FWIW, notification dates from several years ago

Colleges & Universities University of Maryland - College Park
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Ok people, I know you are all anxious. First off, deep breaths. IF it helps to know, I am posting the specific notifications from the Nov 1, 2011 priority application round (2012 Fall matriculation)

The email admission notification was on Jan 30 or 31 but the snail mail letters were dated as follows (but of course we received them several days after these dates):
Jan 27 congrats on admission and scholars in same letter
Feb 3 separate scholars letter with info about filling out interest survey to select specific program
Feb 8 congrats on admission to A James Clark School of Engineering
Feb 21 congrats on presidential scholarship
March 14 congrats on getting into specific program in scholars

Stats? graduated magna cum laude from huge competitive high school, 36 on math section of ACT, great leadership ECs, assuming great letters of rec

With those stats why scholars and not honors? Nothing wrong with scholars, people, just different types of programs. However, for those curious, it is likely because AP classes were in math and sciences only, none in English, so no “breadth.” Also, LOTs of leadership/outside activities…

What I have witnessed over the past several seasons is that Banneker Key invites are sent out as invites in early February for interviews only to a small percentage of students invited to honors college. No rhyme or reason. No predicting but most were the standard Ivy league candidates, with a few exceptions.

Getting invited to honors college does not guarantee merit money. Getting invited to scholars instead of honors does not mean you will not get merit money. Again, no predictability. OOS (out of state) has potential to get “more” total merit $ than IS (in state) BUT IS tuition is less so technically, when you compare side by side, it is actually pretty balanced/equivalent percentage awards.

In addition to the Presidential (4 year awards) and Dean’s (1-2 year awards), there are also departmental scholarships. For incoming freshman, it’s somewhat limited to the tippy top students of course, but after you matriculate, there are LOTS of merit scholarships available. At least in engineering, it’s one application only and you are considered for all scholarships available and matched to one, if appropriate.

Also important to note is that if you applied to a LEP (limited enrollment program), you can be admitted to the university itself but not the LEP you applied to. I have seen MANY outstanding students admitted to the university, invited to either honors college or scholars but NOT the LEP they applied to (placed in Letters and Sciences to start - understand you can always reapply to the LEP again as an internal transfer after you matriculate and take specific (“gateway”) courses successfully).

In addition to honors and scholars, there are several other great living-learning communities such as CIVICUS, Global Communities, etc and then for engineering students only there is FLEXUS (women) and VIRTUS (men) that is not only a living-learning community but also extensive academic support specific for engineers to ensure retention.

Ok. I hope that covers enough to give you all some information to give peace of mind until decisions come out. Please trust me. I know admissions people think they are being helpful when they give a specific date to callers but I truly believe they really are just trying to get you to stop calling…despite everything you hear, I have yet to witness an actual release date before January 28th. As I said in another thread, the ONLY indicator that I know of that has been reliable in the past has been that glitch which may or may not still exist this year…the glitch is that SOME but NOT all accounts will suddenly have a housing link appear the day before decisions are released. It does not mean you are in if you have it, NOR does it mean that you didn’t get in if you don’t have it. No rhyme or reason. Just an odd glitch. But there it is. That’s all I know.

It’s only 2 more weeks now…

Best of luck to everyone…:slight_smile:

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FYI, also important to note with regard to scholarships in general. Bear in mind that Maryland is a public university. They do not have the huge endowments that private universities do and therefore cannot offer the huge scholarships the way private universities can. However, tuition is also considerably lower to begin with, so there is that. Just wanted to put that out there. Bear in mind that Maryland is truly an outstanding university with amazing resources, research opportunities, and other very unique experiences/opportunities so, as an OOS parent, I really feel strongly that you really do get your money’s worth.

Once decisions come out (or at least closer to the time), I will re-post some old threads with info about what comes next - a great classic from my hero (astrophysicsmom) with what to do as soon as you get your admissions decision, and some old threads with discussions on scholars/honors, and the engineering department (the living/learning communities and also what happens if you are admitted to the university but not directly admitted to engineering - you will know because it says your advising college is letters and sciences instead of A James Clark School of Engineering).

Hmmm, come to think of it, gotta say that’s one common gripe that has not been addressed. When admission decisions come out, you will have access to the decision online first (yes, even though the snail mail letter is “dated” earlier it won’t be in your hot little hands til later) and the online version is not as clear as the hard letter with respect to the LEP admission issue.

I can’t recall exactly how it appears because it’s been a while so I apologize if I’m wrong about specifics but the long and short of it is that I believe you have to scroll to the end of the email and look at the bottom to see your “advising college” to know if you were admitted to the LEP you applied to. For example, if it says A James Clark School of Engineering, then yes, you are what’s called a “direct admit” to engineering, congrats.

However, your email can say congratulations on your admission to the university at the top, but if you scroll down and see the “advising college” says Letters & Sciences at the bottom, then you are admitted to the university but NOT admitted to the school of engineering (at least not to start).

Same concept applies for Smith School of Business and other LEPs.

I have addressed how to handle the “reapplying” as an “internal transfer” to engineering in another thread, so I will look it up and post when I find it rather than trying to reinvent the wheel…please be patient while I try to find it…

@terpmom7, would love your input as well, as I’m sure I’ve missed something…

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@maryversity‌, as always you’ve given great info and have been very thorough. The only thing I can think of to add is that for those who aren’t admitted directly to Smith, the business school, the transfer process is different from Clark. Completing the gateway courses alone won’t get you admitted to Smith. It is the most competitive school at UMD. Even though the SAT scores are about 30 points higher on average for engineering direct admits, Smith is harder to get in because of the limited number of seats available. Therefore transferring is also more difficult. Having a high GPA is critical for getting in. You are only allowed to apply to transfer to Smith one time. You can specify on your transfer application that you would be open to accepting a spot at the Shady Grove campus if you are denied a spot in College Park. There are only four business majors available at Shady Grove, accounting, management with a specialization in entrepreneurship, international business, and marketing. Acceptance to Shady Grove is competitive too,but easier than CP. Having a backup major in mind is wise if trying for Smith. Many people choose Economics. The econ dept is very well respected and is not a part of the business school. It is located in BSOS, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
For those who get directly admitted to Smith, congratulations! It is an incredible school. The opportunities are endless. If anyone has any questions about Smith, I would be happy to try and help answer them. For anything else, maryversity is the person to ask! She is a wealth of knowledge for all things UMD!
Good luck to all of you!

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@maryversity and @terpmom7, thank you both. Your advice is always helpful. My D and I certainly made use of it last year when she was accepted.

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@maryversity‌ Do you know if there is any correlation to admittance and students who were invited to Marquee Day?

Thanks!

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No clue. Only thing I can say is my son was invited to Marquee Day and was admitted…

When we attended (several years ago now, mind you), I did ask how they based who they extended invitations to and if I recall correctly I think they might have said it was based on high psat scores…(DON’T quote me, could absolutely be wrong cause it’s been a while!!!)? So, assuming high psat scores lead to high sat scores (not always the case though) and assuming high/very good gpa goes with that (also DEF not always the case) then there is probably a high correlation between invitees and admissions if those applicants also write decent essays…?

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They told me that it was high PSAT scores as well.