UMD EA Today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m hearing from my DC that many of the high stats kids they know who were rejected gave one or two word answers for the MD “complete the sentences” when were allowed 250 characters for each. That would explain it in my mind. If you can’t be bothered to put in effort on the application, why should they take you.

250 characters is very short. Probably about the length of what you wrote.

Since UMD doesn't do interview - the 250 character responses are a way to get to see a kid beyond the EC's, the personal statements, the AP's etc. Not everything is academic - they want to find a balanced class of students. They realize the short response questions in August - but they stay generally the same over the last few years- slight modifications but you certainly can think about how you might answer. 250 is short - but that is also part of the challenge - what you say and how you say it with those boundaries can say a lot about a student.

Yes. And it says even more about a student when they use less than 20 characters to answer the questions.

When the instruction is to "complete the following sentences" it is confusing to put a 250 word limit on each response. Is it best to craft a short, pithy, revealing completion to the sentence? Or is it to use 200 words (and multiple sentences) to springboard off the prompt?

DP
I think it said 250 characters, not words.

Both of my kids thought the UMD short answer responses were challenging- they wanted to be original and reveal something about themselves. They actually spent a great deal of time on them.

[Anonymous]

DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Congrats! What does not direct admit to Smith but LEP mean? What would need to be done to get into Smith?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Congrats! What does not direct admit to Smith but LEP mean? What would need to be done to get into Smith?

Sorry, I meant Letters and Sciences because her major was an LEP (limited enrollment program). Not a big deal, has to earn a certain grade in 3 classes for the program and is then admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m hearing from my DC that many of the high stats kids they know who were rejected gave one or two word answers for the MD “complete the sentences” when were allowed 250 characters for each. That would explain it in my mind. If you can’t be bothered to put in effort on the application, why should they take you.

250 characters is very short. Probably about the length of what you wrote.

Since UMD doesn't do interview - the 250 character responses are a way to get to see a kid beyond the EC's, the personal statements, the AP's etc. Not everything is academic - they want to find a balanced class of students. They realize the short response questions in August - but they stay generally the same over the last few years- slight modifications but you certainly can think about how you might answer. 250 is short - but that is also part of the challenge - what you say and how you say it with those boundaries can say a lot about a student.

Yes. And it says even more about a student when they use less than 20 characters to answer the questions.

When the instruction is to "complete the following sentences" it is confusing to put a 250 word limit on each response. Is it best to craft a short, pithy, revealing completion to the sentence? Or is it to use 200 words (and multiple sentences) to springboard off the prompt?

DP
I think it said 250 characters, not words.

Yes. It is only a couple of sentences. The questions are kind of dumb too. If they are rejecting high stats kids based on this they have their priorities wrong. I mean if you are accepting students with lower grades/scores/recs over students who didn’t write two great sentences that is ridiculous.

No worries. The kids are NOT judged on that unless they leave them blank. UMD just wants kids to answer, be creative, not over think too much.

Seriously. You guys are going own a rabbit hole! Relax.

DP. And you know this because....

Unless you are in admissions for umd, your opinion seems dubious. If they took the time to craft the questions, the natural inference is that they count for something. Maybe not the level of some PPs' scrutiny, but, I would think that minimal answers would not be a great look.

[Anonymous]

This is all anonymous, so I’ll say I’m shocked that DC got rejected. Shocked. I had no idea UMD had gotten so difficult.

She wasn’t going to go anyway, but still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Is it easier to get in OOS? My 4.5 weighted gpa kids d got rejected

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m hearing from my DC that many of the high stats kids they know who were rejected gave one or two word answers for the MD “complete the sentences” when were allowed 250 characters for each. That would explain it in my mind. If you can’t be bothered to put in effort on the application, why should they take you.

High stats kids should be able to get in UMD with just ok essays, don’t think they are that picky about essays.
DC got in CS honors with an unremarkable essay, DC refused help and not willing to revise the draft she spend only a few hours on.
I think it won’t be good enough for more selective schools but it is her choice.

I disagree, considering many high stats kids were rejected on this thread, not just to Honors, but to UMD. I am convinced writing a good essay and submitting high test scores secures what could otherwise have been a risky application. Maybe your child was lucky, or maybe her essay was actually pretty good compared to the others, but it's always risky to blow off the essay.

