Anonymous
03/25/2025 22:33
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
There are lots of legacies. We were serious when we said is really competitive.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf
Interesting document, thanks for posting.
Why is a 45% acceptance rate considered "highly competitive"?
I also note that just over 20% of admitted first-time UMD students accept, meaning nearly 80% go somewhere else.
From experience over the last 40 years talking with college selection committees, a quietly spoken truth is that you are less likely to get a letter of acceptance, even if qualified, if the school deems your chance of accepting is virtually nil. So if your highly qualified child's apps are to only the Ivy's and Stanford, and then also to a single mid/high tier state school, the state school might not actually accept you, as your accepting is less than a crap shoot for them. Hint, colleges want to offer admission to students likely to attend.
Looking at those numbers, looks like one has a 60%+ chance of acceptance as a transfer from a MD Community College, as opposed to that 45% as direct enroll. Sounds like a decent way to up ones chances. And from the school's perspective, over 60% of transfers accept, making them a safer pick.
Finally, no college wants it's freshman class to be overcrowded with students from a small number of schools. Just like Harvard doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for Phillips Academy, I suppose UMD doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for MCPS W schools. They gotta hold some Redneck DEI seats for the hicks form Garret County after all. (And I can say that because I was a redneck good old boy DEI admit to Cornell way back in the day, but got a letter of rejection from my 3rd tier redneck state school, lol)
The point is not that UMD is highly competitive against an Ivy but that it’s competitive generally. It’s the state flag university. Many parents who went to college 20/30 years ago are not expecting that it may require in average a 4.4 GPA and 1400-1500 SAT score. Also the number of applications is increasing. This mean it is no longer your in state safety school or one of lower picks on kids list.
Same is true for UVA.
UVA and UMD are not anywhere near the same caliber.
Anonymous
03/25/2025 21:50
Subject: Re:C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:According to the Grading Policy a DA = B
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/ika-ra%20master.pdf
Doesn't surprise me with MCPS's ridiculous grade inflation. Such a joke.
It's because they don't use the percentages actually earned in the class (say, (60+90)/2=75=C).
Instead, they use (1.0+4.0)/2=2.5, which rounds up to 3, which is an A.
The problem with this is that if student gets a 59.5 (D) and a 89.5 (A), they end up with a B for the semester. So ridiculous and hopefully colleges know about this loophole.
Agree that they should use the actual % earned to determine the grade.
So the D and the A don't show up on the high school transcript? Just the B for the year average?
Anonymous
03/25/2025 20:57
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, my child retook an AP class (1st semester only) online (approved vendor) during the summer to replace a C grade. I saw his official transcript and it only shows the new grade (A) and his GPA was updated. We did have to submit paperwork to the central office to officially replace the grade and update the transcript.
What was the vendor?
Edmentum
Forgot to add that you need to apply for permission via the Central office: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/onlinelearning/courses/ap/
PP - how much did the course cost? And how often did it meet? Did your DC find it similar in difficulty to the AP class in school? Do they retake the test? Thanks!
Anonymous
03/21/2025 07:10
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, my child retook an AP class (1st semester only) online (approved vendor) during the summer to replace a C grade. I saw his official transcript and it only shows the new grade (A) and his GPA was updated. We did have to submit paperwork to the central office to officially replace the grade and update the transcript.
Hey, sorry for replying a month later but could you describe what the process was and AP class your child retook? My son is thinking of replacing his grade for AP Calc 1st semester but when we went to check on the MCPS website, they said that students may only "replace a course with a course of the same or comparable course code." The code for the school year AP class vs. summer class is different though, right? Should we just fill out the form on the website anyway? Thanks so much!
The PP posted the form for the central office shortly after the message you've quoted. Also, ask the HS counselor
Anonymous
03/21/2025 02:53
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
There are lots of legacies. We were serious when we said is really competitive.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf
Interesting document, thanks for posting.
Why is a 45% acceptance rate considered "highly competitive"?
I also note that just over 20% of admitted first-time UMD students accept, meaning nearly 80% go somewhere else.
From experience over the last 40 years talking with college selection committees, a quietly spoken truth is that you are less likely to get a letter of acceptance, even if qualified, if the school deems your chance of accepting is virtually nil. So if your highly qualified child's apps are to only the Ivy's and Stanford, and then also to a single mid/high tier state school, the state school might not actually accept you, as your accepting is less than a crap shoot for them. Hint, colleges want to offer admission to students likely to attend.
Looking at those numbers, looks like one has a 60%+ chance of acceptance as a transfer from a MD Community College, as opposed to that 45% as direct enroll. Sounds like a decent way to up ones chances. And from the school's perspective, over 60% of transfers accept, making them a safer pick.
