UMD Admissions from MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

I agree with you. Tuition is a big motivator but I wouldn't call College Park a college town. I know it's changed over the years but it's still an unappealing place to go to school. Too bad they can't model it after Ann Arbor or Madison. Those are great college towns and I'm a native Marylander.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

I agree with you. Tuition is a big motivator but I wouldn't call College Park a college town. I know it's changed over the years but it's still an unappealing place to go to school. Too bad they can't model it after Ann Arbor or Madison. Those are great college towns and I'm a native Marylander.

That's a PG county and money issue. But, south campus is pretty happening. Lots of students walking around. It's painful to try to drive through there due to so many pedestrians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

It’s all about the tuition, which is a lot lower than any other option.


Despite the hype on this board, UMD has a really low yield rate. A lot of kids get in there and go elsewhere.

That just tells you that there are a lot of high caliber students who apply to UMD as a backup. But, even though "a lot of kids" go elsewhere, a lot still want to go to UMD enough so that almost no one gets off the waitlist, if they even have one.

UMD is ranked pretty high considering it also tries to serve first gen/low income students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

I agree with you. Tuition is a big motivator but I wouldn't call College Park a college town. I know it's changed over the years but it's still an unappealing place to go to school. Too bad they can't model it after Ann Arbor or Madison. Those are great college towns and I'm a native Marylander.

Johns Hopkins neighborhood is even worse, and it didn't prevent JHU from getting the top-notch students. I like the little town area to the south of UMD campus: vibrant and feeling safe to walk around (at least during the day based on a couple of happy hour experience there).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

I agree with you. Tuition is a big motivator but I wouldn't call College Park a college town. I know it's changed over the years but it's still an unappealing place to go to school. Too bad they can't model it after Ann Arbor or Madison. Those are great college towns and I'm a native Marylander.

Johns Hopkins neighborhood is even worse, and it didn't prevent JHU from getting the top-notch students. I like the little town area to the south of UMD campus: vibrant and feeling safe to walk around (at least during the day based on a couple of happy hour experience there).

south campus is hopping, but it's not "pretty". I think that's the problem some people have with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to go back to test scores. The test optional is unfair to kids with higher scores in the 1400s when kids get much lower.

I agree but I expect kids from high income MCPS high schools will have the same issue with SAT scores being compared to their HS peers. A 1400 from Einstein will carry more weight than 1400 from Whitman.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Isn't the reason why UMD rejects students from Moco is because they think moco kids would go somewhere else instead of UMD? Yield rate?

I don't think so. My observation from my county (not MoCo) is UMD attempts to scoop up valedictorians and top ten percent.

In a certain year, I knew of three or four valedictorians who chose UMD. At least one is in honors but I am mot sure that all are.

I’ve also seen evidence they will accept those outside of top ten if student has significant accomplishments, such as national champion.

What about this who are not vals or don't have national championship related to their resume?

Those kids are getting in too. That person is uninformed. Admits are the “top” 20 to 30% of the class from MCPS.

Nope. And if so that is still a high gpa. We know a few kids not admitted to UMD this year. These are kids with 4.2+ gaps, AP/IB classes, good SATs, and no they were not all applying to CS.

According to B-CC’s school profile 40% of graduating seniors have GPAs of 4.51+. I expect they are the only school were a 4.2 is not near the top 20-30% of the class.

At Poolesville it’s 60% at 4.51+. So no BCC is not the only school where you need to likely be 4.7 or higher to be in the top 20%.

The massive grade inflation and grading policies in MCPS makes it harder for top students to distinguish themselves. Grade inflation results in a lot of average students having the same GPA as very strong students. This is good for average students and hurts strong students.

Unpopular opinion- if you really want your strong student to go to UMD you should consider a private without grade inflation and a strict grading policy. Your student will have a better chance of separating themselves from the pack there. Yes, you’ll have to pay for tuition in high school but you’ll probably save money overall if your child gets in state tuition at UMD (compared to oos public or private college tuition).

We aren’t seeing grade inflation. Maybe you are as the rules are different at each school but with UMD they can only take so many students per school so you are better off at the higher end of a bad school than a so called good school. Where you go to college is far more important than hs.

You need to be able to show that you are at the top of your high school class to get into UMD. This is hardest at a good MCPS high school ( lots of average to smart students ) who all have the same GPA.

No reason to believe that's true, whe UMD already publicly declared that they care more about diversity than "top students".

Obviously they want people that UMD courses can serve, so people at the low end of preparation are routed to community college, but there's no reason to prefer the "top" students over the "good" students except for a few had picked for the Honors program.

All the evidence in this thread points to the fact that the top 10 to 20% of each MCPS school is regularly admitted to UMD.

And presumably, the same at private schools. The question is for a certain type of student is it easier (because of grading policies) to prove that you are in the top 20% of your class in a top public or a private school?

I guess if you opt for private these days you would at least be less likely to be shot in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

It’s all about the tuition, which is a lot lower than any other option.


Despite the hype on this board, UMD has a really low yield rate. A lot of kids get in there and go elsewhere.

That just tells you that there are a lot of high caliber students who apply to UMD as a backup. But, even though "a lot of kids" go elsewhere, a lot still want to go to UMD enough so that almost no one gets off the waitlist, if they even have one.

UMD is ranked pretty high considering it also tries to serve first gen/low income students.

Do they have one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

I agree with you. Tuition is a big motivator but I wouldn't call College Park a college town. I know it's changed over the years but it's still an unappealing place to go to school. Too bad they can't model it after Ann Arbor or Madison. Those are great college towns and I'm a native Marylander.

Johns Hopkins neighborhood is even worse, and it didn't prevent JHU from getting the top-notch students. I like the little town area to the south of UMD campus: vibrant and feeling safe to walk around (at least during the day based on a couple of happy hour experience there).

Hopkins neighborhood is actually much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in PG county and went to UMCP in the 90s when it was still relatively easy to get in. I loved Maryland and my college days, but now that I’m seeing this through the eyes of my high schooler, there are so many great schools out there besides Maryland and in areas far nicer than college park. I know ppl want the in-state tuition but I don’t understand the hype about Maryland, especially in this area.

I agree with you. Tuition is a big motivator but I wouldn't call College Park a college town. I know it's changed over the years but it's still an unappealing place to go to school. Too bad they can't model it after Ann Arbor or Madison. Those are great college towns and I'm a native Marylander.

Johns Hopkins neighborhood is even worse, and it didn't prevent JHU from getting the top-notch students. I like the little town area to the south of UMD campus: vibrant and feeling safe to walk around (at least during the day based on a couple of happy hour experience there).

Hopkins neighborhood is actually much better.

How so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to go back to test scores. The test optional is unfair to kids with higher scores in the 1400s when kids get much lower.

I agree but I expect kids from high income MCPS high schools will have the same issue with SAT scores being compared to their HS peers. A 1400 from Einstein will carry more weight than 1400 from Whitman.

A 1400 is still a good score but you'd have a much better chance from Einstein than Whitman as less competition. Einstein has a good number of high income families.