UMD College Park Results thread

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Rejected. 4.7 weighted. 3.98 unweighted. 27 act. Upset.

ACT definitely not in line with GPA....red flag

This should not be a red flag. This will likely be my daughter next year. She has a slight learning disability but she excels in school because she is a very hard worker and is diligent. She just can’t seem to ace her standardized tests. Any school would be lucky to have her because she works hard and gets good grades.

It's not a red flag. A red flag is low GPA and high test scores -- not the other way around. Idiot.

why wouldn't it be a red flag either way? If I was an admissions officer I would 100% question a 4.7/27 as inflated grades.

Because no matter what you personally think even with grade inflation SAT scores do not measure intelligence they measure test taking skills standardized test are not a measure of anything unless you almost ace it. It was originally created to find geniuses but it morphed into a money making scheme to sell books and test prep.

Actually the math section of the SAT has a strong correlation with intelligence.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In state, legacy, 1400 SAT, 3.7 uw, 4.3 w
I am so pissed.

To add: applied Arts & Sciences

I’m a professor at UMD, a liberal arts department. This is bonkers to me. There is no way that some of the students I have in intro courses could have these high school grades and stats. Some of them can barely write a coherent paragraph.

Not even a Spring admit?

I'm sorry, but a 4.3 is not hard to get in MCPS, if that is the school district.

She's not in MCPS. What's wrong with those grades?

I suspected. Is she in a private? Our kid coming from a Catholic HS could not compete with the GPAs coming out of public schools, and was rejected by UMCP.

Yes, Catholic HS

OK, that puts the weighted GPA in context. How many AP classes? Did your DD apply to a specific major or just general Arts and Sciences? It's just hard to figure out exactly why your DD didn't get in without more specifics. Many of the Catholic high schools in the D.C. suburbs have highly tracked classes. Was your DD on the highest track? Do you know how many students from DD's class applied? What kind of yield rate does the high school have for UMD? (Do students generally use UMD as a backup or do a high percentage actually attend if admitted?). I'm trying to figure out if your DD is a shining star on the highest track of a big Catholic high school or if DD attends a small Catholic HS with few AP's. If DD had the opportunity to take many AP's but didn't, that's a red flag. Ditto for an IB program, if that's available.

7 APs. General Arts & Sciences. Yes, highest track. No, don't know how many others applied. Don't know what yield rate but Naviance made it seem likely. No IB program available. Anyway, I'm over it but no longer interested in cheering for the Terps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In state, legacy, 1400 SAT, 3.7 uw, 4.3 w
I am so pissed.

To add: applied Arts & Sciences

I’m a professor at UMD, a liberal arts department. This is bonkers to me. There is no way that some of the students I have in intro courses could have these high school grades and stats. Some of them can barely write a coherent paragraph.

Not even a Spring admit?

I'm sorry, but a 4.3 is not hard to get in MCPS, if that is the school district.

She's not in MCPS. What's wrong with those grades?

I suspected. Is she in a private? Our kid coming from a Catholic HS could not compete with the GPAs coming out of public schools, and was rejected by UMCP.

Yes, Catholic HS

OK, that puts the weighted GPA in context. How many AP classes? Did your DD apply to a specific major or just general Arts and Sciences? It's just hard to figure out exactly why your DD didn't get in without more specifics. Many of the Catholic high schools in the D.C. suburbs have highly tracked classes. Was your DD on the highest track? Do you know how many students from DD's class applied? What kind of yield rate does the high school have for UMD? (Do students generally use UMD as a backup or do a high percentage actually attend if admitted?). I'm trying to figure out if your DD is a shining star on the highest track of a big Catholic high school or if DD attends a small Catholic HS with few AP's. If DD had the opportunity to take many AP's but didn't, that's a red flag. Ditto for an IB program, if that's available.

7 APs. General Arts & Sciences. Yes, highest track. No, don't know how many others applied. Don't know what yield rate but Naviance made it seem likely. No IB program available. Anyway, I'm over it but no longer interested in cheering for the Terps.

