Reviews of University of Maryland, Baltimore County (College)

J. R.-A.

This school is just using students for the money. I transferred from Mc back in 2016. Was supposed to finish originally with a masters in spring of 19. But they've done some shady sh** that they basically take your money, which has got me into debt and tremendously behind my 4 year plan in earning my degree. 1: My first class, computer science, was taught by a professor who literally read off of PowerPoints and was never there during office hours. This causes me to take it a second time. The second time I got a C since the TA were helping me wrong to a point where the professor caught my TAs giving me a C (TAs grade the exam and then tell the professor) in the final exam instead of a A (which she double checked). 2: The financial aid office doesn't know to correctly give the students the proper information needed to succeed here in the school. I had two awful occasions. First, this past semester I had to drop out of some classes since I didn't have a car at the time (commuter from DC area) and was not told about me having to pay since I dropped out of the classes literally a day before the 50%percent period. The "financial aid counselor " that was assigned to me said I had to pay about $3000 in order for me to continue with me studies. Once I did that, I encountered that I couldn't sign up for the classes I wanted to since he failed to mentioned that I was put into an financial hold since I dropped out that semester. When I tried confronting him, he apparently couldn't help me since he was going on vacation. When I talked to someone else, whose not really knowledgeable since she's a student working there to make extra cash, in the office, they tried to accuse me saying I didn't give him enough information in order for him to tell me that I was not going to receive financial help for my future classes, which clearly there was. So basically it had seemed like they knew I couldn't continue with financial help and just wanted to get $3000 out of me. 3: What got me to the breaking point was I sign up for Summer classes, which I will have to be paying out of pocket since I got no financial aid. I signed up for three classes, two in the first half and the other for the second half. The two that I'm taking now are with horrible professors. First, the yoga teacher says crazy things like "people who do yoga are usually vegan" and thinks everyone is flexible like her. Second, my math professor earned his degree very early on in life and thinks that the students learn the same way as him. When it comes to lectures, he just writes proofs on sections that one can just see on the textbook. When you try to ask him questions, he says "You should've read this before I taught it so then you wouldn't have questions to ask". I tried staying in but after taking the first quiz, which one of them no one knew the answer since it was a homework problem we turned in that day, I knew that this was a waste. I HOPE THAT PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS SEE THIS AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. I've literally wasted about $25,000 in a school which has caused me a bunch of Ws and misguided information that seems useless at this point. The only reason why I gave this a two star and not a one since there was one professor that was awesome.

Milan Brown

this school is magical! its a great place to go if you didn't do so well in high school, they have all the resources available to help you get the knowledge and grades to get internships, co-ops and onward to a great grad school

Gideon Richard Parry

I hadn't heard of them before this upset, but I SURE AS HECK have heard of them now. I never thought a 16 seed would beat a 1 seed, but UMBC did the impossible.

Sean Myers

Went there, school was meh at best. There is no social life to be had there, and yes, no matter how hard you try. The administration only cares about getting on those lists and looking diverse.

Maher Kabir

Good school since they might beat Virginia.

Kathryn Nee

Received M.A. in Instructional Systems Development. Professors were helpful, as they wanted you to excel! I now teach ESOL on the side in addition to my working in this Graduate School. Great school - a masters for a great price! REMEMBER: If you want that degree you DO have to work for it! Yes, I do work there, but it is still a great graduate school, even if I did not!

Persephone Little

Most of the staff was pleasant. I was there for a couple of days. Then when I ask a tech working on the floor when my prescription would be ready, she literally snapped at me ‘I’M NOT A MIND READER.’ Her name is Diana. She works on the third floor. I highly suggest staying about from this woman with a terrible attitude. She should NOT be working with the general public. I will not be back.

John Vaeth

These rating sites tend to attract the disgruntled: that being said, UMBC was the most instrumental educational experience I could ever imagine. It developed a quiet kid from a blue colar neighborhood into a confident and very grateful physician. It was not a party school, but rather a university that was seemingly very practical and career focused God has blessed me through them.

Khalid A Da'epie

I had great experience at UMBC, I believe that's an honor university!

Jim Hopkins

Great Graduate School for Engineering . I loved it here. Really smart people. Honestly, you will feel proud to be part of this school. The ranking doesn't do any justice to UMBC. Forget the craps about food , racism and all..blah blah. If you are here to learn and do something in life or get a good career in future this is the place. But its not a big school but its beautiful and large enough to make you feel good.

