What does it take for MCPS kids to get into UMCP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nah Maryland is California’s mini me - meaning they want you to go through cc and enter as a junior.

From accidentally coming upon their graduation this year they targeted one group for traditional path at least 5 years ago: South Asians.

Seemed like they took advice from some high priced census data quant.

H1B visa reform likely will alter UMD strategy. Prediction? Look for a more normal admissions cycle in near term - still smart but not impossible admit.

International students have F1 visas, which have not been curtailed in any meaningful way.

This has nothing to do with H1B.

Not the PP you’re quoting, but the H1B situation will have a huge impact on higher ed. If international students can’t work in the U.S. after they graduate, they’ll be less likely to come.

https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2025/09/h1b-visa-trump-impact-us-universities?lang=en

[Anonymous]

How rigorous a courseload are they looking for? How many APs do you typically need to take to get in-- do kids sometimes get in with only a handful of AP classes or do they need to be closer to maxing them out? Do they have to be on the advanced math track/make it to calculus by senior year to get in, or is it okay to be on grade level and just do pre-calc or AP Stats senior year (if not interested in STEM)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nah Maryland is California’s mini me - meaning they want you to go through cc and enter as a junior.

From accidentally coming upon their graduation this year they targeted one group for traditional path at least 5 years ago: South Asians.

Seemed like they took advice from some high priced census data quant.

H1B visa reform likely will alter UMD strategy. Prediction? Look for a more normal admissions cycle in near term - still smart but not impossible admit.

International students have F1 visas, which have not been curtailed in any meaningful way.

This has nothing to do with H1B.

Not the PP you’re quoting, but the H1B situation will have a huge impact on higher ed. If international students can’t work in the U.S. after they graduate, they’ll be less likely to come.

https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2025/09/h1b-visa-trump-impact-us-universities?lang=en

PP you replied to. I get that's what the other poster was confusedly driving at, but the H1B 100K fiasco is so unworkable, and businesses will be so much against it, that I don't think it's going to be enforced, and of course no, it will not restrict higher ed. THERE ARE MANY OTHER VISAS.

I was an international student on a F1 visa myself, and never went on to an H1B. Many graduates go on to J1 exchange visa, and either return to their home countries with a higher work status, or get a waiver that permits them to stay in the US and continue working. A few get an O visa, like my husband, for exceptional abilities, or apply for employment-based green cards.

This is why forcing companies to pay a huge sum for an H1B is so stupid. Companies are just going to outsource the easiest jobs to different countries, and use different visa pathways to retain the most desirable non-US citizens in the US.

What's making some international students hesitate right now is the very palpable hostility of the Trump administration against foreigners, but even then, it's not deterring the majority from applying. They've worked extremely hard to get where they are and they're willing to take the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How rigorous a courseload are they looking for? How many APs do you typically need to take to get in-- do kids sometimes get in with only a handful of AP classes or do they need to be closer to maxing them out? Do they have to be on the advanced math track/make it to calculus by senior year to get in, or is it okay to be on grade level and just do pre-calc or AP Stats senior year (if not interested in STEM)?

These are all really solid questions. I think the best places to ask them are a) your HS counselor and b) the admissions office for UMCP. You can ask them questions that help form the courses plan for your HS kid.

[Anonymous]

It’s school dependent. UMD want geographical diversity so what’s good at W school means nothing to you.

At our school Poolesville 1484 and 3.96 UW was average for acceptance.

My son with 3.98/ 1520 SAT and 14 APs plus MV was accepted to Scholars plus one of the toughest majors to get into think CS Business Engineering.

[Anonymous]

PP again folks who we know at Clarksburg got in with much lower stats and Honors too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

They absolutely do cap students from each high school, not the whole county. They even know specific teachers at larger schools like Blair and BCC to know “oh that lower grade isn’t as concerning because Ms X is a hard grader.”

You’re competing against other kids at your own high school mostly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nah Maryland is California’s mini me - meaning they want you to go through cc and enter as a junior.

From accidentally coming upon their graduation this year they targeted one group for traditional path at least 5 years ago: South Asians.

Seemed like they took advice from some high priced census data quant.

H1B visa reform likely will alter UMD strategy. Prediction? Look for a more normal admissions cycle in near term - still smart but not impossible admit.

