University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) vs University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

When it comes to higher education, University of Maryland-College Park and University of Alabama at Birmingham stand out as two distinct institutions with unique offerings. With an acceptance rate of 43%, UMD is slightly more selective than UAB, which boasts a 71% acceptance rate. UMD's student body is more diverse, with 28% of undergraduates identifying as minorities compared to UAB's 20%. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at UMD including computer science, engineering, and economics, while UAB's strengths lie in nursing, biology, and public health. While UMD has a higher graduation rate of 84% compared to UAB's 68%, both universities provide ample opportunities for students to succeed academically and professionally. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and make an informed decision about which university aligns best with your aspirations and goals.

	University of Alabama at Birmingham	University of Maryland-College Park
Overview
Location	Birmingham, Alabama	College Park, Maryland
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	95.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.5%	52.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1173 - 1388	1330 - 1510
ACT range	23 - 30	30 - 34
Students submitting SAT score	7.0%	34.0%
Students submitting ACT score	65.0%	9.0%
Total number of applicants	11,906	50,183
Total number of admissions given out	10,541	26,109
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,415	6,072
Yield rate	22.9%	23.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,630 Out of state: $39,462	In state: $30,997 Out of state: $58,678
Average net price	$16,990	$17,146
Tuition	In state: $8,568 Out of state: $20,400	In state: $9,000 Out of state: $36,681
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,767 Meal plan: $4,540	Room/dormitory: $8,072 Meal plan: $5,578
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	93.0% Average amount $10,940	56.0% Average amount $10,645
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $5,208	20.0% Average amount $5,065
Students taking out private loans	5.0% Average amount $14,247	4.0% Average amount $22,924

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	13,547 Men 37.9% Women 62.1%	30,922 Men 50.8% Women 49.2%
Graduate students	8,742 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%	10,350 Men 50.7% Women 49.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	16.8%	29.5%
International students	5.0%	10.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,480	11,846
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Alabama Georgia Tennessee Louisiana Florida	Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Engineering	Engineering Business Education Computer and Information Science Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	19:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	62.4%	87.7%
Dropout rate	16.5%	4.0%
Transferred out	17.9%	7.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $158,993 Year 2: $169,894 Year 3: $175,573 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $100,128 Year 2: $111,769 Year 3: $139,245 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $117,171 Year 2: $130,034 Year 3: $128,873 Systems Science and Theory (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,948 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $123,089 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $91,176 Year 2: $96,457 Year 3: $107,084 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $98,582 Year 2: $99,737 Year 3: $105,689 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $89,298 Year 2: $89,564 Year 3: $99,770 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,552 Year 2: $95,215 Year 3: $98,530 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,497 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $94,486 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,743 Year 2: $88,820 Year 3: $90,200	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,765 Year 2: $106,102 Year 3: $116,295 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $125,155 Year 2: $112,923 Year 3: $112,074 Engineering, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,533 Year 2: $94,112 Year 3: $102,555 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,018 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,716 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,727 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $99,501 Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $72,899 Year 3: $92,830 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $88,418 Year 2: $80,466 Year 3: $92,230 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,675 Year 2: $72,762 Year 3: $83,667 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,798 Year 2: $71,761 Year 3: $82,867 Information Science/Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,391 Year 2: $66,485 Year 3: $82,784

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