University of Maryland CP - how hard is it really to get in now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:B+ student, sports, maybe a non-sports extracurricular. Nothing crazy.

above 75% threshold on sat's?

U of Md wants to keep the stats up so test scores are most important to them. Much more so than grades or extras. I don't think that activities matter there at all.

I get your point but i don't this this is completely accurate. UMD still uses "mostly" stats driven admission process... However, last a couple years or so, I got the impression they are slightly leaning towards "holistic admission" path.

I think the slightly leaning is key. They have a 26 point admissions list which includes things like community service and involvement, volunteer work etc. However the 26 points are not equally weighted. They are simply all considered.

For those who want to see it, its here:

https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/factors.php

I agree with pp. My impression is that the holistic process is used more for admitting kids into the living learning communities like the Honors program and the Scholars program. Also, the admission process has more than one tier. The limited enrollment programs, for example, will consider who to admit to their programs separate from the general admissions process. They may look at different things than the general admissions committee. It's hard to know what I say considered and how much influence a certain factor has on me the admissions process. It does appear that test scores are hugely important as well as Weighted GPA. Someone with a weighted GPA of a 4.0 might not cut the mustard.

If you apply, but aren't admitted to a limited enrollment program do they reject you from U MD or do they place you in a different program/school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:B+ student, sports, maybe a non-sports extracurricular. Nothing crazy.

above 75% threshold on sat's?

U of Md wants to keep the stats up so test scores are most important to them. Much more so than grades or extras. I don't think that activities matter there at all.

I get your point but i don't this this is completely accurate. UMD still uses "mostly" stats driven admission process... However, last a couple years or so, I got the impression they are slightly leaning towards "holistic admission" path.

I think the slightly leaning is key. They have a 26 point admissions list which includes things like community service and involvement, volunteer work etc. However the 26 points are not equally weighted. They are simply all considered.

For those who want to see it, its here:

https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/factors.php

I agree with pp. My impression is that the holistic process is used more for admitting kids into the living learning communities like the Honors program and the Scholars program. Also, the admission process has more than one tier. The limited enrollment programs, for example, will consider who to admit to their programs separate from the general admissions process. They may look at different things than the general admissions committee. It's hard to know what I say considered and how much influence a certain factor has on me the admissions process. It does appear that test scores are hugely important as well as Weighted GPA. Someone with a weighted GPA of a 4.0 might not cut the mustard.

If you apply, but aren't admitted to a limited enrollment program do they reject you from U MD or do they place you in a different program/school?

UMD will put you in the College of Letters and Science. If you can maintain certain GPA for LEP specific prerequisite courses, you will be allowed in. None of the LEPs are competitive (meaning if you meet the criteria, you will be allowed in) with an exception of the business school.

[Anonymous]

The SAT scores are the 8th highest in the country for among public institutions. They will probably pass ucla for 7th place this year. Already higher than Unc .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The SAT scores are the 8th highest in the country for among public institutions. They will probably pass ucla for 7th place this year. Already higher than Unc .

Do you have a link or source where we can see these rankings, please?

[Anonymous]

^^
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/the-105-smartest-public-colleges-in-america-2015-9

[Anonymous]

I think mid-50% score means more - take out top and bottom 25 and compare "avg" kids. You will see a different picture. UMD should be higher than Uva for example

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/the-105-smartest-public-colleges-in-america-2015-9

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I think many people who have not directly participated in the UMD admissions process in the past several years would be very surprised at how competitive it has become. They may have a general sense that the school has improved over the past couple of decades but they don't know the extent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think mid-50% score means more - take out top and bottom 25 and compare "avg" kids. You will see a different picture. UMD should be higher than Uva for example

I don't understand this post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think mid-50% score means more - take out top and bottom 25 and compare "avg" kids. You will see a different picture. UMD should be higher than Uva for example

https://admission.virginia.edu/admission/statistics

UVa Mid 50%

SAT 1250 -1460
ACT 27-31

https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/freshman.php

UMD mid 50%

SAT 1260-1420
ACT 29-33

So, SAT mid-50 scores are comparable but UMD has much higher ACT mid-50 scores than UVa.

[Anonymous]

If someone doesn't get in ... they assume it is "hard to get in"

[Anonymous]

Once it gets hard to get in, everybody wants in then it gets impossible to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - below is from UMD website. UMD's admit rate is still in mid-40% so it's not too difficult. UMD uses MCPS grading system so kids with wGPA of 4.2 are pretty decent students in MCPS, IMHO.

"For the Fall 2016 freshmen class, we received nearly 30,200 applications for a class of 4,075. For students admitted for the Fall 2016 semester, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1260 to 1420, and 29-33 on the ACT. As a result 25% of the admitted students scored below a 1260 on the SAT and 25% scored above a 1420. Admitted freshmen also earned an average weighted GPA of 4.21"

Those are the stats from last year. I was hoping to hear from other parents who have had kids apply and unexpectedly did not get in or who also have come across other kids who did not get in and who expected to.

We have heard the same. And, even the kids we know who got in didn't get accepted into the Engineering program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - below is from UMD website. UMD's admit rate is still in mid-40% so it's not too difficult. UMD uses MCPS grading system so kids with wGPA of 4.2 are pretty decent students in MCPS, IMHO.

"For the Fall 2016 freshmen class, we received nearly 30,200 applications for a class of 4,075. For students admitted for the Fall 2016 semester, the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1260 to 1420, and 29-33 on the ACT. As a result 25% of the admitted students scored below a 1260 on the SAT and 25% scored above a 1420. Admitted freshmen also earned an average weighted GPA of 4.21"

Those are the stats from last year. I was hoping to hear from other parents who have had kids apply and unexpectedly did not get in or who also have come across other kids who did not get in and who expected to.

We have heard the same. And, even the kids we know who got in didn't get accepted into the Engineering program.

It just means the kids didn't have good enough stats (and/or rigor).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think mid-50% score means more - take out top and bottom 25 and compare "avg" kids. You will see a different picture. UMD should be higher than Uva for example

https://admission.virginia.edu/admission/statistics

UVa Mid 50%

SAT 1250 -1460
ACT 27-31

https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/freshman.php

UMD mid 50%

SAT 1260-1420
ACT 29-33

So, SAT mid-50 scores are comparable but UMD has much higher ACT mid-50 scores than UVa.

Thanks for the clarification