I'm sorry, PP. I truly hope that your daughter lands in a place where she really blooms. She has a lot going for her. Anecdotally, it may be helpful for students to actually declare a major at a large public like UMD and to have demonstrated interest in that major. My DD sincerely picked a more unusual major at UMD and had coursework and activities to back up the interest. I really believe that made her a stronger candidate to UMD. When a student doesn't apply with a specific major in mind, UMD might fear that the student is really interested in CS, Engineering, or Business like 90% (I'm exaggerating) of its other applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Kids who are Spring admits can join a program called Freshman Connection. That allows students to take freshman classes they would normally take only later in the day with Freshman Connection students.

Thank you! My kid is a spring admit. I didn't see the letter and am trying to digest what this means. Your info on Freshman Connection led me to this - https://oes.umd.edu/current-incoming-former-umd-students/freshmen-connection/program-overview

What are the main differences between Freshmen Connection and the regular fall semester?
Freshmen Connection offers a selection of UMD courses that help fulfill undergraduate major and University general education requirements. Courses meet in campus classrooms, 3-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Fridays.

My biggest question is what's the goal of this program, what kind of students do it and what classes are offered in the fall? My kid is in a magnet and had 10 APs, so I was assuming would have a lot of credit coming in already. Are these like English 101 classes the kid would already have AP Eng credit for?
On one hand, you could see some advantages to doing this... the kid could work part-time in the morning and take classes later. But if it's all basic classes the kid would not have to take anyway because of AP, that's different. If anyone has experience with this, please share!

DD did freshman connection and has zero regrets. She was initially thrown by the spring admit but still chose MD after hearing positive things. You can live in the dorm and nobody knows who is and isn’t FC. She’s now in the business school with a double major. She had a great experience and the other students were high achieving. They are limited to afternoon/evening courses (which she didn’t mind) and they do have less courses to choose from but that didn’t turn out to be a huge deal. I believe she came in with 7 classes and had no issue finding courses to take. She got her math requirement out of the way (I heard you can’t place out even with AP credit), a science class and accounting. I can’t recall her other 2 classes but they filled core requirements. The positive is the classes are smaller. She really got to know her professors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Junior parent here. This is depressing. Our MCPS kid is considering UMD as a reach next year. but seeing the rejections for kids with higher stats than our kid will have, it seems impossible. Yikes.

I can relate. I actually have one at UMD and my senior was just admitted. However, my youngest will not be competitive for UMD and he’s been wanting to attend since he was tiny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected. In state, legacy, 1400 SAT, 3.7 uw, 4.3 w
I am so pissed.

To add: applied Arts & Sciences

I’m a professor at UMD, a liberal arts department. This is bonkers to me. There is no way that some of the students I have in intro courses could have these high school grades and stats. Some of them can barely write a coherent paragraph.

Not even a Spring admit?

I'm sorry, but a 4.3 is not hard to get in MCPS, if that is the school district.

She's not in MCPS. What's wrong with those grades?

I suspected. Is she in a private? Our kid coming from a Catholic HS could not compete with the GPAs coming out of public schools, and was rejected by UMCP.

Yes, Catholic HS

OK, that puts the weighted GPA in context. How many AP classes? Did your DD apply to a specific major or just general Arts and Sciences? It's just hard to figure out exactly why your DD didn't get in without more specifics. Many of the Catholic high schools in the D.C. suburbs have highly tracked classes. Was your DD on the highest track? Do you know how many students from DD's class applied? What kind of yield rate does the high school have for UMD? (Do students generally use UMD as a backup or do a high percentage actually attend if admitted?). I'm trying to figure out if your DD is a shining star on the highest track of a big Catholic high school or if DD attends a small Catholic HS with few AP's. If DD had the opportunity to take many AP's but didn't, that's a red flag. Ditto for an IB program, if that's available.

