martinagonzalez

Dear Martina,

I think you should follow your heart. They are both great schools and I am very proud and excited about your future.

Well as a student also deciding between two schools, I face the same situation. However, both of my schools are larger schools 20,000+ (UMD and South Carolina)

Personally, I like the big school feel (though Its not for everyone). I like that I can choose to take smaller classes later and still have research opportunities and good sports to cheer on. I live in UMD so it is cheaper than most but it is still a "Public Ivy" caliber school.

Private schools are also nice and Emerson is really liberal arts focused if that is for you.

In the end it is all up to you. Go with your heart!

I also looked into Emerson! Both are completely different. On one hand you have a traditional college campus, 30,000 undergrads, greek life and close proximity to DC. UMD has great programs and equally as awesome opportunities for internships as Emerson. There is definitely a huge sense of school pride on UMD's campus, whereas you wouldn't see that as much at Emerson. There are also the football, basketball, hockey and lax games to go to, which is always a plus.

On the other hand, you have a smaller school that's known for its communications and fine arts programs in a big city. The thing that I personally like about Emerson is that even though it's a small school, you don't notice how small it is because the city is your campus! It's in the theatre district, which I guess it's nice too. Boston is an amazing city-- that I personally fell in love with-- that has a million things to do and a million places to go! You just have to know how to make your fun!

woww, i am in the exact same boat as you!

Personally, I am leaning more towards UMD for a few reasons: 1.) the campus is traditional and so gorgeous, 2.) the social life at UMD is "amazing", 3.) it's close to two cities: d.c and Baltimore, 4.) I like how they have really good sports programs, 5.) it's easy to get a job once you graduate from there because employers from d.c go there immediately, 6.) it's veryy well known for my major which is communications/journalism.

Overall, I feel like UMD will supply me with a more well-rounded and fulfilling college experience than Emerson can. However, Emerson beats UMD in a few aspects. UMD is a huge school (28,000 undergrads) so classes are sometimes 500 students. Emerson is much more intimate, which can be a positive. Emerson allows you to skip invaluable gen-eds like math and science, since most of the time they don't have anything to do with your major. The school allows you to get down to business right from the get-go. Emerson truly cultivates creative people and provides a lot of hands-on experience in your field. However, I hear the social life at Emerson is very frustrating and it's hard to meet guys. The campus buildings are pristine though, but it consists of 5 buildings. If you are into the arts/theatre however, Emerson is the place for you. The college truly allows those types of students to flourish and work on what they want to work on. Thus, it is basically a performing arts school. UMD is not so specified. I think when making your decision, you need to think about what you want out of your college experience, what you want to experience in college, and what your major will be. Good luck!

It depends on your major and what you're looking for.

If you don't know about your major, Emerson may not be the place for you. If you decide you want to study outside arts and communication, you will find that you can't do that at Emerson.

I would recommend UMD in that case, or even Loyola MD

For film: Emerson!

i did it this year. I liked it because the classes were much smaller. But, they are later in the day which was annoying. I lived in The View and it was sooo nice! I recommend there. Overall, I'm glad I did it.

I know some people who really enjoyed Freshman Connection! You can always get pulled on campus if you feel like you want that experience next semester. Or go to Community College for the Fall and get placed on campus in the Spring. But you get to live in really nice [but expensive] apartments and take classes like anyone else, just later in the day...It's really your call. I also know a girl who was planning on doing Freshman Connection then got a ton of scholarship money from another school and went there instead, it's really a case-by-case kind of thing.

I certainly would not choose to go to a different school just because of FC! I have a lot of friends who went through it; it was one semester, which they all enjoyed and gave them a great way to ease into school, then they were in with everyone else! Don't let this sway you away from Maryland.