Hey I was a Freshman Connection student so I’ll do my best to answer your questions. I am currently a Sophomore student who just applied to the Smith school.
- Is freshman connection guaranteed for all spring admitted students? If not, how many seats are available for students? Yea it basically means that you will "official" be a regular student in the Spring semester.
- Do FC students enjoy this program? If you like to live off campus and party it is a great program! TBH I lived at the View and most of the people who were there partied a lot. Its the same with the Varsity.
- I have read that FC students are treated differently on campus by the administration and the students. Is this true? Nope, as a FC student and as a FC summer mentor I can say that nobody will know and FC does not mean that you are any dumber than the regularly admitted students.
- I want to be a business major (LEP program). Would it be difficult for me to transfer internally into the business program at UMD since I am entering the institution as a spring admit or does that not affect my chances? FC does not affect your changes but keep in mind that it will be competitive. That said, if you can keep up at LEAST a 3.5 and have STRONG STRONG STRONG gateway performance (By that I mean get As) then you have a good shot of getting in.
- How do people feel about UMD or UF? Which school is better? Which business program is better? Is it worth going to UF and having to pay OOS tuition (even if money is not an issue)? I don't think that UF is better than UMD. If you are looking for a "better business program" by Maryland I would highly consider UVA (McIntire school of Commerce). There is no doubt UVA is better than UMD. UMich and UVA are the only two schools that are worth paying out of state tuition for.