University of Maryland

Founded in 1856, The University of Maryland, College Park, has risen to become one of the nation's topmost research universities. UMD is now acclaimed as a Public Ivy and ranks as number six on Kiplinger's 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. Newsweek ranked UMD as number 45 among global universities. The entering class of 2009 had a 3.93 high school GPA and a 1295/1600 SAT score.

Because of its strong footing among other research universities, UMD has formed partnerships with federal agencies. Additionally, several students, both undergraduates and graduates, have gained invaluable experience in public sector internships, such as NIH, the U.S. Senate, and the Department of Homeland Security. In Fiscal Year 2009, UMD was awarded $518 million in research funding.

Maryland alums are prominent in every field and include Sergey Brin (the co-founder of Google), Jim Henson (the creator of The Muppets), Larry David (the creator of Seinfeld), Carly Fiorina (the former CEO of Hewlett Packard), and Kevin Planck (the CEO and founder of Under Armour).