first two years, that is fine. I’m not sure what is being said about Montgomery College not really being a community college. I live in Montgomery County and it is a community college. This is not some special thing where MC is nationally known as a selective community college.</p>

<p>For actual advice, I would look into any information MC has about students who have transferred in colleges like MIT. I imagine that transferring from UM-College Park would be an easier proposition, but it would be worthwhile to check out.</p>

<p>While CC is being used as a local forum for Montgomery County Public Schools, let us not overestimate the schools. My kid is going to Kennedy HS, and he would be better off almost anywhere.</p>

14

<p>You can argue that is pretty popular/selective that it has a load of Out-of-state and people from the other side of the state enrolling…</p>

15

<p>Variance,
I am an adult with a good understanding of Mont College. I’ve been to all three campuses (Rockville, Takoma Park, and Germantown). My son took a summer course there between junior and senior year. I am trying to help. Montgomery College is a community college. There is no special architecture or flavor to the buildings at any of the campuses. This is not to say that the campuses are not nice. They do not have dorms. There are no four year programs. All community colleges get funding from the state, county and federal governments. You are eligible to attend if you have graduated from high school. This is not unusual even for four year colleges. There are about 2200 four year colleges in the US, and relatively few of them are selective. (Although College Confidential concentrates on those.) In my son’s high school in Montgomery County, the average SAT score this year was 950. Eighty percent of the seniors from his high school who go to college go to Montgomery College. However, I do agree that going to a community college for the first two years can be good for the reasons you cited. There is no reason to think that a professor at MC would be less qualified to teach than a professor at the Univ of MD. The material is first and second-year, and professors at MC could be better because they probably enjoy teaching more and have no research concerns. The classes would be smaller. The facilities would be less. The positive peer pressure from other students would be less. For a motivated student, the education received at MC would be on par with the kind of education you would get at the Univ of Maryland. Of course it is less prestigious, but it is preparation for applying to a four-year school and so prestige is meaningless.</p>