#University of Maryland College Park vs Rutgers New Brunswick

33 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

warped pebble
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Intended major: Computer Science, might go into law instead so might change major
Similarities: Both large state schools

UMD College Parks Pros:
Campus is definitely nicer
Not in New Jersey
Slightly warmer
Better CS Program/Poli Sci Program (if law)
Met the Pre-Law advisor (smart guy)
Near D.C. + Baltimore

UMD Cons:
Much more expensive (roughly 22k a year but parents can afford)
I won't know anyone who goes there
Never really spent much time outside of NJ
Dorms are terrible

Rutgers Pros:
In-State so cheaper for parents
Know people who are going there
Dorms are "nicer"
Name recognition?
Better financially if I do go to law
Near NY + Philly

School 2 Cons:
In New Jersey
Programs are worse at Rutgers (but still great)

Tiebreaking considerations:
Not really sure

hollow narwhal
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I don’t think UMD is worth 88k more. Honestly after the Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley and maybe GaTech, it really doesn’t matter

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Also NYC jobs > DC jobs

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Though u can get both at either

uncut grove
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Agreed

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UMD isn’t worth the extra cost

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Go Rutgers

winged owl
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Rutgers in state is pretty amazing. Also, if u maintain a high GPA, they throw in 8-15k for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years...
While UMD is a better program fs, it ain't worth nearly 100k more.

winged owl
hollow narwhal
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IMO, UIUC not godly when ik straight rocks who got into their CS + X program

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But yea, i get what you’re saying

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I wasn’t really listing out exact schools, just like a general guideline

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I think ppl focus too much on rankings

winged owl
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not exact rankings. But rather tiers

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Big 4: CMU/Berkeley/Stan/MIT
Public CS gods: GT, UIUC, Mich, UT Austin, Uwash
Private + amazing/great CS: Caltech, Pton, Cornell, Columbia (maybe?)
then comes Purdue, UMD, UW Madison, other Ivies, USC, other well known publics

uncut grove
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Well that’s purely based on reputation and rankings, which aren’t everything

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For starting salaries, unis like RIT, Stevens, WPI, RPI and Rose Hulman would all be above unis like Purdue and UMD even though they aren’t as well known for CS

winged owl
uncut grove
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For certain focuses in CS, some unis go above and beyond compared to their regular performance

winged owl
uncut grove
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Like UMass being T10 for AI and T20 for CS

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And there’s also the occasional sleeper hit like Stony Brook

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I remember seeing a post on Reddit which showed that a larger percentage of people from Stony CS end up in FAANG compared to people from Gatech or UT Austin

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(Unfortunately the user who made the post deleted their account and all the posts with it so I can’t show it to you, RIP)

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I feel like tiers and rankings are a bit too overvalued and don’t necessarily tell you what you might be interested in

uncut grove
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Having those qualities are far more important than what uni you get your degree at

winged owl
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yes

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but for quant, it's a bit different... the "elite public" is the bare minimum. Like GT/UIUC probably just make the cut

uncut grove
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true; but quant's the exception, not the rule

grand swift
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Rutgers rutgers

warped pebble
winged owl
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Maybe it's only for OOS?