University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) vs University of Maryland-College Park (UMD)

When it comes to higher education, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) stand out as two prominent institutions with distinct offerings. UPenn, an Ivy League school located in Philadelphia, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 7.4%, while UMD, a public research university in College Park, Maryland, offers a more accessible route with an acceptance rate of 43.4%. Both universities excel in various academic disciplines, with UPenn known for its strength in business, engineering, and law, and UMD recognized for its programs in engineering, computer science, and public policy. While UPenn's student body is predominantly undergraduate, UMD has a larger graduate student population. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two esteemed institutions, including popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more.
University of Maryland-College Park logo

University of Maryland-College Park

University of Pennsylvania logo

University of Pennsylvania

Overview

Location College Park, Maryland Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Campus setting Suburb: Large City: Large
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Public Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 95.0% 98.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 52.0% 5.9%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $75
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $90
SAT range 1330 - 1510 1480 - 1570
ACT range 30 - 34 33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 34.0% 49.0%
Students submitting ACT score 9.0% 30.0%
Total number of applicants 50,183 56,332
Total number of admissions given out 26,109 3,304
Admitted students who chose to enroll 6,072 2,418
Yield rate 23.3% 73.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Required
Recommendation letters Not required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price
In state: $30,997

Out of state: $58,678
$80,496
Average net price $17,146 $14,578
Tuition
In state: $9,000

Out of state: $36,681
$54,652
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $8,072

Meal plan: $5,578
Room/dormitory: $11,358

Meal plan: $5,946
Available payment plans
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

56.0%
Average amount $10,645
52.0%
Average amount $50,778
Students receiving federal student loan 20.0%
Average amount $5,065
9.0%
Average amount $5,030
Students taking out private loans 4.0%
Average amount $22,924
2.0%
Average amount $27,160

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 30,922
Men 50.8% Women 49.2%
11,292
Men 44.7% Women 55.3%
Graduate students 10,350
Men 50.7% Women 49.3%
16,746
Men 43.8% Women 56.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Moderate
Out-of-state students 29.5% 82.7%
International students 10.3% 22.8%
Campus local/setting Suburb: Large City: Large
Dormitory capacity 11,846 6,400
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Virginia Pennsylvania New York California New Jersey Florida

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Engineering
  • Business
  • Education
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Social Sciences
  • Health Professions
  • Business
  • Education
  • Legal Profession
  • Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio 18:1 6:1
Institutional accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 87.7% 96.2%
Dropout rate 4.0% 2.8%
Transferred out 7.7% N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
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
Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $189,905
  • Year 2: $201,334
  • Year 3: $249,574
International/Global Studies (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $162,528
  • Year 2: $182,280
  • Year 3: $234,875
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $68,404
  • Year 2: $198,043
  • Year 3: $227,605
Real Estate (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $119,383
  • Year 2: $169,894
  • Year 3: $224,847
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $186,571
  • Year 2: $177,119
  • Year 3: $218,410
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $245,155
  • Year 3: $214,930
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $177,203
  • Year 2: $202,922
  • Year 3: $214,927
Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $169,238
  • Year 2: $174,994
  • Year 3: $208,033
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $102,195
  • Year 2: $138,932
  • Year 3: $197,810
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $179,063
  • Year 2: $175,674
  • Year 3: $186,790

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs The University of Alabama The University of Alabama
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Auburn University Auburn University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Arizona State University Campus Immersion Arizona State University Campus Immersion
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of California-Davis University of California-Davis
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Pepperdine University Pepperdine University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Boulder
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Connecticut University of Connecticut
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Delaware University of Delaware
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Georgetown University Georgetown University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Florida International University Florida International University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Florida State University Florida State University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Emory University Emory University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Georgia University of Georgia
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Iowa State University Iowa State University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Frostburg State University Frostburg State University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Boston College Boston College
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Harvard University Harvard University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Massachusetts-Amherst University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Rhode Island University of Rhode Island
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs The University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Texas Tech University Texas Tech University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Brigham Young University Brigham Young University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs George Mason University George Mason University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs Washington State University Washington State University
University of Maryland-College Park UMD vs West Virginia University West Virginia University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Arizona University of Arizona
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Yale University Yale University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Georgetown University Georgetown University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Emory University Emory University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Georgia University of Georgia
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Chicago University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Boston University Boston University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Brandeis University Brandeis University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Harvard University Harvard University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Tufts University Tufts University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Wellesley College Wellesley College
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Washington University in St Louis Washington University in St Louis
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Barnard College Barnard College
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Cornell University Cornell University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs New York University New York University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Lehigh University Lehigh University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs Rice University Rice University
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs University of Virginia-Main Campus University of Virginia-Main Campus
University of Pennsylvania UPenn vs The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University