A Quick Review of University of Maryland Online Programs

When starting an online program after attending a large university I was a little unsure of what to expect. I didn't know if my classes were going to be harder, easier, less organized, etc. I was pleasantly surprised by the experience I had.

I started at UMUC in the Fall Semester of 2005. I enrolled in the Criminal Justice online program because I live on the other side of the state and had a newborn at home with me so I was unable to attend in classroom classes. They had a great selection of classes and I never had to miss a class because they were full. In 5 semesters I never once had to be put on a waiting list. They were really great about opening new sections of classes so they could accommodate all of their students and they don't have to worry about missing graduation dates because of lack of class availability. That was a huge problem at Virginia Tech when I attended there.

All of my instructors were very knowledgeable professionals in their respective fields. Some examples I had an experienced lawyers for my Criminal Law class, a former Chief of Police for a large city for my Police Administration, and a very experienced Graphic Artist for my graphic design classes. I couldn't believe how invaluable their experiences and lessons they taught would be to my education. The projects that we did in our classwork were things that we would do in our jobs instead of just writing opinion papers on assigned readings.

I never had any problem with financing my education. I had in-state tuition. They use the same federal programs and grants as any other 4 year college in the U.S. I received a full federal aid package to cover the cost of my tuition and books were all I had to pay out of pocket. MBS Direct, their book store, was cheaper than any other school I attended and they give great offers for book buy backs.