@collegenj, for your first question, maryversity has provided lots of solid advice and/or information throughout cc. She does lots and lots of research and she has a student in engineering. I think you are wise in asking about her experience, but as another cc parent, I would testify that she is spot on in her knowledge.
As for another student who lost his/her scholarship - I’m not sure if it’s the same person, but the one student who is in danger of losing her B/K scholarship had a 1220 SAT. While this is certainly a good score, it is much lower than other B/K scholarship recipients. (I was told my UMD directly that to be considered for B/K students should have 1500). That tells me that perhaps her high school didn’t have the best academics to prepare her/him. Clearly the scholarship committee saw something in her though. It’s a shame however, because it put the student in a position where he/she may have been in over his head before college even started. I sincerely hope it works out for her. So while again, you are being wise in realizing you need to maintain a high GPA, you might want to ask yourself what your scores, grades, high school prep was in comparison to other engineering students using engineering profile. I think maryversity has a link in one of her posts of this information, but here is one just for quick reference: http://www.eng.umd.edu/aboutus/facts-figures.
As for your question about General Honors - University Honors, in my opinion, is the “general honors.” They are all housed together and University Honors is the largest group. I can tell you that my son, who graduated last May in Computer Engineering, did University Honors. First, there weren’t as many honors options available when he started UMD back in 2010. Also, he felt that being in engineering, he understood that he would be with students who had exceptional abilities and wasn’t sure how he would compare. He felt there was less time commitment for University Honors which would allow him more time on his coursework. It worked for him. Some of the other programs provide amazing opportunities, but with that comes a time commitment. This is something you need to weigh and decide for yourself.
I’m not sure I understand your question about support systems. Are you talking in general, or within University Honors? Again, I am speaking from what I know about my son’s experience. He found his biggest support system to be within a smaller group of other computer engineering majors - especially during his Junior & Senior years. Earlier, if I remember correctly, he got a great deal of support through IEEE student group (for electrical - and computer - engineers). They did a lot of studying together and really helped one another. As a parent, I was glad that things weren’t so cutthroat that they didn’t want to help each other. This was not the case at all.
You also asked about small class size. Honors classes typically were smaller. To be honest, we tried to prepare him ahead of time to expect hundreds of kids in his classes. While he did have a few of these, it didn’t happen nearly as often as we anticipated. Additionally, it might encourage you to know that he had been homeschooled from third grade on. So yes, he went from a class of 1 to UMD! He didn’t have nearly the difficulty we thought he might have adjusting. He did do some things that I thought were helpful ie making himself known to the professors and TAs by stopping by their offices, he got involved on campus to get to know various people. This is important because not only did he get to know other students, but he met other professors, and also important, office staff! The office staff can be very helpful if you have questions/problems with regard to schedules, scholarship questions,…
Last, regarding your question about registering earlier than Regular Admission. To be honest, I can’t remember. Sorry! I’m sure maryversity or someone can answer. What I do remember though is that your AP credits are helpful in that UMD allows students with most credits to register for housing,… before students with fewer credits. So even if you can’t use the credits such as AP Lang and AP Lit, I recommend submitting your scores just to up your total credits. Having both won’t help you graduate any earlier, but can help you register earlier. Because my son went in with just a few AP credits, he got what was left. Also, I remember something about him continuing to check the course offerings for additional sections when he would register for classes. Apparently, sometimes when he would register for a course he needed, it would be filled. He would register for something else then, but continue to monitor the course he wanted/needed. He got it down to a science in knowing at what point UMD would add a section and could then get the desired course (and drop the one he originally registered for in the event his plan didn’t work) I wish he were here right now so I could ask him.
You are asking good questions and I think you will do well. I know you and many others are probably anxious about the B/K scholarship. That being said, I urge you to look at: http://www.engrscholarships.umd.edu/scholarships/additional-scholarships. My son did not get a B/K invite (1490 SAT), however, he continued to monitor this site and ended up with enough in scholarships to completely cover his educaton. So, while it was more work than if he had the B/K, he ended up with enough money to pay for his education - and he didn’t have the stress of losing as much money if he didn’t keep his GPA up to par (although this wasn’t a problem either).
Overall, he was VERY pleased with his experience in computer engineering at UMD (although stressful at times) He is gainfully employed, and had several great job offers prior to the start of his senior year. Good luck to you!!!