Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.

FCPS direct admit to CS with some merit and Honors college from HS class of 2023.
3.98/4.5 (AP: CS Principles, CS-A, World, APUSH, Gov, Calc BC, Stats, Phys C-Mech, Phys C-E&M. Post-AP: CS, Calc 3, Linear Alg)
1560 (Khan prep)
Varsity athlete, club leadership, "light" CS work for non-profit, PT retail job
Denied: Penn and Harvard
WL: UVA and NEU
Accepted: UMD, BU, CWRU, Lehigh, WM, Ohio St, UMN and Pitt
Loves UMD. Good luck!

How much was the merit? I'm guessing your child is waiting for UVA?

Anonymous wrote:What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.

FCPS direct admit to CS with some merit and Honors college from HS class of 2023.
3.98/4.5 (AP: CS Principles, CS-A, World, APUSH, Gov, Calc BC, Stats, Phys C-Mech, Phys C-E&M. Post-AP: CS, Calc 3, Linear Alg)
1560 (Khan prep)
Varsity athlete, club leadership, "light" CS work for non-profit, PT retail job
Denied: Penn and Harvard
WL: UVA and NEU
Accepted: UMD, BU, CWRU, Lehigh, WM, Ohio St, UMN and Pitt
Loves UMD. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.

-Be on highest math and science track
-Take CS APs in high school and score 5s
-Do well on SAT (1500+)
-Do coding competitions (lots online)
-Participate in CS/STEM summer programs (some you may have to pay for, but there are quite a few free ones)
-Join a VEX robotics team and compete
-Join high school robotics team

My kid didn't do any CS/STEM summer programs or extra curriculars. No tutor. Only prep was SAT and AP at home practice tests.

But, they were a magnet student with super high stats, with a lot of AP/IB STEM classes, including IB Java and took MVC in HS.

I don't think UMD cares *that* much about activities. They care about rigor and stats.

Richard Montgomery HS? Was your kid in a magnet in MS too?

Yes, RMHS, no MS magnet. We thought it was too far so didn't bother applying. DC is very high achieving academically on their own (no tutors), always has been and still is. Dual STEM major including CS.

If your kid needs to work really hard for that A in CS/math in HS, I think they will find UMD CS very challenging.

Be aware that UMD CS halved the class size from like 1400 to 700 students per year, with a 600 direct admit and 100 transfer limit, both external and internal. UMD CS admit is very difficult, but who knows. Maybe by the time your kid applies the demand will have gone down.

Anonymous wrote:please come back when this admission cycle is over, we are working with parents who have seniors in HS at the moment.

Exactly.

7th grade? Yeesh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.

-Be on highest math and science track
-Take CS APs in high school and score 5s
-Do well on SAT (1500+)
-Do coding competitions (lots online)
-Participate in CS/STEM summer programs (some you may have to pay for, but there are quite a few free ones)
-Join a VEX robotics team and compete
-Join high school robotics team

My kid didn't do any CS/STEM summer programs or extra curriculars. No tutor. Only prep was SAT and AP at home practice tests.

But, they were a magnet student with super high stats, with a lot of AP/IB STEM classes, including IB Java and took MVC in HS.

I don't think UMD cares *that* much about activities. They care about rigor and stats.

Richard Montgomery HS? Was your kid in a magnet in MS too?

Thank you for the links and suggestions

Anonymous wrote:Try being a well rounded kid for a bit. Jeez.

disagree. As a parent who went through college admissions 2 years ago with a CS major kid, be pointy, and passionate about what you do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.

-Be on highest math and science track
-Take CS APs in high school and score 5s
-Do well on SAT (1500+)
-Do coding competitions (lots online)
-Participate in CS/STEM summer programs (some you may have to pay for, but there are quite a few free ones)
-Join a VEX robotics team and compete
-Join high school robotics team

My kid didn't do any CS/STEM summer programs or extra curriculars. No tutor. Only prep was SAT and AP at home practice tests.

But, they were a magnet student with super high stats, with a lot of AP/IB STEM classes, including IB Java and took MVC in HS.

I don't think UMD cares *that* much about activities. They care about rigor and stats.

Try being a well rounded kid for a bit. Jeez.

Get an advisor. Blair had a college night recently with a few options presenting. There are a few others out there who focus on mcps as well.

Here is a free summer STEM program:

https://www.usaeop.com/program/gems/

Here's a link for VEX robotics for grades 4-8

https://www.vexrobotics.com/competition?srsltid=AfmBOorJ2Ss-JtdE0er3awXPDd1AFEZHM96qwobdSVva6Ku_DJ8AsR7f

Anonymous wrote:What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.

-Be on highest math and science track
-Take CS APs in high school and score 5s
-Do well on SAT (1500+)
-Do coding competitions (lots online)
-Participate in CS/STEM summer programs (some you may have to pay for, but there are quite a few free ones)
-Join a VEX robotics team and compete
-Join high school robotics team

please come back when this admission cycle is over, we are working with parents who have seniors in HS at the moment.

What the title says.

My kid is interested in CS and is in MS now.

What should my kid be doing starting 7th grade to be considered for admissions into UMD CP? Tutoring on the side? Extra curriculars? I'm looking for guidance from people whose kids got admitted.