Having taken premed classes at both schools within the last year, I feel that I can provide some insight into the differences between both.
My background: I went to college (not around here), graduated quite a few years ago in a non-science degree, worked for a while, then decided I wanted to be a doctor, quit my job, and started taking classes not so long ago.
Being that I live in Maryland and didn't see the point in paying a whole lot of money to take premed courses at a private school, I figured that my two best options were UMBC and College Park.
First off, to clear up any ambiguities that anyone has, because I have seen many people, myself at one point, confused about this: These are two DIFFERENT schools that are both a part of the Maryland state university system. Calling UMBC another "campus" of University of Maryland, College Park is like calling Florida State University another campus of the University of Florida. Both are state schools, but they have nothing to do with one another.
So, I had a choice of schools, both being roughly equidistant from my house, both state schools, and both roughly the same cost per credit. So, figuring that maybe the "Honors University" tagline of UMBC meant something, and possibly better traffic and parking as well, I chose UMBC. Also, I made the incorrect assumption at the time that one needed calculus credit in order to take UMD SIE courses, which I did not have, so that factored into my decision. Calculus is not required, you only need to take a math placement test before classes begin which tests concepts through precalc. Not a very difficult test.
I am not sure how UMBC calls themselves an "Honors University". Yes, they do have the Meyerhoff Scholars programs which was originally created to promote STEM among minorities. That's good for undergrads, but doesn't mean anything for the post bacc student, or anyone else. The only other thing that I could tell that the school has going for it is the Chess team, which is world class. They recruit the best Russian players and pay them something like $25-35k/year + tuition just to go there and compete on their team. Still, that's cool, but doesn't do anything for the post bacc student. I will give the university (and president) credit for reaching out to minorities. They are doing a great job as far as that goes.
Being an older, dedicated student, I had a difficult time at UMBC. This was not because of any of the coursework. The main issue was the students. Many of them were a joke. 18-19 y/o kids in all of my classes who just wanted everything curved so they could do nothing all semester. I have also never found such rudeness anywhere. It was impossible to study at the library, even on the floor marked "absolutely silent", because inevitably there would be someone listening to music or talking on their cell phone in the middle of the stacks. Most of my time in class was spent baby sitting my group members who usually didn't care to do any work at all. I frequently encountered students listening to music in class, WATCHING MOVIES IN LECTURE, and coming into an hour lecture 30 minutes late with their breakfast, creating a scene and talking to their friends the entire time. I am not even sure how great the Meyerhoff Scholars program is now. They were featured on 60 Minutes last Fall, but I saw one student that was interviewed on the show attempting to cheat in class. That is the only thing that I can really comment on regarding the program. However, I have heard many great reviews, so perhaps this is just an isolated incident.
I had a couple of good teachers, and some that left much to be desired. I had a physics teacher who could barely do physics. Even when working out problems in class, he couldn't do them without referencing his (often incorrect) notes. When we would bring up his errors, he would get flustered, confused, and change the question or topic and say something about how that issue didn't matter.
Many, many, many of the exams I had contained errors. Not just a little typo. I am talking about multiple choice questions that are either vague or contain no correct answers because the teacher did the problem incorrectly! This happened to often in all of my classes. Also, the physics lab was nothing but busy work.
Chemistry was a joke. They have this 2 hour session once a week called "Discovery", which is where you "Discover" that you are paying to be stuck in a room for two hours once a week, working on problems that reduce the concepts to a 5th grade level, and "Discover" that your classmates still do not know what they are doing. Oh yeah, and attendance is mandatory and if you skip it even once, they take serious points off of your overall grade, not just the Discovery portion of your grade. Also, if you finished your work early, you were not allowed to leave until the entire 110-minute period was through. This frequently resulted in me sitting there doing nothing for large periods of time.
More about chem: Chem 1 doesn't have a lab, but Chem 2 has a 2 credit lab. Meaning that if you go there for a semester, take Chem 1, but then decide you want to transfer, you will not be able to pick up where you left off since you do not have the Chem 1 lab credit! So, your options are to either finish the Chem sequence at UMBC or start over at another school.
This gives me a good place to mention the cost difference between both schools. Yes, UMD has the extra surcharge ($300/semester?). However, my chem 1 class at UMBC was 4 credits, Chem 2 6 credits. 10 credits at UMBC vs 8 credits at UMD. So there is the difference. Also, Bio 1 at UMBC was 4 credits and did NOT include a lab. Bio lectures at UMD are 4 credits and DO include labs. More on this later.
I only interacted with the Premed advisor a few times. I felt rather lukewarm about her. Feelings were mostly mixed amongst other students. There really aren't any post bacc students there, so I think her approach might be a little cookie cutter, tailored for the 18 y/o kid that needs their hand held for everything. For whatever reason, I don't think she likes it if you go in there already well versed in the admissions process. Perhaps others would have better experiences than I did. My experience with her wasn't really that bad, just left me with some doubts as far as how much she could help.
