I got into UMD EA (waiting for possible scholarships) with direct admission to CS. I also got into UT Dallas for CS with a $12k/yr scholarship and admission to the CV Honors College. I am a Texas resident.
The cost of attending either of these schools is not a key deciding factor for my family.
I am also waiting to hear back from UIUC for CS+Econ (I got deferred) as well as UCSD and Rice.
I want to attend a school that will offer strong opportunities for internships/jobs, a diverse student body, proximity to a big city, ease of class registration, and good residence options.
I would appreciate advice on how to navigate choosing between these options – as it stands now, UMD and UTD. Thank you!
UIUC is out - not in proximity to a big city so not sure why you applied.
You can see diversity in the common data set section B2 - look up for each.
UTD will be most diverse - almost 50% Asian. Maybe that’s not diverse…but non white.
Can’t tell you about ease of class registration. You might look at school schedules - see how many seats are left - or talked to student ambassadors.
Jobs/Internships - you can look at placement reports or ask the schools for them - but I’d assume all are strong.
Residences - look at the residential pages - but you can look at niche for overall ratings - UMD is a C- and has been known for bad dorms but I think has new ones too. UTD has a B+. Rice an A+ and UIUC a B-. Many will live off campus after first year so that matters too (not Rice tho).
If you have resources to afford all these, then you have the resources to visit all these and I suggest you do.
Most would put UTD at the bottom of this list - but it doesn’t mean you should. A lot base things on historical perception - and not the future. It’s definitely a player.
UTD for overall experience / bang for the buck / quality of life.
UMD campus is a mess with Purple Line construction for the years to come.
And wave of vandalism, indecent exposure on campus, during past year and the last week.
Nearby Washington DC suffering rise in carjackings by juveniles.
This is crazy scary…can happen anywhere but just read about the Trump official killed. You’d think - just take the car - but they shoot first.
But - can happen anywhere and UMD is not DC.
But still scary…especially given I’ve recently driven there. It’s like when those two guys were killing people at gas stations in 2002. It caught few people - but unfortunately for them - they were impacted to the point of dying. Terrorized the area. And it stinks. But could happen anywhere.
Does it happen at UTD? That is the choice.
UMD - need to have eyes wide open if OOS. Locals know the downside. OOS may have less stressful campus choices.
Purple Line has been delayed many years. Is a nuisance.
I’m just noting - in fairness to UMD - it could happen anywhere…doesn’t mean it will.
We don’t expect shootings at a high school in Iowa but just had it, etc.
But historically - yes, the DC area is a crime concern.
Funny - my daughter was there four months (no car) and never had concerns; nor did I walking around the city.
But perhaps we weren’t in areas that see more danger.
PS - UMD - need to have eyes wide open if OOS - there’s a lot of people from all over on the UMD forum - mainly CS and Business falling all over themselves for UMD - you might want to post that. I don’t think they have eyes wide open
UTD instate with CollegiumV for CS is hard to beat. You’ll learn a lot at both universities so it’ll come down to college experience and what you expect for the next 4 years.
So, let’s look at differences with UMD - it’ll be up to you and your family to see whether the cost difference is worth it. (I am taking for granted that your family can afford both without loans).
wrt the car jackings, while I understand how scary it must be for locals, as a college student you won’t have a car and will be going to DC using public transportation, which is safe and excellent by US standards. Proximity to DC is IMHO a huge plus, with access to museums or all sorts of companies (especially Defense) but the campus is not actually in the city.
Compared to UTD, the UMD campus is much less commuter and urban/suburban. UTD has been trying to build a campus and campus culture in the past few years and is doing a pretty good job for that little time, but it’s not a “typical” experience. It may be a plus or a minus wrt to the football team at UMD, the attempts at making the campus classical collegiate with quads, bricks, etc., and by and by because it’s the state’s flagship students don’t commute - they either live on campus as freshmen or nearby as upperclass students. The campus is about 3 times bigger than UTD’s.
College may be the best time to discover another region of the country - you’ve got a landing spot ready for you to prevent adaptation problems but you’ve got to be excited about the change in scenery, weather, and culture. Only yourself would know whether that’s something you’re ready for and excited about.
Diversity: both are diverse but differently - UTD is about 45% Asian, 25%White, 19% Hispanic, 5% Black, 4% international - whereas UMD is about 5% Asian, 38% White, 27% Black, 16% Hispanic, 10% didn’t say, and 2% international.
You should also compare the upper level offerings at both universities. Freshman/sophomore classes will be solid at both - though you may want to email to ask about retention, male:female ratio, hands-on applications or activities, whether the philosophy is weedout or if there’s an expectation students know how to code or program before they start in the major (and what language), whether there’s a livibg learning community or social club for CS majors, etc. But the differences will be at the specialization level - what unique classes does each university offer at the senior level and do these specific classes appeal to you?
Start digging into the Department’s website, as well as into the core curriculum and gen eds.
Did you get into an Honors or Scholars program at UMD? Is there a way for you to replicate the perks of CollegiumV at UMD?
Priority registration is one of those perks, in addition to Collegium-specific courses and sections. The value of this - especially in an impacted major - shouldn’t be underestimated; and I don’t believe it’s something you could replicate at UMD. I imagine your mention of “ease of class registration” means that you’re aware of the advantage UTD would offer in this respect. (I understand the honors housing is pretty great too.)
I understand that “cost is not a key factor,” but it could be a good thought exercise (especially for a student who apparently has an interest in econ as well) to consider what you might do with an amount of money equivalent to the cost differential, and how the investments, purchases, or experiences it could fund might benefit you going forward.
I know it’s not - i’m simply pointing out it’s not in the city (of Dallas) - and even many parts of Dallas are in the sprawl (vs. what is recognized as the city).
Just correcting for OP.
In fact, OP should look at the environments of all their choices. For example, he wants proximity to a big city (which both UTD and UMD have) but UIUC doesn’t come close to making the bill.
I have to admit this is all surprising to me. I have many friends and neighbors with kids at UMD and I’ve never heard them say it feels unsafe. I am going to ask them again, but the kids I know love it there.
Of course, OP needs to do their own diligence and decide what’s best for them.
It’s a bit unfair using “UMD student newspaper” to say that UMD is unsafe. There are always risks with high population of student body, but UMD campus is safe like majority of universities in the US.
My daughter is currently attend UMD. She stays on campus since freshman and never had any concern or worry about campus safety.
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