  | Link me!Link to page from your webpage or MySpace account:
Just copy and paste!<a href='http://www.studentsreview.com/viewprofile.php3?k=1317170170&u=1523'>
The University of Baltimore
</a> | Forward me! |  |
| Major: Unknown (This Major's Salary over time) | | Gender: Female | This person cares more about Useful Schoolwork than the average student. | Intelligence:
Quite Bright | | ACT: | | SAT: | | Lowest Rating
Faculty Accessibility F | Describes the student body mostly as:
Friendly, Approachable, ClosemindedDescribes the faculty mostly as:
Friendly, Helpful | Highest Rating
Campus Maintenance A | How this student rated the school:
| Educational Quality | D- | Faculty Accessibility | F | | Useful Schoolwork | F | Excess Competition | C | | Academic Success | C | Creativity/Innovation | C | | Individual Value | B+ | University Resource Use | A- | | Campus Aesthetics/Beauty | D+ | Friendliness | C | | Campus Maintenance | A | Social Life | D- | | Surrounding City | F | Extra Curriculars | D- | | Safety | B+ |
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REAL TALK: UMBC gave me an education. The only problem is
that it wasn't a very good one. I am in
graduate school and I have realized that I was never
pushed to develop critical thinking skills. This has hampered my
ability to truly exceed in my program. UMBC classes
are mostly taught by professors who are not very invested
in their students. Nearly all of the professors I've had
“phoned it in,” or to put it another way, they
delivered their lectures but didn't put any real effort in
them. One professor just stood at the front of the
class and yammered on and on about the reading and
other off-topic subjects. Another used an overhead projector and transparencies.
None of my professors, save for one, really cared. How
is this an “Honor's University?” The faculty is third-rate, the
buildings are ugly and rundown, and the classes are not
very challenging. UMBC does NOT offer a true, rigorous liberal
arts education. I originally came to UMBC because admissions
boasted their commitment to “diversity.” I also read that it
was one of the most ethnically and racially diverse schools
in the country. So I picked it over University of
Maryland-College Park. BIG MISTAKE. Yes, it's ethnically diverse but no
one talks to each other. At UMBC, there are clusters
of ethnic groups who don't interact with anyone outside of
their group. Unlike the real University of Maryland, UMBC
has no name recognition. Here's a typical exchange I've had
too many times than I care to mention. Person XYZ:
Where did you do your undergrad? Me: UMBC
Person XYZ (puzzled): What? Me: UMBC. The University of
Maryland Baltimore County Person XYZ: Oh, okay. How was College
Park? Me: No, I went to the school in
Baltimore County, not College Park. Pause. Person XYZ: Oh.
Is that a good school? So basically, if you
want a school that has name recognition and prestige, do
NOT pick UMBC. Not to mention, this is probably the
most boring campus in the United States of America. Everyone
stays in their rooms or crowd the library. UMBC is
a no-fun zone. No one goes to sporting events. No
one parties. It's all about maintaining that 4.0 GPA. It
gets downright depressing. This school may get good ratings as
an “Up and Coming School” but let's be honest, it's
UMBC: A school NO ONE has heard of and one
that has zero prestige or good reputation. It is NOT
on par with MIT, Dartmouth, etc. That is false advertising.
Like I said previously, UMBC gave me an education. It
wasn't a good one at all, but I have a
diploma. I never hang my diploma. It's not even framed.
It's sitting in the original envelope on a shelf in
my closet. If I could do it over again,
I'd go to Maryland.
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Responses Going to UMBC for a liberal arts degree is like going to a liberal arts school for a nuclear physics degree. we are known for our science programs (i'm sure you've seen how big our chemistry building is!) not our arts
and stop crying about how you couldn't find parties, because somehow i magically found at least 2 parties every weekend last year while you couldn't find any? i must be doing SOMETHING right, right? |
 UMBC doesn't sell itself as a science school. It sells itself as an "Honors University" which is a sham because the professors are second rate and the classes are not rigorous. No one knows or cares about this school. Go to College Park (it's cheaper, too!) |
| Sorry, you probably didn't take organic chemistry or calc 2 here at umbc. they will rip you to shreds. and obviously they don't sell themselves as a science school but that is what we are known for, and that image won't be changing for a while. college park is also overhyped. the school is about as big as a metropolitan city, crime alerts are almost daily, and you barely see the same people twice. just because we aren't nationally famous doesn't mean we suck as a school. i suggest you stop trying to generalize the entire faculty/school for your own piss-poor experience, i've had nothing but great professors and stop trying to rain on other people's parade just because you decided to be miserable for 4 years of college. |
| And are you trying to say that small new england colleges (amherest college, goucher, cabrini, etc) are horrible schools because no one "knows or cares" about them, compared to USC or UMiami or UCLA? no, man! a school is a school, you care entirely too much on a name and not what's actually important: the education you get from the school. it's a shame that people like you write such negative reviews based on your own specific situation |
| They need to call this school University of Maryland Backup College because that is exactly what it is. No one has this school in mind as a first choice. As bad as Maryland is, UMBC is worse. The basketball games are empty. The parties are lame and full of geeks. The facilities are piss poor. Face reality: UMBC is a school where people "end up" not where they decide to go from the start. Lots of community college transfers come here. Many in state students. The rest were dinged at College Park and Hopkins. If you're going to attend a second-rate Maryland school, AT LEAST go to College Park.
