UMD EA Today?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In total shock. High stats (4.6 W, 11 APs, 34 ACT), great ECs, MCPS. We're hoping it's a yield thing, and this doesn't bode badly for DCs RD applications

What were your kid's AP scores? What HS and what is the unweighted GPA.

I feel like the entire college process can be a crap shoot. I’ve heard of one high stats kid who didn’t fill out the application correctly and got denied for that reason. But every year there are highly qualified kids who for some reason aren’t accepted.

I’m a scientist. I’d want to see national standardized test scores to better compare kids, especially the ones with strong gpas and advanced courses. Otherwise who knows what grade inflation and easy teaching went on. I’m want know they can hack it in exam conditions too, given MCPS did away with finals.

See what I mean? Test optional isn’t really test optional when you’re competing for limited seats.

I'm an engineer. I believe that plenty of significant and noteworthy observations are not numerically quantifiable.

Obviously. But when two applicants fight for one seat and they have the same gpa, courses and extras, the one who submits scores to prove content mastery will win. The lesson here is that you’ve got to at least prep and attempt the tests, and submit if they’re in line with the top quartile.

UMD says that isn’t what they do. Your post sounds incorrect and like guessing and conjecture rather than fact.

Sigh. In all the years I've been reading DCUM, people have been ultra resistant to the fact that scores actually matter. It got worse when the pandemic hit and a lot more schools went test optional. But the evidence bears out that students with high test scores fare better in applications. It's as if this reality is so obvious you can't deal with it.

Admissions officers have a way of presenting their spiel, and you've got to read between the lines. Unless someone comes out and says : "We don't have a place to report test scores and we don't look at what the College Board sends us and we try to unsee your score if you write about it in your essay" ... yes, they do consider test scores.

None so blind as those who will not see.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DC rejected. So sad. 3.7, lots of ECs, APs & honors, 98% ACT scores, dad's an alum.

OP, that is super surprising. 3.7 unweighted? ACT score was high enough. Did he write a decent essay and answer the short answer questions on the common app? Bs in AP and honor courses should not have tanked his application.

Essay and short questions were honestly really good. I don't get it. DC is in at several other schools but wanted MD as a first choice. We're all slightly stunned.

FWIW, my DS (3.85 UW; 1470 SAT) was rejected from UMD last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here with high-stats MCPS kid who was rejected. No, not going to reach out to a counselor in case there was a "mistake." DC is in at Pitt, and thought UMD was a safety... Now awaiting a bunch of RD decisions from more selective schools. Good news is that they really liked Pitt. (Parents are just mad that the in-state school rejected our kid, with those stats.)

NP here. Those are great stats, and, while umd has gotten pretty competitive, those stats with good recs, essays ECs, should have meant admitted. We went through this last year, and your kid's stats are really good. And, umd is more stats driven in admissions, so I am really shocked. I'm so sorry. Your kid may want to ask counselor to read the recs just to make sure they are OK. But, congrats on Pitt, and all the best for RD decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is 3.7 UW, 4.3 weighted, test optional. No hooks. I figure it’s a long shot and kid is already in at Salisbury and UMBC with merit. But I’m still hopeful….nervous….

Updating this. He did not get in.

Ah well. It’s nice that he will get to go somewhere with merit

Aww. I'm so sorry. All the best at UMBC and congrats on the merit there. Your Golden Retriever should be very proud!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ok so is honors a big deal? what are the benefits?

Usually some merit aid
Living/learning communities with generally better housing than regular dorm housing

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In total shock. High stats (4.6 W, 11 APs, 34 ACT), great ECs, MCPS. We're hoping it's a yield thing, and this doesn't bode badly for DCs RD applications

What were your kid's AP scores? What HS and what is the unweighted GPA.

I feel like the entire college process can be a crap shoot. I’ve heard of one high stats kid who didn’t fill out the application correctly and got denied for that reason. But every year there are highly qualified kids who for some reason aren’t accepted.

I’m a scientist. I’d want to see national standardized test scores to better compare kids, especially the ones with strong gpas and advanced courses. Otherwise who knows what grade inflation and easy teaching went on. I’m want know they can hack it in exam conditions too, given MCPS did away with finals.

See what I mean? Test optional isn’t really test optional when you’re competing for limited seats.

I'm an engineer. I believe that plenty of significant and noteworthy observations are not numerically quantifiable.

Obviously. But when two applicants fight for one seat and they have the same gpa, courses and extras, the one who submits scores to prove content mastery will win. The lesson here is that you’ve got to at least prep and attempt the tests, and submit if they’re in line with the top quartile.

