My son was accepted into the James A. Clark School of Engineering. He received an invitation for lunch to meet other students, faculty and staff. We have a family obligation with plane tickets the day of this luncheon. Has anyones son that received the Banner/Key Scholarship received this invitation and do you think it would hinder chances for the Banner/Key?
The Banneker/Key email to semi-finalists was sent out on February 10th last year, with the packets following in the mail soon after. The interviews were in late February and early March, with the finalists announced after that. That’s a long way of saying it’s still early for B-K.
Was the student invited into the honors program? The invitation to the Clark school is completely separate and is part of their recruiting effort to get talented accepted students to see what the program has to offer. If the student is offered BK you won’t miss the packet and email.
No, he wasn’t invited to the honors program. He was admitted into the Clark Engineering as undecided. He has been mesmerized by everything UMD. He is pinning his hopes on the Banner/Key scholarship. Our situation is the no scholarship, no college type of deal. I’m thinking it may be a long shot for him because he isn’t a scholar or honors candidate. Does anyone know of other students that have received a full Banner/Key scholarship without being in Scholars or Honors?
@twinker I’m sorry, but the only students who are considered for Banneker-Key are those who have been admitted to the Honors program. You can find more information here: http://www.bannekerkey.umd.edu/
But the university has other merit scholarships. You can find more information here:
http://www.admissions.umd.edu/finaid/MeritScholarshipsForFreshmen.php
And of course they also have need-based scholarships. For those you need to file the various forms. More information is here: http://www.admissions.umd.edu/finaid/NeedBasedAid.php
Best of luck to your son!
@twinker, be sure to check if there are any engineering scholarships for freshmen that have additional applications
http://www.engrscholarships.umd.edu/scholarships/new-freshmen
I see that the Clark scholarships do not have additional applications. There is a link to “other scholarship opportunities” that may be of interest.
one more scholarship list, though many may be for upper class. Something to look into when you visit as well.
http://www.celebratescholarships.umd.edu/celebration/listScholarships.php?div=7fb1789cc47ce66e1b63a5d2ff79475866c739a8
There is a misconception that all Banneker/Key students need to be an honor student. That is False. All honor students are automatically considered for the Banneker/Key Scholarship, however, you do not need to be in honors to get a Banneker/Key scholarship. There are many factors that are associated with receiving this scholarship.
Thank you for the information everyone. I am checking out everything!
@twinker If that’s true, I stand corrected. I am only going by what I’ve heard and what’s on the B/K website.
http://www.bannekerkey.umd.edu/
Hmmm. From http://www.bannekerkey.umd.edu/:
“All freshman applicants to the University of Maryland who are admitted to the Honors College are considered for nomination to the Banneker/Key Scholarship.”
It’s true that it doesn’t say “ONLY freshman applicants … who are admitted to the Honors College are considered”, so it’s possible that, in addition to Honors College invitees, other admitted students might be considered for the B/K.
I suppose from that wording it does leave an opening for non honors students. I’ve been reading cc for three years and I’ve never before seen anyone say that it was open to non honors kids before. But, you both might be right. This seems like a good question for @mdhelp.
We were specifically told by UMD that you must be in the honors college in order to be nominated for the Banneker Key. My son was accepted to the honors college, but not nominated for the B/K. His guidance counselor called to question why he was not nominated (of course, there is no real answer - too many factors involved), but she was told unequivocally that honors college acceptance is the first requirement that must be met in order to qualify.
D2 received the somewhat cryptic email this afternoon. The core text follows:
“In the coming days, you will receive a special packet in the mail. Be on the lookout for it. It contains recognition that reflects your significant academic leadership and accomplishments.”
In the past at least, this precise text has referred to the Banneker-Key packets. If you want to see more of the previous discussions, it’s probably easiest to search from outside College Confidential. If you do a Google search for “special packet” “University of Maryland” Banneker-Key, that should get you to some useful discussions.
Occasionally, a student receives the packet, but has not received the email. So even if you don’t receive the email in the next few days, you may still be under consideration for B-K.
Got the same email as @Arlmom2.
Hoping this means B/K!
@arlmom2 and @indianboy2400 That’s very exciting! Good luck to you both!!!
Congratulations, @indianboy2400 & @arlmom2! Definitely sounds like an allusion to the B/K packet. And remember, if you get the invite, you are already a winner: everyone who gets an interview will be offered either a partial or a full Banneker-Key scholarship. So you can relax to some degree and just enjoy the process!
@indianboy2400 You’ll know more in a few days. But that’s the identical text students received last year when their B-K packets were on the way. Best of luck!
Do they usually send out all the emails on the same day?
Didn’t get an email 
Oh well, guess I didn’t make the cut for B/K