Also, Amherst College is one of the top liberal arts schools in the nation. Do your homework. Goucher and Cabrini are probably not well-known because they are also toilets. |
| I'd like to reiterate that college is what you make of it. how come i can't sympathize with your claims? all the games are packed, the frat parties are jammin', and compared to college park, we actually have bathrooms per 4 people and air conditioning. (even for FRESHMEN) sounds pretty swell to me. why don't you do me a favor and YOU do your research too? it's not my fault you settled for a liberal arts degree (at a science-oriented college, too! LOL), and grandma, you graduated 3 years ago. things change, honey. |
| I graduated 3 years ago and therefore know precisely how useless this school is from being out in the work world. College Park has a better science scene (the creators of GOOGLE went there!) Please, young whippersnapper, talk to me after you've told your future employers that you went to a third rate, regional school in Maryland. See how far that gets you. |
| First you call us 2nd rate, now 3rd rate? by the end of this convo, will we be 10th rate? now, tell me which sounds better: biochemistry degree from frostburg state, or from umbc? the answer is umbc. you need to look at schools outside of their liberal arts programs, because you know, there ARE majors other than liberal arts. this may come as a surprise to you liberal arts kids (where do you go when you graduate, anyway? back home?) but our science grads go to top companies to do work. look on our front page. and 3 years is a long time, m'am. pretty sure you haven't seen our new dorms or the new rec areas. i'd like to repeat what i said before; coming here for a liberal arts program is like going to hopkins for music composition. you're setting yourself up for disappointment and the school is just not known for the program that you chose (liberal arts.. LoLOl) |
| Which sounds better: a biochemistry degree from UMBC or College Park? The answer is College Park. |
| Our biochemistry track is a whole lot more rigorous than CP's. go look for yourself |
| It won't do you any good to keep living in the past, muttering to yourself, "I should have went to College Park." Fact is, you DIDN'T. You can't change that. Time to think retrospectively.
Now, I agree with you about UMBC being hailed as an extremely diverse school (true part), but as you said pretty well, all of the diverse students stick to what's familiar to them (people of their own ethnicity/race). People like that don't even need to come to a school like UMBC if they plan on segregating themselves from the rest of the college's community.
While you are also correct about students crowding the library (I swear, it's like a damn fashion/reality show in there), you are incorrect about the lack of parties. As a previous poster says, there is always something going on at UMBC. You just have to know the right people. People aren't going to post signs on Academic Row that say in bold print: "COME TO MY PARTY!! HARBOR HALL..BLAH BLAH blah." Nonsense. You've got to branch out and make friends of all types- athletes, Greeks, geeks, music majors, etc in order to have fun. Also, join a club, write for the Retriever Weekly, or try out for a team.
My major is HIGHLY stressful. Science majors at UMBC are ridiculously tough. I have never stumbled across any science major at UMBC that said their program was 'lenient' or a 'walk in the park.' Ha. We wish.
UMBC gets trashed by people all the time, but the truth is, this school (just like anything else in life) is what YOU make it out to be. If you expect things to come your way without doing anything on your part, you WILL be disappointed and you WILL hate this school. If you go out and actually talk to people, network, and join organizations, chances are, you will have a more positive view towards the school.
Why compare UMBC to College Park anyway? I never get it? That's like comparing saline breast implants to silicone ones. Each one has its pros and cons, but the experience is unique to every individual. There is no need for comparison. It's not like either school is getting millions of dollars for each time one of its students bashes the other schools. We should support one another (except at athletic games!).
Well, to the OP, I hope your graduate experience is going better for you. I was always under the assumption it doesn't matter where you get your Bachelor's from, just get the degree. But, it DOES matter where you get your Master's from.
To any future UMBC applicants/students: please do not let these responses scare you. You will see good/bad opinions for each school you research. Do your own research. Talk to actual students who go to the schools you are interested in. Visit the school when classes are in session to observe the general aura. Don't base false facts on a school just because of one person's experience. Their experience is not YOUR experience. |
| ^^Oops, meant time to think prospectively. |
| If I get asked "What's a UMBC?" One more time... |
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