Your comment is a gross oversimplification. Even if two students have the same GPA and same test score, you can’t say they have the same essays, extracurriculars, experiences, home life, etc. Nothing about college admissions is fair on 2023, but to say that standardized testing should be the deciding factor would require admissions counselors to literally ignore everything else. Why bother writing a zillion essays or volunteering if test scores are all that matter? Should a wealthy student that spent thousands prepping for standardized tests get the seat over a musician or athlete that spent thousands pursuing their passions?

I say this as someone who has a PhD but went on the mommy-track and now and earns less than half of people that I know that were less successful in school than I was...Once you get admitted to college (or grad school), no one cares how intrinsically smart you are. The intangibles are what lead to success, like whether you produce quality work, how you treat people, whether you work hard, and sometimes luck.

I'm sure that's not what you meant to write, but you seem to imply that high test scores are a marker of intelligence. Colleges don't use them for that. They use them to check that students didn't just get good grades through grade inflation, and didn't just sail through supposedly difficult coursework thanks to lenient teachers. (As an aside, this is the Achilles' heel of dual enrollment and the reason why AP courses + AP exams will always be more highly regarded than DE: there is no way to verify content mastery if students take DE or AP courses without reporting the score, because there is no final exam at the end.)

I did not say standardized test scores were the deciding factor in every case. But you're willfully blind if you think that out of thousands of applications, dozens at least won't be functionally identical. In those cases, test scores can make the difference. Just like in cases where both profiles are identical except for essays, the essays will be the deciding factor. College admissions people look for the distinguishing factors to have the cream rise to the top.

My point is that you can't leave any stone unturned as a candidate. You can't say: "I have everything I need except for X" and then complain you didn't get in. The X might be not customizing the personal statement, something students forget they can do in the Common App. Or X might be deciding not to prep and take the SAT. Or X might be a lack of extra-curriculars. Or X might be not taking enough advanced courses when their school offers a ton. Most students' applications will have an X, and then it becomes a game to apply to schools that will be OK with that, and apply to schools that won't be OK with it but for them, to either hide the X, or explain it, or distract with a whiz-bang achievement elsewhere - or all three. That's where strategy comes into play. If you have a weakness, you can perhaps parlay it into an interesting essay that pivots onto a strength.

Ultimately, I think college admissions are very challenging for 17 year olds because most of them don't have the maturity to be Machiavelli and strategize in this way. They just present their stuff. It's the parents' job to guide their kid to a more thoughtful application.

+1. This. And even if you don’t want to hear it, TO works best for URM and first-generations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the College Park Scholars program? It sounds like a LLC invite but not honors- is that correct?

Yes, you’re correct. My dc hit the same - Biochem major

[Anonymous]

Accepted, in-state CS and Honors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In total shock. High stats (4.6 W, 11 APs, 34 ACT), great ECs, MCPS. We're hoping it's a yield thing, and this doesn't bode badly for DCs RD applications

My DC’s good friend in same boat with basically same stats. And 2 other less objectively qualified friends were admitted, although one as spring admit.

I don’t understand why your DC was rejected with stats like this. This whole process just stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DE from Whitman with high stats was rejected. She has friends with similar stats who were also rejected. Very surprised.

There are so many well qualified students that apply from the top public schools in UMD, and they limit the number accepted. Honestly, UMD could fill a big chunk of their freshman class with kids from top MCPS and HCPSS students. Students that are accepted from the top 10-20 maryland public schools are really ton students. It is unfortunate that Maryland has such highly rank public high schools and really few public university options. My friends from Virginia have many more and higher ranked options for public universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ok so is honors a big deal? what are the benefits?

Usually some merit aid
Living/learning communities with generally better housing than regular dorm housing

My 2020 was in honors and it was good for him. He was university honors (old dorm, now it is brand new) and a business major. The best benefit was he could register for honors sections for certain classes and they were smaller. He only had one or two lectures over 60 people his entire time at UMD.

About merit aid- he got the presidential award. My second child 2022 was accepted into honors and engineering and didn’t receive any merit. He attends a different school.

[Anonymous]

I posted my accepted DS MCPS stats earlier but wanted to come back and say he took 2 years of language in MS and one in HS for level 3 FL. He was accepted direct to business. So for those applying in future do no buy into the 4 years in high school claims. UMD does not care. Go Terps!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In total shock. High stats (4.6 W, 11 APs, 34 ACT), great ECs, MCPS. We're hoping it's a yield thing, and this doesn't bode badly for DCs RD applications

What were your kid's AP scores? What HS and what is the unweighted GPA.