7 APs. General Arts & Sciences. Yes, highest track. No, don't know how many others applied. Don't know what yield rate but Naviance made it seem likely. No IB program available. Anyway, I'm over it but no longer interested in cheering for the Terps.

I'm sorry, PP. I truly hope that your daughter lands in a place where she really blooms. She has a lot going for her. Anecdotally, it may be helpful for students to actually declare a major at a large public like UMD and to have demonstrated interest in that major. My DD sincerely picked a more unusual major at UMD and had coursework and activities to back up the interest. I really believe that made her a stronger candidate to UMD. When a student doesn't apply with a specific major in mind, UMD might fear that the student is really interested in CS, Engineering, or Business like 90% (I'm exaggerating) of its other applicants.

I believe you are mistaken in your assumption. The school doesn’t admit based on major. They admit to the school and then the major admits. Your chances for admission at UMD don’t increase because of a “unique “ major. Kids change their majors all the time. In fact lots of kids who apply for engineering get admitted for L&S.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Wow, just wow. Good for UMD. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since Maryland consistent tops the league tables for high school academic achievement. For example, Maryland had the highest PSAT threshold this year, higher than California and New York.

Wow. We should have moved to Alabama before kid took the PSAT! Lol!!

yea, I was joking about this with a neighbor. Did we screw our kids by moving into a high performing school? Big fish, little pond and all that.

Definitely! Folks need rethink privates if it’s primarily for admissions. Same percentages from top MCPS HS and Big 3 into great and good schools! The privates marketing and sales departments are feeding you a lie. Why did privates eliminate AP courses around the same time studies pointed to better success on AP exams then privates…hmmmm. Save your money and use that account as your “scholarship fund”

As a parent of children who have attended private since preschool, I totally agree with you. I honestly think if selective college admissions is your only objective that you have a better shot in public school to get into some of these top schools. However, for us, it is about the journey.....the teachers, the peer group and the classes they are exposed to. If they don't get into UMD or an ivy, that's ok. We still think it is worth the money spent on education, which is a top priority for us. But if you are only looking at colleges admission, I would encourage you to strongly consider staying in public school. I do think that "privilege" is seen as a negative to the admissions offices of colleges. Then again, they need some to pay full freight, so full pay can be a hook.

Skipping publics - especially in this area with well regarded public schools (in the eyes of higher institutions) - is simply the equivalent of sheltering your kid. MCPS, FCPS etc are just microcosms of life and how to interact with diverse thoughts, diverse backgrounds (social and other), and diverse relationships. Unfortunately, privates are out of favor for the appearance on non-inclusivity and privaledge. The exceptions are maybe the religious schools, of course..

These are big assumptions that I don’t agree with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rejected. 4.7 weighted. 3.98 unweighted. 27 act. Upset.

ACT definitely not in line with GPA....red flag

This should not be a red flag. This will likely be my daughter next year. She has a slight learning disability but she excels in school because she is a very hard worker and is diligent. She just can’t seem to ace her standardized tests. Any school would be lucky to have her because she works hard and gets good grades.

It's not a red flag. A red flag is low GPA and high test scores -- not the other way around. Idiot.

A 27 ACT signals perhaps the child is not that naturally intelligent and that the GPA might be reflective of a less rigorous grading policies. Look I am not an admissions officer. I agree it means the kid is hard worker. But come on, that has to be why the 4.7 in-state kid didn’t get in. Right???!!

My daughter is the one with the learning disabilities. She’s taking three AP classes and all the other classes are honors classes. Her classes are rigorous. She is a hard worker and studies. The standardized test only test for how quickly can you retrieve information that you learned. Some people are more quickly able to retrieve information than others. If she has time to sit and think she can come up with the answer. But a timed test is much more difficult. By the way she is not my only child. I have a son who does not work hard at all that manages to get very high grades and is able to ace the standardize tests. My daughter is much more organized and a hard worker. My son is very disorganized and hardly works at all. They are very different people and a school would be lucky to have either one of them. Not just my quick thinking son

Didn’t your daughter get extended time on the ACT? This should even the playing field for your daughter.

