Hi jwurth,
I visited UMD on Friday, March 27th for their open house and I loved it. The first 45 minutes of the session was spent with two professors, one from the Audiology department and one from the SLP department. The second half of the session was led by two graduate students (one Audiology, one SLP) and they gave us a tour of the facilities and answered more questions based on student life. The program is very research focused and there is an expectation that you would complete research, classes, and clinicals every semester you're there (even the first one). They have an in house clinic and the graduate students are expected to work in there for their first 3 semesters (Fall, Spring, Summer) then you get two semesters of off campus clinical placements (Fall, Spring). I agree with a lot of clmogel said; the buildings are old but they have everything you need and they do feel very research focused, but the idea is that you can apply everything you learned to a clinical setting immediatly. It's indimidating, but it's one of the most hands on programs I've ever seen. The faculty is approachable, knowledgable, and the graduate students didn't have anything negative to say about them. They have a 100% Praxis passing rate and a 95% employment rate after graduation (They said the other 5% were because of personal choices and that most students who want a job after attending UMD get one).
It's still my number one choice, as it's in state for me and a really good program. I'm hesitant to say for sure that I'm going there given the opportunities I was offered at other Universities, but I took a lot of notes while I was there and I'd be happy to tell you everything I wrote down!