I feel like the entire college process can be a crap shoot. I’ve heard of one high stats kid who didn’t fill out the application correctly and got denied for that reason. But every year there are highly qualified kids who for some reason aren’t accepted.

I’m a scientist. I’d want to see national standardized test scores to better compare kids, especially the ones with strong gpas and advanced courses. Otherwise who knows what grade inflation and easy teaching went on. I’m want know they can hack it in exam conditions too, given MCPS did away with finals.

See what I mean? Test optional isn’t really test optional when you’re competing for limited seats.

I'm an engineer. I believe that plenty of significant and noteworthy observations are not numerically quantifiable.

Obviously. But when two applicants fight for one seat and they have the same gpa, courses and extras, the one who submits scores to prove content mastery will win. The lesson here is that you’ve got to at least prep and attempt the tests, and submit if they’re in line with the top quartile.

Your comment is a gross oversimplification. Even if two students have the same GPA and same test score, you can’t say they have the same essays, extracurriculars, experiences, home life, etc. Nothing about college admissions is fair on 2023, but to say that standardized testing should be the deciding factor would require admissions counselors to literally ignore everything else. Why bother writing a zillion essays or volunteering if test scores are all that matter? Should a wealthy student that spent thousands prepping for standardized tests get the seat over a musician or athlete that spent thousands pursuing their passions?

I say this as someone who has a PhD but went on the mommy-track and now and earns less than half of people that I know that were less successful in school than I was...Once you get admitted to college (or grad school), no one cares how intrinsically smart you are. The intangibles are what lead to success, like whether you produce quality work, how you treat people, whether you work hard, and sometimes luck.

I agree 100%. Luck plays into the process and life, too.

Just wanted to say I wish I knew you IRL because we think similarly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted my accepted DS MCPS stats earlier but wanted to come back and say he took 2 years of language in MS and one in HS for level 3 FL. He was accepted direct to business. So for those applying in future do no buy into the 4 years in high school claims. UMD does not care. Go Terps!!

UMD only requires the same coursework that’s required by the state which is 2 years (regardless of whether taken in middle or high school). Other schools have different requirements
/recommended courses so unless you are only applying in state you may want to take more than 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In total shock. High stats (4.6 W, 11 APs, 34 ACT), great ECs, MCPS. We're hoping it's a yield thing, and this doesn't bode badly for DCs RD applications

What were your kid's AP scores? What HS and what is the unweighted GPA.

I feel like the entire college process can be a crap shoot. I’ve heard of one high stats kid who didn’t fill out the application correctly and got denied for that reason. But every year there are highly qualified kids who for some reason aren’t accepted.

I’m a scientist. I’d want to see national standardized test scores to better compare kids, especially the ones with strong gpas and advanced courses. Otherwise who knows what grade inflation and easy teaching went on. I’m want know they can hack it in exam conditions too, given MCPS did away with finals.

See what I mean? Test optional isn’t really test optional when you’re competing for limited seats.

I'm an engineer. I believe that plenty of significant and noteworthy observations are not numerically quantifiable.

Obviously. But when two applicants fight for one seat and they have the same gpa, courses and extras, the one who submits scores to prove content mastery will win. The lesson here is that you’ve got to at least prep and attempt the tests, and submit if they’re in line with the top quartile.

UMD says that isn’t what they do. Your post sounds incorrect and like guessing and conjecture rather than fact.

Sigh. In all the years I've been reading DCUM, people have been ultra resistant to the fact that scores actually matter. It got worse when the pandemic hit and a lot more schools went test optional. But the evidence bears out that students with high test scores fare better in applications. It's as if this reality is so obvious you can't deal with it.

Admissions officers have a way of presenting their spiel, and you've got to read between the lines. Unless someone comes out and says : "We don't have a place to report test scores and we don't look at what the College Board sends us and we try to unsee your score if you write about it in your essay" ... yes, they do consider test scores.

None so blind as those who will not see.

UMD said they put TO and not TO into separate groupings and compare like to like. I wasn’t referencing “unseeing” scores. I know schools want to keep their accepted student stats high so we helped out by not submitting scores that are low due to ADHD. If people only chose students by scores, you’d get more neurotypical people and that’s not really a “rounded” class then.

If you don’t believe UMD, that’s your choice.

My kid applied TO and was accepted.

Your little insult reflects lazy arguing and a know-it-all attitude. “Sigh, I know SO much more than the unwashed.” I’m sure this attitude makes you charming.