UMD Admissions from MCPS

[Anonymous]

Hearing about many MCPS kids rejected from UMD this year with stats that would have bene likely to be admitted in years prior. Anyone asked their school's counselors about this? Rumor mill suggests many less kids admitted.

[Anonymous]

The M in UMD does not stand for Montgomery County. In the context of UMD admissions, MCPS grads are a dime a dozen.

[Anonymous]

Meh, in the 90's I knew of Whitman students who got rejected from UMD. They went to MC and got in to UMD eventually

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The M in UMD does not stand for Montgomery County. In the context of UMD admissions, MCPS grads are a dime a dozen.

You are charming.

[Anonymous]

Yes, op, it's true. If you live in MoCo, your competition is a lot tougher to get into UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, op, it's true. If you live in MoCo, your competition is a lot tougher to get into UMD.

So many applications from each MCPS high school! It is very difficult to stand out.

[Anonymous]

There's always St Mary's, Towson or UMBC if you need your child in-state due to finances. Or, do 2 years at Montgomery College and then transfer in to UMD College Park

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's always St Mary's, Towson or UMBC if you need your child in-state due to finances. Or, do 2 years at Montgomery College and then transfer in to UMD College Park

The Universities of Shady Grove is also great for a lot of MD programs on one campus. They also with a lot of local businesses for internships and jobs as well.

[Anonymous]

While UMD is a good school, college park has always been a pit, nothing like the charming college town one would hope for.

Great if a student gets admitted, but there are good options elsewhere, too.

[Anonymous]

Maryland has only one top-tier public program: UMD. The UMD term can be used by UM, College Park, or UM, Baltimore, which do not have overlapping degrees. While there are definitely other good public colleges in Maryland, they are markedly lower caliber. UMBC, St. Mary's, and Towson are decent options.

UMCP programs with competitive admissions generally require that you start them as a freshman, which means you cannot transfer in after attending MC. However, there are plenty of other top programs at UMCP that are not competitive or take transfer students. That can be an excellent route to save money, too.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Should have specified. Question is about UMCP and what appears to be a change in the admissions rate this year from MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Should have specified. Question is about UMCP and what appears to be a change in the admissions rate this year from MCPS.

I think we'll have to wait til summer to see actual statistics on this. I, too, have heard of surprising cases where students with 1500+ SATs weren't admitted. But with small numbers (we only hear rumors and examples of people here and there) and not knowing the full story (maybe the kid blew off the application and rightfully wasn't admitted), we really can't make any conclusions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Should have specified. Question is about UMCP and what appears to be a change in the admissions rate this year from MCPS.

Don’t confuse admission rate with total number of admits. If there are more applicants but same # of admits, the rate goes down.

Also, you HAVE to ask what program a kid applied to. The limited enrollment programs (computer science, engineering, and business) get soooo many applications and high stat kids may be rejected, where they might have been admitted to a different major,

One thing that DID change this year is how Computer Science is managing enrollment. They are no longer guaranteeing transfers into the major based on a set of criteria (both from internal and external transfers). They are admitting more freshmen this year, but students who would have been admitted to letters and sciences but not the comp science LEP in the past are now just being declined because they won’t be able to transfer into the major. I know people find that frustrating, but I think in the long run it’s better to clearly tell the kid that there is no room at UMD for them so they can choose a different place with the program they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Should have specified. Question is about UMCP and what appears to be a change in the admissions rate this year from MCPS.

Don’t confuse admission rate with total number of admits. If there are more applicants but same # of admits, the rate goes down.

Also, you HAVE to ask what program a kid applied to. The limited enrollment programs (computer science, engineering, and business) get soooo many applications and high stat kids may be rejected, where they might have been admitted to a different major,

One thing that DID change this year is how Computer Science is managing enrollment. They are no longer guaranteeing transfers into the major based on a set of criteria (both from internal and external transfers). They are admitting more freshmen this year, but students who would have been admitted to letters and sciences but not the comp science LEP in the past are now just being declined because they won’t be able to transfer into the major. I know people find that frustrating, but I think in the long run it’s better to clearly tell the kid that there is no room at UMD for them so they can choose a different place with the program they want.

Does that mean students who did MCPS/MC dual enrollment can’t get into CS at UMCP?

[Anonymous]

MCPS has growing competition.