Miami (CE) vs Maryland (BioComp E)

[dense hare]

Schools: University of Miami vs University of Maryland - College Park
Intended major: Computer Engineering or Biocomputational Engineering
Similarities: Overall national competitiveness, close to or residing in fun/interesting cities, great sports programs

University of Miami
Pros:
-Beautiful weather and campus
-Miami
-Full ride scholarship
-Small class size

Cons:
-Not a great engineering school
-No interesting student engineering organizations
-Party school (?) (Not sure if this is a con or pro tbh)

University of Maryland
Pros:
-Great engineering school
-Fun, unique Biocomp major
-Fun student-led organizations
-FIRE invitation (offers first-year research experiences)
-Overall better for building a resume

Cons:
-50k Presidential scholarship, still about $100,000 more expensive (although it's fs possible to get more money/aid)
-College Park
-Maryland weather (negligible)

Tiebreaking considerations:
-What the community is like in each schools & recruiter outreach

[vital rock]

I’m very familiar with both schools and I think that - assuming you can negotiate down the price - you should pick Maryland. You don’t seem very enthused about what UMiami has to offer for engineers, whereas your passion shines through when describing UMD. However, that full scholarship to Miami is very difficult to pass on, so I don’t think it’s worth giving up unless you can negotiate UMD to a good price.

I wouldn’t call college park a con, it’s near DC but still far enough from the hustle and bustle that you can forge a unique identity with peers your age. As for Miami, I feel like you’re giving it a bit too much credit. Of course it’s fun, and I love living here, but the city can be wild and draining. UMiami undergrad campus is in coral gables btw, not Miami proper. If you don’t speak at least conversational Spanish, it’s going to be difficult at first to navigate Miami proper as many people here solely speak Spanish. But don’t worry, if you do choose to come, you’ll pick up on things soon enough (if you don’t speak it already!)