Banneker Key Decisions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing people might consider (and I might have considered in hindsight), is whether NOT putting biz, CS, ENG might increase the odds. There are obv huge numbers of high stat kids applying to those 3 majors.

Given the BK awards are presumably not necessarily concentrated in those majors, I assume they are inclusive of all programs, maybe indicating a major that is not the flavor of the month would up the odds?

And can BK awardees change major? I assume so.

LEPs like CS are harder to transfer into from within, I thought, irrespective of your BK award.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing people might consider (and I might have considered in hindsight), is whether NOT putting biz, CS, ENG might increase the odds. There are obv huge numbers of high stat kids applying to those 3 majors.

Given the BK awards are presumably not necessarily concentrated in those majors, I assume they are inclusive of all programs, maybe indicating a major that is not the flavor of the month would up the odds?

And can BK awardees change major? I assume so.

My Asian son applied to a PPE major: Politics, Philosophy and Economics, talked about his love of history in his essay and took AP Latin among his other APs. Unexpected for an Asian kid, and I suppose PPE is not in high demand? He got into Honors but did not receive B/K. Reading this thread, I think it's because while his academics were strong and his profile slightly unusual, he had no interesting ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing people might consider (and I might have considered in hindsight), is whether NOT putting biz, CS, ENG might increase the odds. There are obv huge numbers of high stat kids applying to those 3 majors.

Given the BK awards are presumably not necessarily concentrated in those majors, I assume they are inclusive of all programs, maybe indicating a major that is not the flavor of the month would up the odds?

And can BK awardees change major? I assume so.

Nonsense. They pick the kids from umd admits pool, not from specific major pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing people might consider (and I might have considered in hindsight), is whether NOT putting biz, CS, ENG might increase the odds. There are obv huge numbers of high stat kids applying to those 3 majors.

Given the BK awards are presumably not necessarily concentrated in those majors, I assume they are inclusive of all programs, maybe indicating a major that is not the flavor of the month would up the odds?

And can BK awardees change major? I assume so.

Nonsense. They pick the kids from umd admits pool, not from specific major pools.

I would be very, very surprised if major is not a factor considered. They undoubtedly want BK scholars with a variety of interests.

[Anonymous]

I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My Asian-American kid got the full-ride Bk scholarship and Honors last year. Was accepted to two T-3 schools (H, M, S). We did not know about this scholarship when she applied so it was a nice surprise. They had planned on choosing it over U-M (full pay), Rice (Trustee Scholarship) and other smaller (think 32K/year).

For the high star Asian kids who did not get BK this year, my net is that your kid did not have an impact on their community. BK does a fantastic job of picking kids who apply that will also get into Ivies. From all our friends who applied last year, two got the invite (and full-ride), and both were also admitted to Ivies.

We looked at UMD for CS and it is amazing! It was really hard to turn down the T-3s! Not all bK scholars get into Honors.

Interviews were over Zoom. My kid had 2 interviewers who played bad cop/ good cop. Asked about EC details and future plans. Neither interviewer was from CS Dept.

So am I correct in understanding that your kid picked BJ? How about the 2 friends? Just curious.

I can see how you got that impression. My bad.

My kid turned down BK for a T-3. But a friend took BK over an Ivy.

WTH is T-3? People can't even agree onT-20

Stanford, Harvard, MIT.

I think these are pretty agreed upon!

Poor Yale! Feeling very left out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My Asian-American kid got the full-ride Bk scholarship and Honors last year. Was accepted to two T-3 schools (H, M, S). We did not know about this scholarship when she applied so it was a nice surprise. They had planned on choosing it over U-M (full pay), Rice (Trustee Scholarship) and other smaller (think 32K/year).

For the high star Asian kids who did not get BK this year, my net is that your kid did not have an impact on their community. BK does a fantastic job of picking kids who apply that will also get into Ivies. From all our friends who applied last year, two got the invite (and full-ride), and both were also admitted to Ivies.

