Pedagogically speaking Syracuse and UMD are very different.  I have friends at both and have visited UMD a plethora of times to attend lectures/visit friends.

UMD: They won the solar decathlon a few years ago.  There are Makerbot stations spread around their studios but speaking with students, I get the feeling that they aren't really into the whole cutting edge thing.  Some would rather hand cut and hand draw projects.  Rhino is an anomaly.  UMD students seem to feed into the banal developer firms of DC.  The facility is kind of dated and depressing.  There are a few cool professors and students that I've met though.  

Syracuse- A few of my best friends from undergrad attend.  They are very cutting edge. Lots of exciting projects I've seen from them.    Students seem to be introduced to new programs like C4D, Maya, Rhino, Excel, ect to make them push their design process.  Some studios might end up focusing too much on the formal look of a project than the pragmatic.  Michael Speaks is a great dean and was responsible for turning UKentucky into a good school.    

IMO it comes down to are you more pragmatic or theoretical?  Look at the student work posted.  Read up on the faculty and find which one you would like to work with, be mentored by. Search ISSUU for student portfolios and see which school you like the best.

My bias is towards cutting edge.  IMO it's easier to take something exciting and cutting edge and create a pragmatic project than vise versa. I'd go Syracuse but it all comes down to you and not some random person on the interwebs.   

I've looked at many portfolios online for both schools. Honestly, the work is always on opposite ends of the spectrum, there's never an in between. UMD work is mostly pragmatic, but there is one or two interesting projects. One of the comments I read in a Syracuse thread said something along the lines of "you better stock your library with Koolhaas and Corb books". So far every Syracuse portfolio I have seen has projects which very much fall under that very same umbrella. I'm very much an open minded person, but the thought of having Koolhaas shoved down my throat worries me.

I was at Univ. of Kentucky for Undergrad while Speaks was Dean and I couldn't have asked for a better undergrad experience.  Because of him our students had access to multiple workshops throughout the year and we had a nice lecture series as well, and the student work improved greatly.  I'm very thankful that he was Dean for the four years that I attended. 

I wouldn't worry too much about the Koolhaas comment.  I think schools cover a wide range of architects and projects to learn from.  I would go Syracuse, but of course it's up to you in the end.  Remember to consider cost and location as well.  Did any of them offer you scholarship?  

How and when did you hear from UMD? I haven't received anything yet.  :(

Okay saw your comment on my thread, thank you! 

I graduated from Syracuse's B.Arch program in recent years. Maryland was one of the programs I got into, but Syracuse gave me way more money and I enjoyed my visit there more.

About Syracuse: Don't worry about the Rem/Corb stuff. There is a pretty diverse mix of faculty and if you apply some effort, you will be able to guide your education in whatever direction you choose. Particularly for your thesis, you will be able to delve into any subject you like, from the extremely grounded to some parametricist re-design of the western hemisphere. It's all up to you. There are enough tenured faculty from the school's various pedagogical "eras" as well as new young contract folks to go around. Also, the current grad program chair (he's been chair for a year or two now) is fantastic. I've had a couple classes with him and several friends have had him as their thesis advisor. He is a great educator and and really works well with students, whatever their academic interests may be.

Potential weaknesses: At this moment in time, the schools is more of a follower than a leader. It has all the cutting edge technology, lecture series, visiting critics, etc, but every time the wind blows at the GSD or GSAPP, there's a fresh batch of associate profs on a year contract to replace those pushing yesterday's trends. Now this is neither uncommon nor irrational -- it's just something to watch out for as a student looking for consistent mentorship. Another point of weakness is name recognition between the coasts, but your portfolio should do the talking, not the name on your diploma.

From what I know of UMD. It's definitely a solid school. I imagine a plus would be the proximity to DC. And it's not too far from Philly either. It has the location advantage over Syracuse in terms of pure logistics of looking for work in the large cities, if you're into that. The portfolios I've seen from there are generally impressive. Perhaps fewer ones with bold experimentation and representational flair than at SU, but neither of those things will play much of a role in landing your first job, anyway.

Good luck with picking the one right for you!

I'm also a B.Arch candidate from Syracuse, graduating this spring. From my peek into our school's grad program, 1st year grad students are all taking a digital representation/fabrication class, which is very different from what was happening 4 or 5 years ago when I first got here. So one possible reasoning is that the movement toward digital/parametrics is a deliberate action taken by the new dean and new faculties, and one might see that direction further influencing other aspects of the curriculum, including design studio.

That being said, i agree with RhinoTRAP that the school still enjoys its diversity of interest, from an undergrad's point of view (However, they might change the format of thesis into "clusters" to better match faculties' interests - a plan still debated). Are you able to visit the school? I think getting here and see some work might do the work (the works from the digital course I was talking about are all pinned up on the wall for display), and you'll also see whether or not you like the campus/town/etc.

Thanks for all the feedback guys(or gals). I will be visiting both schools for an admitted student open house within the next three weeks. Syracuse sounds like it would be a nice change of pace from the more conservative approach to design.