You also have to consider where your high stat kid comes from. UMD and every other school is only going to accept so many kids from each HS. So, if you are at a high stat school and they have 150 graduates and 100 apply, at best they may only take 15-30 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m hearing from my DC that many of the high stats kids they know who were rejected gave one or two word answers for the MD “complete the sentences” when were allowed 250 characters for each. That would explain it in my mind. If you can’t be bothered to put in effort on the application, why should they take you.

250 characters is very short. Probably about the length of what you wrote.

Since UMD doesn't do interview - the 250 character responses are a way to get to see a kid beyond the EC's, the personal statements, the AP's etc. Not everything is academic - they want to find a balanced class of students. They realize the short response questions in August - but they stay generally the same over the last few years- slight modifications but you certainly can think about how you might answer. 250 is short - but that is also part of the challenge - what you say and how you say it with those boundaries can say a lot about a student.

Yes. And it says even more about a student when they use less than 20 characters to answer the questions.

When the instruction is to "complete the following sentences" it is confusing to put a 250 word limit on each response. Is it best to craft a short, pithy, revealing completion to the sentence? Or is it to use 200 words (and multiple sentences) to springboard off the prompt?

DP
I think it said 250 characters, not words.

Yes. It is only a couple of sentences. The questions are kind of dumb too. If they are rejecting high stats kids based on this they have their priorities wrong. I mean if you are accepting students with lower grades/scores/recs over students who didn’t write two great sentences that is ridiculous.

No worries. The kids are NOT judged on that unless they leave them blank. UMD just wants kids to answer, be creative, not over think too much.

Seriously. You guys are going own a rabbit hole! Relax.

DP. And you know this because....

Unless you are in admissions for umd, your opinion seems dubious. If they took the time to craft the questions, the natural inference is that they count for something. Maybe not the level of some PPs' scrutiny, but, I would think that minimal answers would not be a great look.

Because my kid gave minimal answers and he got in, PP. He has excellent stats and wrote a great essay. THOSE matter. The short answers are just to weed out those who don't respond. All your kid needs to do it answer truthfully, and try not to sound too generic, hence the humor suggested upthread. But don't stress about it. It was the one fun thing about the UMD application, for my kid. No other college had little questions like this where he could be goofy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Congrats! What does not direct admit to Smith but LEP mean? What would need to be done to get into Smith?

Sorry, I meant Letters and Sciences because her major was an LEP (limited enrollment program). Not a big deal, has to earn a certain grade in 3 classes for the program and is then admitted.

actually I disagree. It is very hard to get into Smith if you are not a direct admit. You only get one shot to apply and need a very high GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Is it easier to get in OOS? My 4.5 weighted gpa kids d got rejected

The GPAs aren’t calculated the same if you’re from MCPS. Fcps does .5 for honors while MCPS does a full point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Congrats! What does not direct admit to Smith but LEP mean? What would need to be done to get into Smith?

Sorry, I meant Letters and Sciences because her major was an LEP (limited enrollment program). Not a big deal, has to earn a certain grade in 3 classes for the program and is then admitted.

actually I disagree. It is very hard to get into Smith if you are not a direct admit. You only get one shot to apply and need a very high GPA.

Thanks. I’ve done my research.

[Anonymous]

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

I don’t understand how this individual did not get into UMD? What is going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD accepted. FCPS 4.3wgpa, IB diploma candidate. Solid ECs, didn’t submit test scores. Didn’t get direct admit to Smith, but LEP. Also a legacy.

Happy, but it’s a backup as we wait on UVA and VT.

Congrats! What does not direct admit to Smith but LEP mean? What would need to be done to get into Smith?

Sorry, I meant Letters and Sciences because her major was an LEP (limited enrollment program). Not a big deal, has to earn a certain grade in 3 classes for the program and is then admitted.

actually I disagree. It is very hard to get into Smith if you are not a direct admit. You only get one shot to apply and need a very high GPA.

+1. It’s more than 3 classes as DD couldn’t transfer in until sophomore year and she did have AP credits. I think they need a 3.7 or maybe a 3.8 to be admitted. With a 3.5+ you are eligible to apply but not guaranteed admission. And you only get 1 shot. Keep in mind a lot of kids struggle a bit first semester, even if they did great in HS. This is not to discourage anyone from taking this path as it worked out great for DD, but it was pressure to get all As that first year while adjusting to college life and expectations.

[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

I don’t understand how this individual did not get into UMD? What is going on?

what is going on is that competition is getting more fierce. My very high stats kid got rejected at lower tiered schools while they got deferred at higher tiered school.

Seems like above a certain threshold, it's basically a lottery.