Banneker Key Decisions

[Anonymous]

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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.

It is random lottery at that level, DC’s friend with similar stat got invite, nothing very special about that kid

Def not a lottery. Don’t be bitter.

Income. If you family income is over 400k you ain’t getting jack

How would they know if I haven't submitted a FAFSA?

If you don’t submit a fasfa that’s a pretty good sign you don’t qualify for need based aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:February 18, 22 and March 1

Thanks. How did you hear. My DC got the invite, but has not heard anything since then.

Try this link for more info - I think you have to RSVP and then you get a date via the portal. https://www.admissions.umd.edu/visit/on-campus-programs/banneker-key

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:February 18, 22 and March 1

Thanks. How did you hear. My DC got the invite, but has not heard anything since then.

Try this link for more info - I think you have to RSVP and then you get a date via the portal. https://www.admissions.umd.edu/visit/on-campus-programs/banneker-key

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what percentage of students decline?

I am sure a good percentage based on the fact their high stats will get them into top schools. That is if they have the finances to cover tuition.

Money is an issue for many. Our child was accepted to T20 colleges without scholarships or aid. They went to UMD honors with a scholarship.

Mine also! We bought him a car and he got a great job offer.

+1. My kid ended up getting his phd from mit. Undergrad and phd all free.

Same! I went to UMCP on Banneker Key and went on to Stanford for my PhD; came out of it all with no debt and some savings and was able to buy a house soon after. I had a wonderful experience at UMCP.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:This thread is worthless without stats.

-HS type (private prep, parochial, public, magnet)
-In state or OOS
-W and UW GPAs
-SAT or ACT
-Where else were they accepted?

well, I can tell you who did NOT get one
public magnet
in-state
weighted 4.8 GPA
1580 SAT
14 APs

Similar: 1570 SAT, 4.86 W, 8 APs, 8 upper level magnet classes at or beyond AP. At least we're not alone

My kid has similar stats, and didn't get into honors, but got accepted to the engineering school. Got invited to Scholars program, which my kid is not hugely excited about. This process is a mystery to me. Older DD didn't even get accepted to UMD engineering school as an undergrad, yet got accepted to an extremely competitive grad engineering program. Go figure.

"Similar" PP here. I am sorry about not getting Honors, but Engineering admit is quite an achievement. Congrats! Also, I've heard great things about Scholars. I remember a thread a while ago about merit at UMD, and one person with great stats did not get BK while another one w/ good stats did. Who knows. Mine got into music school and honors, but I think essay could have been tighter and awards better presented. Hopefully, both of ours will be offered scholarships. It is a tough college app circuit this year. We are learning to be grateful for what DD gets and not to sweat what she doesn't. She will do well wherever she lands. I'm sure yours will too. Congrats, again.

I hope everything works out.
Couple of things we learned about UMD admissions. It does seem to be stats driven to a large extent in that it is rare for a high stats (sat 1530+) student to get rejected.
Otoh getting into an honors program or a highly competitive lep is more holistic and they might put more emphasis on ECs, recs, awards etc.
one more thing- there are merit scholarships besides BK. It is possible to get a $5000 tuition merit scholarship for instance. I would assume that these awards also involve a more holistic review.

I think this is right. Many kids who get into honors and/or BK have Ivy type credentials (and also get into Ivies and T20) with service, leadership, research etc in high school. Stats alone won’t get you in, I don’t think.

[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.

Was this a long time ago? My DD has the full BK scholarship. She lived on campus freshman and sophomore years. For junior year, she lived in an apartment off-campus. The amount that the university allows her for housing got deposited in her school account, then transferred to automatic deposit in her bank. DD is class of '24.

They can but don’t have to live on campus all 4 years. Same for honors college. That matters to some families as there is not enough space on campus for all upperclassmen and those gorgeous new apartments in College Park are expensive (plus leases are 12 mos).

[Anonymous]

When do the decisions come out for Fall 2023?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what percentage of students decline?

I am sure a good percentage based on the fact their high stats will get them into top schools. That is if they have the finances to cover tuition.

Money is an issue for many. Our child was accepted to T20 colleges without scholarships or aid. They went to UMD honors with a scholarship.

Mine also! We bought him a car and he got a great job offer.

+1. My kid ended up getting his phd from mit. Undergrad and phd all free.

Same! I went to UMCP on Banneker Key and went on to Stanford for my PhD; came out of it all with no debt and some savings and was able to buy a house soon after. I had a wonderful experience at UMCP.

PP you are responding to. Yeah, as my kid runs into more coworkers from big names schools with tons of loans to pay, he is finally fully appreciating the true benefits of BK

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When do the decisions come out for Fall 2023?

Decisions are out.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know when decisions come out for 2025?

[Anonymous]

In 2024 emails were sent out to B/K semifinalists in early February.

The luncheon was early March, and my DC received notification on being a finalist (meaning full ride) from UMD mid March.

Not sure if the dates will align the same this year.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. DC had interview this past Wednesday and was very pleasantly surprised by how much she like it. Website says decisions put by April 1. Hope it follows timeline your family experienced!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. DC had interview this past Wednesday and was very pleasantly surprised by how much she like it. Website says decisions put by April 1. Hope it follows timeline your family experienced!

Best of luck to you all! My guess is you will know something hopefully in the next week or so. Great thing about this is either way you are guaranteed something - half or full tuition!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone ever get an invite and decline? My son got into his dream school but it was still hard to walk away from the invite.

Many people decline. My DS got into MIT and went there instead.

Same. DS got into Notre Dame and other schools more preferable. It was hard to see him walk away from it, but he had an amazing college experience.