The "premed" track is horrible. Aside from the way that Chem is instituted, the biology track is even more horrendous. It will take you about 5 semesters to complete the equivalent of 2 biology classes w/ lab. No kidding. It took me a LONG time to even figure out how these courses all fit together with all of their prerequisites and co-requisites. BTW the premed advisor told me definitely not to take microbiology, since medical schools won't look at that seriously. On the other hand, at UMD I was encouraged to take micro. Here is how the Bio track at UMBC pans out:
Semester 1 BIOL 141 Principles of Biology 1 (cell respiration, DNA synthesis, etc) NO LAB (4 credits)
Semester 2 BIOL 142 Principles of Biology 2 (ecology, evolution, etc) - NO LAB - I don't think this was a prereq for BIOL 302 when I was there, but it might be now (4 credits)
Semester 3 BIOL 302 Genetics NO LAB (4 credits)
Semester 4 BIOL 300L Experiment Biology Lab!!!! (1 credit)
Semester 5 BIOL 302L Genetics Lab (1 credit)
Semester 6 BIOL 303 Cell Biology NO LAB (4 credits)
Semester 7 BIOL 303L Cell Biology Lab (1 credit) optional)
But wait, you say. "Can't I just take the labs in the same semester as the course, ie take Genetics lab as the same time as the lecture, or cell bio lab in the same semester as the lecture". No, you can not. Due to the way the prereqs are laid out, this is the way you are required to do it. Also, don't think that you can just take BIOL 141, BIOL 302, BIOL 300L and BIOL 302L and say that you are finished with your 2 Biology lecture/lab prereqs. You will NOT get a committee letter from UMBC unless you take 2 UPPER LEVEL bio lecture/lac courses, meaning that you must take everything listed above through Cell Bio Lecture.
As I said before, I am not sure that BIOL 142 is now required, and I am pretty sure that BIOL 303L is optional. Even still, that is 5 semester to complete 2 courses. Ridiculous! Finally, only a few of these classes are available during the summer, and usually only one lab will be offered, if any at all. So, do not rely on that summer session to help you get ahead.
Scheduling these classes is difficult. For one thing, you will be wait listed for everything and not know if you are in a class until the drop/add period is almost finished. The reason being is that you are competing with hundreds of freshmen for these classes. If they don't get into a class, its no big deal because they will have other requirements they could do that semester. If you don't get into a class, you will end up a semester behind because most of this stuff is pretty sequential. Fortunately, I got into the classes I needed, but only after a LOT of nail biting!
Also, since these are all daytime courses, and usually not back to back (ie courses will be spread throughout the day), holding any decent job is probably not an option. Due to the scheduling, you will be stuck on campus for hours each day almost all day, and it will still be very difficult to even schedule more than 2 sciences classes at a time. There were many 1-3 hour holes in my schedule almost everyday where I was stuck on campus, but had no classes that were available during those times.
All of this, and no real peer support or institutional support.
One good thing I will say about UMBC is that getting a research spot might be a little easier than at UMD. Being a postbacc, if you do well in your classes, you will definitely stick out and get noticed by your teachers.
Also, for classes where there are curves (most of them that I took), you are being curved against 18 y/o. I try to do well without relying on a curve, but if it is your thing, it is there for you.
Parking permits are free at UMBC, whereas they are $110 or so a year (or semester..?? not sure) at UMD.
At College Park, the grass is much greener.....
-No wait lists to get into the night classes.
-Each science class contains the required lab, you are able to take the lab in the same semester, and the lecture is 3 credits while the lab is 1, just the way it should be.
-There are plenty of post bacc students, so you will have tons of peer support, and the school presumably knows how to help you (although I have yet to utilize the pre-med advising office).
-Many of the undergrads I have experienced seem to be a little higher caliber than at UMBC. It's still a state school, so there will always be some students who don't want to work as hard, but I definitely more confident in most of my fellow students at UMD than at UMBC.
-The classes are all during the evening, Monday to Thursday usually sometime between 6-10:30, depending on the class. Classes meet MW or TTh. Very easy scheduling.
-Everybody in the evening program gets in-state tuition during the semester. Different story during the summer.
-The courses are probably comparable in ease/difficultly (depending on how you see it) to UMBC. In some ways, I think they might be slightly easier at UMD, but that is just my limited opinion.
-You can get a committee letter after taking something like 12 or 16 credits at UMD. UMBC will not support you unless you have taken their complete course list.
However, in the SIE program, it is only possible to take 2 classes at a time due to scheduling constraints. HOWEVER, you are welcome to register for day time classes. Caveats:
1) You can not register for day time classes until the 3rd day of the semester, meaning that you might not get in.
2) In-state tuition rates for out-of-state students does not apply.
Taking multiple classes during that summer at UMD is MUCH easier than at UMBC. As I said before, many of the BIO classes at UMBC are not offered during the summer, or, if they are, are only offered during one of the two sessions, possibly making scheduling very difficult.
I am more than happy to answer any other questions about both schools that anyone might have.