Catherine Liou

I'm sorry to say, 'up and coming' only means that it was bad before. I continue to think this school is a joke, it's not hard... even for STEM majors. Compared to other universities this school won't challenge you if you already know how to prioritize your time. If you work hard you can maintain your 4.0. School spirit is low, and the community here doesn't really focus on what they want to do for their future. Mostly just coming to school for the sake of it, and not to learn.

Ben Harris

Amazing school. Went here for my degree in Computer science, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a technical degree.

Ankush Rattan

Not a Veteran friendly university. They do not have a dedicated VA rep helping students navigate the multitude of paper work needed to receive benefits. The campus buildings are old and feels more like a cold government building in the 80's then a institution of higher learning. There is not many options for off campus dining within walking distance (unless you decide to drive into Baltimore). Overall, I would advise those students who are looking for a close knit community with a traditional "college feel" to apply to College Park or even Towson. EDIT: The Career Center is a fantastic resource and continuously offers networking events with the biggest companies in the DMV.

Karen O'Donoghue

My daughter's happier there than I ever would have imagined. They take those cohort kids and _work_ them. And she's thriving. If anyone thinks that the honors kids (fellowship / cohorts) are getting extra help, well they are also being held to greater expectations.

Johnny Stafford

If I could I’d give it -4 stars... They are currently trying to charge my girl friend $1000 for class that she didn’t take it’s been three months of going back-and-forth trying to prove that with absolutely NO HELP from them at all, they are holding back her degree until it is paid and they excect us to do THEIR JOB FOR THEM!!! Telling us we have to go and get the staff we talked to to write letters saying they dropped the ball?!? This college is been nothing but a pain ever since she started going, many times she only needed one more class that semester she would have to wait an entire semester or year before the class would open up again because they didn’t have it available or they would drop it right before would start, DONT GO HERE!!!! They are never helpful and don’t care at all about students just money, they started calling asking for donations the FIRST week she started taking classes! This college is a joke

Cindy L. Johnson

When I read the 4 or 5 stars it's about the basket ball team .... They care more about the fact that you're an account/invoice number with $ then an actual student trying to get an education for degree to progress in this life. They teach you money is the root of all and it starts with UMBC. They don't care about their students they just care about how much money they can get for a student. I say that because I am a student coming back who left because of a dying family member. I used to like this school for having a heart in working with their students and not treating them like an invoice. Unfortunately that's what they've turned into.....how disappointing.....

Brayden McReelis

SWEET SIXTEEN IS IN THE FUTURE

Judith Hallet

Ever since Dr. Spence left, the mechanical engineering department is in shambles. The other decent teachers will be leaving shortly as well.

Joe Higgs

Every experience I've had there has been absolutely fantastic (except for finding convenient parking at times). The staff is friendly, the campus is well laid out and clean, and there are plenty of activities and events for students to enjoy and participate in.

Caroline Antony

No community. Expensive for what it is. Administration continues to prove that they don't care about students. Alumni have NO benefits. Have to pay extra for everything including using gym facilities. There are tons of other schools around. Better to to attend those schools than earn a degree here. (UMBC grad in Financial Economics, class of 2012). Ranked up & coming every year (is somebody paying for this distinction) but the problem is they never go anywhere.

bal patil

I am not lucky to get learning experience in this enchanting University. However since I teach entrepreneurship in Bombay University I wish to get assignment in this bewitching institution. I have gathered this impression from those who have studied here. It is truly going to be a place amongst ten in U.S.

Steven Caruso

Great medium sized state school. Very good science and computer/information programs. Consistently ranked well in undergraduate education.

Javaris Jamar Javarison-Lamar

Anyone remember this? When all of America became a Retriever.

John Park

There are a lot of great things about UMBC, the career center is great and there are some top-notch professors. There are some problems though. One annoying thing is they nickel and dime you for everything. Parts of the campus are run down looking and they wont go there during the tour. Most of my professors have been good but my girlfriend who is an art major has had more than one professor that just had students watch online videos instead of teaching them animation topics. -Library carpet is worn out -Chairs in library are so gross your arms stick to them -ITE building has chairs with foam falling out -You must pay to play ping pong or any game in the "game room" -The billing dept gives you very little time to pay the bill and is quick to issue an expensive late fee -Social life isn't great on campus Another thing worth noting that has unfortunately been getting worse is UMBC's leadership imposing their political motives on students through 'updates' on current events. Updates are fine but the vocabulary used in some of the 'updates' is disrespectful to some students who don't agree with the same viewpoints as 'UMBC leadership'. Let's stay professional UMBC cut out the political BS or we will end up like Berkeley...

