I also pick up a copy of the college newspaper as I did at Drexel. I ignored the warning signs in the Drexel newspaper as the complaints were numerous especially about the administration. UMBC's "Weekly Retriever" was mostly positive. Complaints had to do with food. Food was a common complaint on most campuses so I really think of this as trivia. If you don't like what they have on campus, bring your own. Parking is also another complaint but that is typical of commuter schools: there's never enough parking. Even Drexel was a parking nightmare until I learned to park in front of the fraternities and sororities and walk down. Nassau Community and Farmingdale also had their parking problems, but attending at night was less of a problem. On these campuses we were more worried about security lighting. Considering Drexel was a city school, I was lucky and never had a problem with rift raft. The suburban schools like Nassau Community and Farmingdale looked insecure because of the lighting, but there were few problems with muggings on these campuses as they were in low crime areas. UMBC, also a suburban school is also in a low crime area until one proceeds up Wilkins Ave as one has to pass through the "projects" or Section Eight housing. This area was totally unsecured in addition to rift raft coming out of Baltimore City on the bus to perform their dirty deeds on unsuspecting suburbanites.

In my investigation I am looking for the things that I cannot change and will have to deal with for better or worse: students, the library, the laboratories, the classrooms, the professors, the administration. These were things I was paying for but totally out of my control. These had to have good reviews, otherwise UMBC was a "No-Go!"

All in all, UMBC was an excellent choice all around and provided the best bang for the buck and a university I would recommend if one is looking for a research university.