@lorifitzbac @user_367274 @SoofDad yes I signed up for admiited students yesreday. Used the link from email.
You have create UMD account and University ID first.
Hi all
My S17 got admitted to UMD College Park - Honors , no Financial Aid yet.
Just an FYI his stats were as below
Stats:-
OOS candidate ( NJ )
ACT 35.25 (Composite 35)
SAT II Math :- 800
SAT II Physics :- 790
UW GPA:- 4.0
Top STEM School in country
NMF Finalist
600+hrs volunteering
decent ECās Member of Finance club that reached Fed Reserve semi finalist in Fed Challenge
TSA finalist represented state
Applied for Business & Comp.Sc
Our FAFSA indicated we deserve no merit award, we are 250k+ earners
A bit disappointed, but , on aid. Just publishing these stats for students there to compare & see where they stand for UMD College Park
@RRRGSP Your FAFSA only indicates what need based aid you are elligible for. With your incredible stats and resumeā¦ stay tuned. Merit Aid is not based on FAFSA. It is based on scores grades and resume. I donāt want to speculate but with what you mentioned I would be shocked if you did not receive merit awards. Most will come out in late March. A few will come out in about 2 weeks.
@thentt Thanks a lot. Raised my S17, always emphasizing that he stand on his own legs & not expect a silver spoon in his mouth. Lets see what he gets & UMD Comp.Sc is on his top choices, as he ruled himself out of any IVY, given the scam on admissions that went there 
BTW we were able to register for accepted students day but need to resubmit the Carillon preferences. Did anyone else submit Carillon preferences but not have it noted on the site?
For those that were able to register for admitted students day, how did you do this? I have tried different browsers, different computers, late at night, early in the day. Each time I get a 500 error. Any advice?
@mbbsmom Have you set up your directory ID. Go to this page https://www.admissions.umd.edu/visit/campus-programs/admitted-student-open-house Under where it says "If you havenāt already, you must acquire your Directory ID and set up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) prior to registering. " After you complete that process which is kinda involved you can register.
this question is for parents/students who have gotten into umd in previous years
am I guaranteed to get merit aid because I was selected for the scholars program? or is it only the best of the program gets anything?
@Schoolish No Scholars are not guaranteed merit aid. Most that I know did not. Even Honors are not guaranteed merit but most I know did.
Lots of comments about the UMD Scolars program are incorrectly stating that itās less selective than Honors, thatās not true. These are 2 totally different programs that choose academically elite students. Honors focuses more on the pursuit of academic/research projects. Scholars uses academic and problem solving skills to address community and global issues. If a student has lots of diverse experience, especially community focus extracurricular activities she/he may be a better fit of scholars. If a student tends to have much of their extracurricular activities focused in a single academic interest area, then honors may be the placement. UMD tries to think about the overall make up of the LLCs and subgroups to create a dynamic and engaging experience for the students in both programs. Scholars is a much smaller program than Honors with a higher percentage of higher stats students. Honors has a holistic acceptance so some accepted students may not have either super high SATs or GPAs, but overall they were strong academic students.
There are 2 programs for elite students- Honors and Scholars. They select from the same pool of qualified candidates, but for different focuses. Look up the programs on the UMD website.
Honors focuses on students who have/tend to have a narrower interest in a particular academic experience with extracurriculars that reflect this interest. Scholars tends to select students who have diverse interests outside the classroom with particularly strong extracurricular activities in community service. Srlections for both programs is from the elite applicant pool. (Holistic)
@MDeducate Correct. UMD will not say one is better than the other. Fact: Honors chooses their students from accepted pool FIRST. Only Honors are considered for Banneker Key (full ride). Only Honors can register for Honors classes freshman year.
Draw your own conclusion. Admissions do not place you in one or the other, they are chosen by Honors.
I disagree that Scholars is lower ranked than Honors. As an alumnus, high school teacher in Maryland, and after having had numerous conversations with staff from both programs, I was told they are equal but different. Honors gets more recognition because most universities have some sorts of Honors program, but the Scholars program is fairly unique to UMCP. In addition, the Scholars program is a smaller program than Honors.
Although the Honors program may get āfirst pickā itās a misconception that the best applicants get into Honorās. UMD Scholars is equally as selective and the Honors selection committee may feel a candidate would better fit into Scholars so they will send that application to the Scholars committee. This is exactly what I was told by both the Honors and Scholars staff.
Yes did all of that, and authenticate each time and get the 500 errorā¦
Only scholars can participate is Scholars programs. Scholars are eligible for Presidential scholarships and well as other scholarships. I have had many students over the years go into both Honors and Scholars. Some of my strongest academic students were in scholars. While, Iāve been surprised by the selection of some of my (not quite as strong) students into Honors.
Neither Honors, nor Scholars are guaranteed merit scholarships. I have had many, many students attend UMD in the both Honors and Scholars programs. No clear distinction in who was awarded what money. However, Banneker Key scholarship is specifically for Honor students. There are also other scholarships such as Presidential and Deanās scholarships that any student can receive. I have not noticed more honors students getting scholarships over scholars students. The Honors program is a larger program.
@MDeducate Yes there are Scholars classes designed for students in Scolars Program but that should not be confused with Honors ālevelā classes that are noted by an H after the course label when you register. For example students can register for MATH246 (multivariable Caculus). Honors students have the choice of choosing MATH246H which is Honors level. This is true of many classes, Chem, Physics, History etc. After freshman year all students can apply for Department Honors and many Scholars students do. With a high enough GPA and recommendations they enter their Department (Engineering, Journalism, etc.) Honors and are elligible for H designation classes. They can also graduate āWith Honorsā.