Physics at College Park

astrophysicsmom
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:44:15 +0000

To get into the honors program, the general rule of thumb is around 700 on each of the CR and Math sections, with GPA and EC’s to match… The real merit $$ is in the Banneker/Key Scholarship, which can be a full-ride, or a partial scholarship, which is what D1 got. As I said, we justified the cost (kind of) by saying that with the merit $$, it made UMD comparable to tuition at UNC-CH…had she not gotten merit $$. However, she did get a scholarship offer from UNC, but not one of their highest ones…had it been a full-ride, she would have gone there; we couldn’t have walked away from that for Undergrad. So, yes, we’re paying more at UMD than we would be at UNC-CH, but I’m convinced that it’s worth it for D.

So, you need to see if you can bring your SAT CR up…significantly so for merit $$. Of course, there is need-based $$ available, if you qualify, that could also help you.

Bottom line, I think you’ll do great at UVA, but you should apply (and visit) UMD. Just be prepared to go to UVA if the $$ difference is too much for your family. In terms of quality of the Undergrad physics depts, they are probably very similar.