@ashmomhk as mentioned above, did her deferral letter mention the Freshman Connection program? If she is eligible for that, she would enter UMD and rally not see much difference in her experience except that her classes would be all later afternoon/evening in the fall semester. As others have mentioned, everything else would be the same experience - she would live in dorms just like all fall admits, etc. I’ve known kids who’ve been through the program and it really was a positive experience over all. As to the question whether she could start somewhere else and transfer in sophomore year with her credits, I assume she would have to apply as a transfer student like anyone else.
What are her other choices? If UMD is the highest COA, does it make sense for her to choose UMD over her other acceptances?
Editing to say that if she does Freshman connection, she starts in the fall so she would have guaranteed housing like everyone else. I’m not sure how it works for housing if she starts in the spring - that would be a question to ask admissions.
Thanks for all replies. As my daughter would like to major in Criminal Justice and UMD is the top ranking college in the field. In the College application process, we dare to think she would be admitted. UMD state its average GPA of 4.0, but my D study IB full diploma that it is difficult to convert to GPA scale. So we did not consider the COA of UMD at that time! She really happy (a super reach for her) to study in UMD, but we need to sort it out financially.
Okay - this is getting ridiculous. DS got ANOTHER acceptance to a school he withdrew his application from - Penn State Main Campus! So funny! The only college that actually pulled his application was Elon. So he’s 6 for 6 but committed to his ED. ;))
DS19 paid housing and application deposits for CofC last night. He will be completing his housing questionnaire today when it becomes available. We’re done. CofC Class of 2023!
D is receiving emails from department chairs from schools where she has already declined offers of admission. What to do – respond to them with a thank-you-but-I-am-not-attending email reply?
Can anyone offer any insight on room and board costs after life in the dorms? We are beginning to crunch the numbers and am wondering if off campus housing, in general, is higher or lower than the university room and board. Is cost of food less than the school’s meal plan cost? I figured in a 5% increase per year for tuition but don’t know the best approach for estimating future R&B.
@md2384 it depends on the school and the location. My DS16 attends school in Charleston and housing is expensive. He will staying on campus all 4 years.
@md2384 S17 is moving off campus next year at Virginia Tech. His apartment will cost $600/month each for him and his 3 roommates. The off campus range was roughly $400-$700, depending on location and amenities.
Food will probably cost another $2,000 or $3,000.
Having said that, our all-in costs will probably be the same. However, he’s got a really great internship this summer and he will help defray some of the cost.
My D"s dorm and meal plan cost about $11,000 a year.
The on campus apartment and groceries cost about $10,000 a year.
The off campus apartment required one month security deposit, about $600 a month rent, plus about $50 a month per roommate for heat and electric and $20 a month for internet. We also got a rental insurance policy with liability insurance for $10/mo. So about $700 a month X12 and maybe $200 a month for food. So about $10,000 a year.
It was time consuming to research reputable landlords and tour apartments.
We needed to buy a bed, mattress, desk and rug which was about $1,000.
The landlord required all parents to co-sign the lease.
I think it really depends on location @md2384. My D16 paid $600/month for a furnished apartment and cooks a lot so her R&B coats were less in her sophomore year (she was also able to get a 9 or 10 month lease). This year she is paying the same for her share of a partially furnished 3BR house (I had to buy her a bed) for the same price. She is in Fort Collins, CO. If she were in Boulder, I think she would be paying much, much more and it would be cheaper to live on campus.
FWIW, her school’s published estimates for the costs of on-campus and off-campus housing are about the same and I think it’s pretty accurate…
@md2384 My son attends college in Montreal. Off campus housing and food is significantly cheaper than on campus. I have friends with kids in NYC and it is just the opposite. You’ll need to check based upon location of school.
My judgey opinion: a 19 year old should be able to find an apartment without mom and dad’s help. If they aren’t then they aren’t ready to go off campus. At my son’s school there is only housing for first years. So the kids all learn how to do this together. It’s fun to watch the adulting happening.
My D17 will be moving off campus next year in DC. Housing is very expensive but we expect her to save money on food. Her school requires the unlimited meal plan which is a huge waste. Overall, we expect her costs to remain about the same as the higher rooming cost will be offset by lower board cost. We will also save on one summer’s worth of moving costs including summer storage.
We heard from UMiami this week…deferred. Oh well, it’s not a no!
We also found out that although D applied EA at UMaryland, she is being considered RD, since her high school didn’t send her transcript in time. Apparently, there was an issue in Naviance. D had UMaryland as EA, when it should have been “Priority”. The school uses Naviance to trigger the transcripts. Since it wasn’t coded as “Priority”, it went as regular. Sigh, why do they even let them enter EA if that’s not a valid choice? But if D had been more on top of the Coalition app site, she might have noticed that her transcript hadn’t been sent. In any case, UMaryland is now RD.
Oh, and I can’t recall whether I mentioned here that she was denied from Northeastern. She’s not terribly upset. It wasn’t a favorite.
D’s current status…
Accepted: James Madison, Ohio State
Deferred: UMichigan, Tulane, UMiami
Denied: Northeastern
EA still waiting: UConn
RD still waiting: Clemson, UMass, URI, UMaryland
@momzilla2D That sticks about the Naviace issue. It just doesn’t seem right that the app has that confusion. No coalition apps for us, so I am not familiar with it. Good thing your D has some in the bag, and if she’s in to those two, I’m sure there are more to come!
@momzilla2D
Your D is doing well! Those deferred schools are all tough admits as is Northeastern!
My D’s school does not allow the Coalition app with the exception of University of Washington which requires it. They want all the kids to use the Common app when possible.