I dont understand this post at all. Can Someone please explain to me like I’m 5 years old. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

They absolutely do cap students from each high school, not the whole county. They even know specific teachers at larger schools like Blair and BCC to know “oh that lower grade isn’t as concerning because Ms X is a hard grader.”

You’re competing against other kids at your own high school mostly.

I don't think teacher names are on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

UMD doesn’t select from major BUT there are majors for that are Limited Enrollment. Meaning you could potentially get accepted to UMD, but not get accepted to that major. CS and even Business are some of the LEP majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

They absolutely do cap students from each high school, not the whole county. They even know specific teachers at larger schools like Blair and BCC to know “oh that lower grade isn’t as concerning because Ms X is a hard grader.”

You’re competing against other kids at your own high school mostly.

This, exactly. You're up against those from your own HS. If you have access to Naviance, take a look at it for recent trends as well.
At my kids' HS, UMD accepted ~25% of applicants in 2025. In 2024, it was ~35%. In 2023, it was around 55%!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

UMD doesn’t select from major BUT there are majors for that are Limited Enrollment. Meaning you could potentially get accepted to UMD, but not get accepted to that major. CS and even Business are some of the LEP majors.

+1. See here:

https://admissions.umd.edu/academics/limited-enrollment-programs

[Anonymous]

They even know specific teachers at larger schools like Blair and BCC to know “oh that lower grade isn’t as concerning because Ms X is a hard grader.”

Give me a break. This is delusional thinking. Even if teachers names were on the transcript (they aren't) no one is looking that closely. Not at all how admissions decisions are made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

They absolutely do cap students from each high school, not the whole county. They even know specific teachers at larger schools like Blair and BCC to know “oh that lower grade isn’t as concerning because Ms X is a hard grader.”

You’re competing against other kids at your own high school mostly.

This, exactly. You're up against those from your own HS. If you have access to Naviance, take a look at it for recent trends as well.
At my kids' HS, UMD accepted ~25% of applicants in 2025. In 2024, it was ~35%. In 2023, it was around 55%!

I see a similar big drop in the % and number of students accepted from our MCPS high school in the past few years. The number of students applying has been pretty consistent, but the number accepted has dropped a lot. What's the reason for the big change in the past two years?

2020 - 152 applied, 79 accepted (52%)
2021 - 181 applied, 88 accepted (49%)
2022 - 183 applied, 86 accepted (47%)
2023 - 187 appliec, 88 accepted (47%)
2024 - 145 applied, 54 accepted (37%)
2025 - 171 appliedd, 48 accepted (28%)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want a reference from '23? My kid was admitted Honors to a Humanities major with a 4.67 weighted gpa, a dozen AP courses (but he skipped the 12th grade exams and had mostly 5s on the others) and a 35 out of 36 on his ACT. He did come from a "W" school, although I'm not sure UMD differentiates where kids come from within MCPS. They could also see on his transcript that he'd had a resource class for 9th and 10th grade and no first period in 12th grade. (He has special needs, but they didn't see the IEP.)

Also, UMD swears that they don't select by major, and they say that their freshman class mostly comes from Early Action applicants.

They absolutely do cap students from each high school, not the whole county. They even know specific teachers at larger schools like Blair and BCC to know “oh that lower grade isn’t as concerning because Ms X is a hard grader.”

You’re competing against other kids at your own high school mostly.

This, exactly. You're up against those from your own HS. If you have access to Naviance, take a look at it for recent trends as well.
At my kids' HS, UMD accepted ~25% of applicants in 2025. In 2024, it was ~35%. In 2023, it was around 55%!

I see a similar big drop in the % and number of students accepted from our MCPS high school in the past few years. The number of students applying has been pretty consistent, but the number accepted has dropped a lot. What's the reason for the big change in the past two years?

2020 - 152 applied, 79 accepted (52%)
2021 - 181 applied, 88 accepted (49%)
2022 - 183 applied, 86 accepted (47%)
2023 - 187 appliec, 88 accepted (47%)
2024 - 145 applied, 54 accepted (37%)
2025 - 171 appliedd, 48 accepted (28%)

Pines wants more Geographic diversity. MoCO is over represented compared to population and they are working to correct it. Ask parents with kids in NoVa they are doing the same thing.