<p>Let me first say I was just deferred at UNC but if I had been accepted to both and received merit aid from both I would have selected UMD. Agree with UNC being “nicer” town but UMD campus is nice and how can you trade proximity to D.C. especially if you want to major in government & politics. UNC is only 18% OOS by state mandate so I was a little concerned about the diversity there. I believe OOS at UMD is about 29%. I think the strength of your particular program is far more important than the overall “reputation” of the school. I liked the location of UMD, strength and flexibility of the journalism program at UMD and the diversity of UMD/D.C better than UNC. I also thought highly of the students and faculty I met at UNC.</p>