How do kids get matched with LLC’s at UMD?

[Anonymous]

Do they get into honors first and then apply? Is it first come first serve or selective?

[Anonymous]

There are a number of different LLC's at UMD. Honors is the most prestigious, then College Park Scholars and others after that. It generally works that admissions offers you a spot in one of them based on your stats etc. Mine was offered an Honors College slot, which was tempting, but he ultimately decided to go elsewhere. He had classmates offered Scholars and some offered nothing. He thought the assignments were a little random, given the large number of high stats kids at his school.

Part of the reason he decided to go elsewhere was that, within Honors College, you also need to apply to a specific LLC but there was no information about odds of getting your first choice, decision timeline etc. It seemed like too much of a risk if he ended up being shut out of the only one he wanted. They really should set it up so that you apply to HC and a specific LLC in the application, so you get a clear decision earlier.

I believe there is one LLC you can apply after acceptance that will take students on a first-come first-serve basis if you make a case for a good fit. I think that is the Carillon Communities, and also two within the engineering LEP.

[Anonymous]

UMD seems to spread HC and CP Scholars invites out quite a bit, so that they are not concentrated in a given school. Be warned, parents of high stats kids, there is no guarantee your kid will get one. Might be only the top 5% or so. But there are other LLCs as well, as PP said, which can go a long way toward helping UMD feel less overwhelming. The process is definitely not transparent, but I assume most applications are ranked in terms of stats and some in terms of particular LLC fit, and decisions go from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMD seems to spread HC and CP Scholars invites out quite a bit, so that they are not concentrated in a given school. Be warned, parents of high stats kids, there is no guarantee your kid will get one. Might be only the top 5% or so. But there are other LLCs as well, as PP said, which can go a long way toward helping UMD feel less overwhelming. The process is definitely not transparent, but I assume most applications are ranked in terms of stats and some in terms of particular LLC fit, and decisions go from there.

Also OOS students get them, are pretty dispersed.

[Anonymous]

OP here,

I know that honors and scholars are long shots. I just don’t know the process.

So, when you apply do you have to tell them you are interested in honors or scholars or do they just decide?

And does that info come with the acceptance? Congratulations you got into scholars?

And then they give you a list LLC’s and you pick? Or you apply and they pick for you? Does everyone in honors get into one? Or can you end up in honors but not in honors housing?

[Anonymous]

They just decide. You get an invite or you don't, nothing indicated on the student end in the application.

For Honors the acceptance letter reads:
"You should be especially proud of your invitation to the Honors College, a community which attracts some
of the country’s—and world’s—most brilliant minds. The Honors College combines the personal attention
and class size of a small college with the diversity and opportunity of a large research university. Students
who are in the Honors College will be placed in one of its eight unique living-learning programs. To respond
to your Honors College invitation and indicate your program preferences please complete the Honors
College Program Preference Form within your Terps Application Portal (TAP) no later than February 19,
2025. You will receive additional information about the Honors College soon."

You respond by choosing your first-choice program, no application per se. I think you're also asked for an alternate, which could be "University Honors." Not a whole lot of info provided by the university on how or when these determinations are made. But everyone in Honors will get into one of the eight LLCs.

I figured out which dorm my kid would get into for their first choice (thank you, Reddit) and it was ...not great. Maybe some LLCs have good housing, but this was standard, old, shoebox dorm room (Life Sciences).

Outside of Honors, the other LLCs are straightforward, no sub-categories.

[Anonymous]

Here is some more info about the Honors College LLCs, including dorm assignments.

https://honors.umd.edu/living-learning-programs/programs-at-a-glance/


Here is an overview of UMD LLCs.
https://ugst.umd.edu/llsop/index.html

[Anonymous]

It's confusing. Because there are the LLCs, including Honors. Then additional LLC options that are only available to Honors College students.

[Anonymous]

There is nowhere on the application to indicate interest in Honors College or any other LLC. It's decided entirely on their end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is nowhere on the application to indicate interest in Honors College or any other LLC. It's decided entirely on their end.

This is true. My son (in MD) got Honors, some of his friends (in MD) got Scholars, and my friend's daughter (OOS) got FIRE. These students are all HS class of 2025.

For in-state, they seem to choose those performing at high academic levels (GPA) who also have high test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is nowhere on the application to indicate interest in Honors College or any other LLC. It's decided entirely on their end.

This is true. My son (in MD) got Honors, some of his friends (in MD) got Scholars, and my friend's daughter (OOS) got FIRE. These students are all HS class of 2025.

For in-state, they seem to choose those performing at high academic levels (GPA) who also have high test scores.

OP, I am asking about how they decide whether a kid who is in honors ends ups in a specific LLC. How did that happen to yours?

[Anonymous]

My DC's experience this past Spring was less opaque than some of the others reported.

The acceptance to the honors program came along with the general acceptance letter. The school then hosted a bunch of zooms and provided website information explaining each of the honors college options, and the information included the specific dorms affiliated with each honors programs. They then had the students rank their preference for each of the honors programs and at some point well prior to May 1, they learned what program they got into. To be clear: that process happens long before May 1, so you know before you commit (or don't) to U-MD which program you're in. My recollection is that one or two of the honors programs competitive to get into (maybe the tech one?), but my DC put university honors as their first choice, so we didn't really learn about those.

My sense is that the process for those offered College Park scholars was similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC's experience this past Spring was less opaque than some of the others reported.

The acceptance to the honors program came along with the general acceptance letter. The school then hosted a bunch of zooms and provided website information explaining each of the honors college options, and the information included the specific dorms affiliated with each honors programs. They then had the students rank their preference for each of the honors programs and at some point well prior to May 1, they learned what program they got into. To be clear: that process happens long before May 1, so you know before you commit (or don't) to U-MD which program you're in. My recollection is that one or two of the honors programs competitive to get into (maybe the tech one?), but my DC put university honors as their first choice, so we didn't really learn about those.

My sense is that the process for those offered College Park scholars was similar.

University Honors has the best dorms, good choice. But to answer OP more clearly, no one knows how the most in-demand LLCs are assigned. As with Honors, you either get in or you don't. University Honors seems fine for students who don't get into their top choice, is just not specialized in the same way. Which some kids, like PP's, prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC's experience this past Spring was less opaque than some of the others reported.

The acceptance to the honors program came along with the general acceptance letter. The school then hosted a bunch of zooms and provided website information explaining each of the honors college options, and the information included the specific dorms affiliated with each honors programs. They then had the students rank their preference for each of the honors programs and at some point well prior to May 1, they learned what program they got into. To be clear: that process happens long before May 1, so you know before you commit (or don't) to U-MD which program you're in. My recollection is that one or two of the honors programs competitive to get into (maybe the tech one?), but my DC put university honors as their first choice, so we didn't really learn about those.

My sense is that the process for those offered College Park scholars was similar.

University Honors has the best dorms, good choice. But to answer OP more clearly, no one knows how the most in-demand LLCs are assigned. As with Honors, you either get in or you don't. University Honors seems fine for students who don't get into their top choice, is just not specialized in the same way. Which some kids, like PP's, prefer.

Also University Honors is a much larger LLC than the others, in my opinion diluting the LLC experience somewhat. Obviously there's a difference being in a group of 60-90 versus 400+.

[Anonymous]

My OOS was selected for HC. Placed in his 3rd/4th choice which happened to be the only 4y LLC. Horrible dorm. Withdrew from the program after a year. Was able to knock out a couple of Gen Eds. Two years later still good friends with quite a few of them. Doesn’t regret participating. Just wasn't for him.