[Anonymous]

To the PP whose kid didn't make it, with 1400 SAT and 27 ACT.

She can take a year out and reapply and retake any tests / exams she thinks she can improve on.

I know that's not the most popular option in these parts but it's very common in other places. I did it and went to a top tier university as a result.

[Anonymous]

The positive (about Freshman Connection) is the classes are smaller.

On Freshman Connection, the classes I'm seeing have about 40 students in them. Is that a lot smaller than normal freshman classes? I know some classes can be huge but have seen stats that 45% of UMD classes have fewer than 20 students.
I'm encouraging my kid who's a spring admit to more strongly consider St. Mary's because of the smaller class sizes and cheaper cost, anyway, but wanted to follow up with parents of UMD kids on the class size question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, just wow. Good for UMD. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since Maryland consistent tops the league tables for high school academic achievement. For example, Maryland had the highest PSAT threshold this year, higher than California and New York.

Wow. We should have moved to Alabama before kid took the PSAT! Lol!!

yea, I was joking about this with a neighbor. Did we screw our kids by moving into a high performing school? Big fish, little pond and all that.

Definitely! Folks need rethink privates if it’s primarily for admissions. Same percentages from top MCPS HS and Big 3 into great and good schools! The privates marketing and sales departments are feeding you a lie. Why did privates eliminate AP courses around the same time studies pointed to better success on AP exams then privates…hmmmm. Save your money and use that account as your “scholarship fund”

As a parent of children who have attended private since preschool, I totally agree with you. I honestly think if selective college admissions is your only objective that you have a better shot in public school to get into some of these top schools. However, for us, it is about the journey.....the teachers, the peer group and the classes they are exposed to. If they don't get into UMD or an ivy, that's ok. We still think it is worth the money spent on education, which is a top priority for us. But if you are only looking at colleges admission, I would encourage you to strongly consider staying in public school. I do think that "privilege" is seen as a negative to the admissions offices of colleges. Then again, they need some to pay full freight, so full pay can be a hook.

Skipping publics - especially in this area with well regarded public schools (in the eyes of higher institutions) - is simply the equivalent of sheltering your kid. MCPS, FCPS etc are just microcosms of life and how to interact with diverse thoughts, diverse backgrounds (social and other), and diverse relationships. Unfortunately, privates are out of favor for the appearance on non-inclusivity and privaledge. The exceptions are maybe the religious schools, of course..

These are big assumptions that I don’t agree with.

+1, especially on "privaledge"

[Anonymous]

Not My DD, but I know the number is true:

rejected

3.8 unweighted GPA from MCPS. SAT 1100

Male. First gen, low income family (both parents don't speak English, have low pay jobs, and work for extremely long hours). The parents were immigrated from south American and have green cards now. student is a US citizen, NOT DACAC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not My DD, but I know the number is true:

rejected

3.8 unweighted GPA from MCPS. SAT 1100

Male. First gen, low income family (both parents don't speak English, have low pay jobs, and work for extremely long hours). The parents were immigrated from south American and have green cards now. student is a US citizen, NOT DACAC

He should go via Montgomery College to UMD. He will get the support he needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP whose kid didn't make it, with 1400 SAT and 27 ACT.

She can take a year out and reapply and retake any tests / exams she thinks she can improve on.

I know that's not the most popular option in these parts but it's very common in other places. I did it and went to a top tier university as a result.

You're combining two different posters. But, point taken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not My DD, but I know the number is true:

rejected

3.8 unweighted GPA from MCPS. SAT 1100

Male. First gen, low income family (both parents don't speak English, have low pay jobs, and work for extremely long hours). The parents were immigrated from south American and have green cards now. student is a US citizen, NOT DACAC

I really wish more schools would give kids like this a chance. He's succeeding against a lot of odds. Odds that many wouldn't be able to cut. His heart was set on UMD and he would have done well, I'm sure.

Still, I truly believe he'll find his way.