I am also from NJ, and while Rutgers does indeed offer solid academics, it was not a good “fit” for my kids in many respects.
My son chose Maryland, and I had to endure quite a bit of ribbing about it since I am such an obvious cheerleader/proud alum. However, the decision was entirely his! He has a lot of focus and knows what he wants so he looked carefully at things that I wouldn’t have thought of, such as actual required coursework for his major (he’s an engineer and cross-disciplinary training was important to him). Over the years, I asked him on several occasions if he had any regrets about his decision. He never hesitated when he said he had absolutely NO regrets and was VERY happy he chose Maryland! The opportunities and experiences he had were unique to Maryland and he took full advantage of them.
@greentravel, you mentioned your daughter is CS…are you aware of the Iribe Center that is under construction? It looks like it is going to be amazing…https://iribe.cs.umd.edu
It is slated to open in 2018, so if your daughter chooses to be a Terp, she would get to enjoy the advantages/experiences it offers.
I have to say the only thing bad in the four years that my son attended was the institution of the surcharge for some majors. Since it went into effect his senior year, it didn’t affect us too much.
The school has incredible school spirit, it has so many great departments that if your d were to change majors, it’s not a problem, the student body is extremely diverse and very friendly overall, there are many perks (free tickets to athletic events and are held on campus - my daughter has to pay to attend and has to be bussed to a different location off campus if she wanted to attend), free software, no extra fee for access to gym/recreational facilities, etc, etc.
Was Maryland worth OOS tuition? For us, the answer is yes. However, as I said, what is right for one person, is not always right for another. Frankly, no piece of paper is worth the money they charge at any school these days, other than perhaps community college, but that is another thing altogether. I would say that OOS tuition is not worth it for a student that has not decided on a major. However, if you have a child that knows what they want, that makes it worth considering…if you have more specific questions, feel free to ask, but in the meantime, if you haven’t read this thread, it might be worth your time to peruse it
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1743639-things-to-love-about-maryland-p1.html