No, her scores now show as received 8/26. We sent them from ACT on 8/22.
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Just as an FYI. UMD particularly if you attend a high performing school from MoCo or HoCo has become insanely competitive to get into.
I have a 2021 HS grad as well as a 2025 HS grad and just within 4 years, UMD became much more competitive at least from our school to gain admissions.
For my 2021 graduate, pretty much anyone who worked hard and had a reasonable GPA from our school was accepted.
Fast forward to 2025 and that was definitely not the case. There were many people blindsided who had expected to get in but didn’t (ie 1500 plus SATs/ with good but not near perfect grades or “average” rigor). The average GPA for accepted students from our school was 3.96 unweighted and 1484 SAT. I’ve been told this is very school dependent but UMD should not be considered a safety for anyone who attends a high performing school.
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Whats moco?
Montgomery County in Maryland
3.96 unweighted for any Program or only for Limited Enrollments.
That’s anything.
The 2025 class was the largest graduating high school class in American history. So it was exceptionally competitive applying to college this past year. The birth rate dropped mildly with the Great Recession in 2008 and kept dropping considerably after that. It may be a bit less competitive this year and will get much better in coming years.
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Not so sure about that. At my kids HS the class of 2026 is bigger than 2025. There was a lot of redshirting
So ini the portal, if the Application Package Status shows “Complete”, we should be good to go for Early Action correct? I was getting nervous about the Dual Enrollment transcript requirement discussed here, but my DD is in her first Dual Enrollment class this fall and will not have a grade until the class ends in December.
Must all LORs also be received by the EA deadline? Just checking to see how much my D needs to stay on top of her teachers about this.
Yes all admission documents. A week or few days before the deadline you can check with the admissions office though email or call and they will confirm whether or not the file is complete.
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UMD is an excellent option for OOS from states where the in-state option costs $40-45k like the UC system. Getting the presidential scholarship (S25 got $15k, but i believe $20k is possible, but I also see they list lower numbers on their website so not 100% sure) will make it an excellent and similar priced option for kids from these states. Meeting the EA deadline is necessary both for maximizing merit and getting into the competitive majors.
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UMD is a very popular choice where I live, so I’ll mention a few things:
- The presidential scholarship is nice (highest I’ve seen is $18k) - but they are not generous with merit aid. Lots of high stats students get very little (like $2.5k) or no merit aid, so it cannot be counted upon.
- They accept 94% of their incoming freshman class in EA, so missing EA makes it a reach for most students. That’s independent of major.
- Yes, all aspects of an application needs to be submitted by the EA deadline. The admissions office is very helpful though, and they will confirm whether everything has been received and the file is complete.
Best wishes to all those applying!
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You are probably right. Maybe more common on CC. But I saw atleast a few last year here get $80k over 4 years, maybe it was a different scholarship.
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The following is from UMD’s website Office of Undergraduate Admissions | Freshman Merit Scholarships
The President’s Scholarship provides four-year scholarship ranging from $2,000 to $12,500 per year. Both in-state and out-of-state applicants are eligible to receive the President’s Scholarship. Recipients are identified through evaluation of admission application materials including academic achievement, extracurricular activities, awards, honors and an essay. Selected students will be notified of their scholarship by April 1.
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It looks like they may have not updated the page. I personally know kids who received $18k per year with the Presidential Scholarship and as @sfogooner pointed out, some seem to have received $20k.
But the point still stands - UMD does not give a lot of merit aid (because they get lots of highly qualified applicants). The sample we see on CC is skewed.
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I found another link which validates the $20K per year amount
President’s Scholarship
This award provides talented prospective freshmen with scholarship support for eight consecutive undergraduate semesters. Up to $20,000 per year is offered to incoming freshmen. Students are selected through the admission process, with primary consideration given to academic achievement, extracurricular activities, awards, honors, recommendations, and the essay. For full consideration, students must submit a completed application for admission and all required application materials by the November 1 early action deadline. Learn more by visiting the Office of Undergraduate Admissions Freshman Merit Scholarships page.
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I would not wait that long. Toward the end of the cycle there will be a backlog of calls, emails, and people trying to get things in. Do it as soon as you see the word complete.
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Wont the portal just say complete when it’s complete? Are you saying that it might say complete and not be complete?
I think the problem is that the portal might not update in time to say “complete” even if the materials have actually been received, so you might have to email or call in that case.
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