@NoVaRat Your daughter is not required to join a LLP; what she received is an invitation to join one. However, if she does not select one, then she is electing to not participate in Honors College. So, if she declines, then she will not be an Honors College student as a freshman.
Unlike other schools’ honors colleges, Maryland’s Honors College is a program, not a status. The only “status” it confers is eligibility to take any H level course or honors seminar. Upon completion of the program, she would receive a citation on her transcript and there is some nice bling to wear at graduation, with a listing in the program that she completed the honors college program.
There are other options available as a students to participate in honors programs for after freshman year.
If she is a student in the CMNS department or business or engineering schools, then she is eligible to apply for QUEST, which is a three-year honors fellows program. You apply as a freshman for this program which commences sophomore year and it would make her an Honors College student again. She would be eligible to take any H level course or honors seminar as a QUEST student.
If you are looking for academic recognition on your college diploma, there are only two ways to get that: departmental honors and latin honors.
Departmental honors is something that you apply to only after you have matriculated as a student and only your college grades are considered (high school performance is not taken into account for departmental honors) as well as your rank within your department. Most departmental honors programs start junior year, but there are a few that start sophomore year. If admitted to departmental honors as an upperclassman, she would be eligible to take any H level course or honors seminar.
Latin honors (cum laude, etc) is based on college gpa and each department sets its own range for qualification. Since Latin honors is only determined for graduation, it does not confer any eligibility to take any H level course or honors seminar.