Iqra Nadeem

Proud to be a part of an amazing institution. Great academic rigor, lots of opportunities for research development and access to awesome connections.

Carla Grytdal

I'd never advise my kids to go here. Far-fetched bias! A whole week of "Resistance Training" every Fall (fifth year running!)How about TEACHING rather than INDOCTRINATING!

Scott Joachim

I realize that my opinion can't stand for the whole school (chemical engineering 2017), but having held a student job that allowed me to see a lot of the behind the scenes stuff and was part of a department that was in the midst of a lot of changes, I do think I can offer some insight. First, unless you're a proactive genius who wants to do research their entire life, don't bother coming here. This school doesn't care about industry or the jobs it offers. This school talks a lot, but doesn't follow through very well. For instance, the higher ups tend to be good, but the people below them are horrible. The career center is a joke, the admin people are flakes who pretend to know what they're doing, and the professors are very hit or miss. How this school got "best undergrad teaching" is a mystery to me. The only good majors are comp sci and bio. The rest of the departments, especially mine, are either full of hot air, stupid in their decision making, or just plain lost. This university attracts a lot of insanely bright students to their undergraduate program and the stem majors would suck without them. God knows the STEM majors don't get genuine help from their professors. I had to go an extra year because of the negligence of my department and two of the many professors that left during my time were upset and thought I should have graduated a year earlier. I almost transferred twice. My department, similar to many others, don't have any connections to companies in industry. This school also hates transfer students despite having a lot of them. Don't expect to finish any degree in 4 years if you're transferring in. There's no social life here because the school is filled with pasty nerds. It's also surrounded by everything, but close to nothing. You have to drive to get anywhere notable off campus.

mike

Great school

Feras Mossa-Basha

Reppin the best basketball team in the country!!

John Smith

Great school and program. I transferred from a 2 year community college and graduated with an IS degree. I got a great job and met great friends here for life. It was worth it 100%

Pau Thian Dal

I think I am ruined by the 2 year community college I attended because it was much more systematic and the professors there are way better than professors here at UMBC. In one of my classes, I have to wait for two months to get my projects and papers graded and the other classes, it usually take about a month to get my exam graded.

Eli Omega

Seems like a good place to indoctrinate kids with self value systems based on academic performance. The parking is often horrible tho.

Luan Tran

Three counts of drug-related deaths in the past semester. Two Counts of DOCUMENTED rapes. Multiple counts of covered up suicides. Several employees are registered tier 3 sex offenders. RA was just arrested for kiddie porn distribution... Do you really want to go here?

Hector Barrera

Excellent undergraduate teaching. The Career Center also puts forth a lot of effort to get students internships and job opportunities.

Your Guide

Can’t say anything for the school but the grounds are great to watch the fireworks. Open parking garages over a great view for the show.

Christopher Trageser

I'm not sure what to think, some of the professors are very good, others just come from Johns Hopkins but have no teaching ability and are extremely lazy because they have tenure... I think UMBC is trying too hard right now to get professors from big name schools rather than ones that can teach.

Bucky C

This is the worst school in the state of Maryland (and possibly in the US). Several buildings on campus are run down (the Sondheim building has even had asbestos in it). The quality of the food is poor and it's overpriced. The social life sucks. It's not a well-known school outside of Maryland. And most importantly, classes are insanely difficult (especially for STEM majors). The classes aren't designed to weed out the slackers. They're designed to weed out the people who try their absolute hardest (and sacrifice things such as sleep and a decent social life) but can't keep up with the immense workload thrown at the students and/or approach assignments with the same exact mindset as the professors. Exams are geared less toward understanding important subject material and more toward deciphering what the professors are actually asking. This school is nothing but a weed out school. I know students who are very intellectually gifted yet still struggle with courses only because of the professors. Almost every professor, by the way, couldn't care less about students and (one would think) they take pride in handing out bad grades - maybe because it inflates their ego of "how brilliant they are compared to others". One more note on the courses - for many courses there is one week between the final exam and the last normal exam of the semester. The biggest mistake I've ever made was attending this "school". I can honestly say that attending UMBC feels like a form of imprisonment. I can't overstate how much I truly despise this school. Please don't make the same mistake I did - go to UMD, Towson, or really anywhere but UMBC.

Tyler Sims

Really nice campus but parking can be limited. We visited for the Baltimore Veg. Fest and had a blast.