We looked at UMD for CS and it is amazing! It was really hard to turn down the T-3s! Not all bK scholars get into Honors.

Interviews were over Zoom. My kid had 2 interviewers who played bad cop/ good cop. Asked about EC details and future plans. Neither interviewer was from CS Dept.

So am I correct in understanding that your kid picked BJ? How about the 2 friends? Just curious.

I can see how you got that impression. My bad.

My kid turned down BK for a T-3. But a friend took BK over an Ivy.

WTH is T-3? People can't even agree onT-20

Stanford, Harvard, MIT.

I think these are pretty agreed upon!

Poor Yale! Feeling very left out.

Lol Princeton feels the same!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

I agree. We are at a W school and my terp had very high stats 1580 (NMF) and good ECs. He is a great young adult. He did not get a BK invite (he also got rejected from Northwestern), he did get honors and merit aid (presidential scholarship). The terp from his high school that got the BK was really a better candidate. She had very high stats, very talented musically, athletically, social action, and leadership. She just deserved it more than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

Neither of our children got B-K. Both were honors. One child's roommate had B-K. I think it could be accomplishments but I also think a factor is convincing the students to attend UMD rather than an elite private college. One down side of B-K if you get the full-ride - our child's roommate who had B-K had to live on-campus for all four years to keep the full scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

Neither of our children got B-K. Both were honors. One child's roommate had B-K. I think it could be accomplishments but I also think a factor is convincing the students to attend UMD rather than an elite private college. One down side of B-K if you get the full-ride - our child's roommate who had B-K had to live on-campus for all four years to keep the full scholarship.

oh. Didn't know that part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

Neither of our children got B-K. Both were honors. One child's roommate had B-K. I think it could be accomplishments but I also think a factor is convincing the students to attend UMD rather than an elite private college. One down side of B-K if you get the full-ride - our child's roommate who had B-K had to live on-campus for all four years to keep the full scholarship.

Is that a bad thing?

[Anonymous]

Also, try to remember the origin of Banneker/Key scholarship (not Banneker Key). UMD had to merge two different scholarships (one was set aside for black students which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional). UMD still tries to live by the spirit of original Banneker scholarship (i.e., some URM kids with lower stats - compare to white/Asian kids - get awarded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

Neither of our children got B-K. Both were honors. One child's roommate had B-K. I think it could be accomplishments but I also think a factor is convincing the students to attend UMD rather than an elite private college. One down side of B-K if you get the full-ride - our child's roommate who had B-K had to live on-campus for all four years to keep the full scholarship.

oh. Didn't know that part.

Not sure if that's accurate. I thought BK kids were guaranteed 4 years of on campus housing but they don't necessarily "have to".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing people might consider (and I might have considered in hindsight), is whether NOT putting biz, CS, ENG might increase the odds. There are obv huge numbers of high stat kids applying to those 3 majors.

Given the BK awards are presumably not necessarily concentrated in those majors, I assume they are inclusive of all programs, maybe indicating a major that is not the flavor of the month would up the odds?

And can BK awardees change major? I assume so.

Definitely true in general, not just for UMD BK
For Pitt, they hardly give any merits to CS, but they offer 15/20k/yr for kids with lower stats in other majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think parents look for reasons - valid or not -- rather than accepting the fact that there are so many other highly qualified students with perfect stats and other accomplishments out there.

Neither of our children got B-K. Both were honors. One child's roommate had B-K. I think it could be accomplishments but I also think a factor is convincing the students to attend UMD rather than an elite private college. One down side of B-K if you get the full-ride - our child's roommate who had B-K had to live on-campus for all four years to keep the full scholarship.

oh. Didn't know that part.

Not sure if that's accurate. I thought BK kids were guaranteed 4 years of on campus housing but they don't necessarily "have to".

You are correct. Their housing is paid on or off campus (up to a certain amount) for four years.