Finally, no college wants it's freshman class to be overcrowded with students from a small number of schools. Just like Harvard doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for Phillips Academy, I suppose UMD doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for MCPS W schools. They gotta hold some Redneck DEI seats for the hicks form Garret County after all. (And I can say that because I was a redneck good old boy DEI admit to Cornell way back in the day, but got a letter of rejection from my 3rd tier redneck state school, lol)
The point is not that UMD is highly competitive against an Ivy but that it’s competitive generally. It’s the state flag university. Many parents who went to college 20/30 years ago are not expecting that it may require in average a 4.4 GPA and 1400-1500 SAT score. Also the number of applications is increasing. This mean it is no longer your in state safety school or one of lower picks on kids list.
Same is true for UVA.
Anonymous
03/20/2025 17:23
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
There are lots of legacies. We were serious when we said is really competitive.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf
Interesting document, thanks for posting.
Why is a 45% acceptance rate considered "highly competitive"?
I also note that just over 20% of admitted first-time UMD students accept, meaning nearly 80% go somewhere else.
From experience over the last 40 years talking with college selection committees, a quietly spoken truth is that you are less likely to get a letter of acceptance, even if qualified, if the school deems your chance of accepting is virtually nil. So if your highly qualified child's apps are to only the Ivy's and Stanford, and then also to a single mid/high tier state school, the state school might not actually accept you, as your accepting is less than a crap shoot for them. Hint, colleges want to offer admission to students likely to attend.
Looking at those numbers, looks like one has a 60%+ chance of acceptance as a transfer from a MD Community College, as opposed to that 45% as direct enroll. Sounds like a decent way to up ones chances. And from the school's perspective, over 60% of transfers accept, making them a safer pick.
Finally, no college wants it's freshman class to be overcrowded with students from a small number of schools. Just like Harvard doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for Phillips Academy, I suppose UMD doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for MCPS W schools. They gotta hold some Redneck DEI seats for the hicks form Garret County after all. (And I can say that because I was a redneck good old boy DEI admit to Cornell way back in the day, but got a letter of rejection from my 3rd tier redneck state school, lol)
Thank goodness because there 60K applicants and 27K admitted. And your source is incorrect. UMD does not yield protect. Plenty of high caliber students applied and were admitted to UMD but went elsewhere. All the MCPS magnet kids apply to UMD as a safety.
UMD-CP has a 58% yield in-state and a 35% admit rate https://www.usmd.edu/IRIS/DataJournal/Applications/?report=UG-Applicants-First-Time-Admission&Residency=MD
UMD does not yield protect but I would not say it is a safety for even a magnet kid.
Anonymous
03/20/2025 15:45
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
There are lots of legacies. We were serious when we said is really competitive.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf
Interesting document, thanks for posting.
Why is a 45% acceptance rate considered "highly competitive"?
I also note that just over 20% of admitted first-time UMD students accept, meaning nearly 80% go somewhere else.
From experience over the last 40 years talking with college selection committees, a quietly spoken truth is that you are less likely to get a letter of acceptance, even if qualified, if the school deems your chance of accepting is virtually nil. So if your highly qualified child's apps are to only the Ivy's and Stanford, and then also to a single mid/high tier state school, the state school might not actually accept you, as your accepting is less than a crap shoot for them. Hint, colleges want to offer admission to students likely to attend.
Looking at those numbers, looks like one has a 60%+ chance of acceptance as a transfer from a MD Community College, as opposed to that 45% as direct enroll. Sounds like a decent way to up ones chances. And from the school's perspective, over 60% of transfers accept, making them a safer pick.
Finally, no college wants it's freshman class to be overcrowded with students from a small number of schools. Just like Harvard doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for Phillips Academy, I suppose UMD doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for MCPS W schools. They gotta hold some Redneck DEI seats for the hicks form Garret County after all. (And I can say that because I was a redneck good old boy DEI admit to Cornell way back in the day, but got a letter of rejection from my 3rd tier redneck state school, lol)
Thank goodness because there 60K applicants and 27K admitted. And your source is incorrect. UMD does not yield protect. Plenty of high caliber students applied and were admitted to UMD but went elsewhere. All the MCPS magnet kids apply to UMD as a safety.
Anonymous
03/20/2025 15:42
Subject: C in an AP class
A couple of kids I know dropped AP Chem after the first semester due to Cs, Ds.
Anonymous
03/20/2025 15:13
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:OP, my child retook an AP class (1st semester only) online (approved vendor) during the summer to replace a C grade. I saw his official transcript and it only shows the new grade (A) and his GPA was updated. We did have to submit paperwork to the central office to officially replace the grade and update the transcript.
Hey, sorry for replying a month later but could you describe what the process was and AP class your child retook? My son is thinking of replacing his grade for AP Calc 1st semester but when we went to check on the MCPS website, they said that students may only "replace a course with a course of the same or comparable course code." The code for the school year AP class vs. summer class is different though, right? Should we just fill out the form on the website anyway? Thanks so much!
Anonymous
02/05/2025 23:29
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
There are lots of legacies. We were serious when we said is really competitive.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf
Interesting document, thanks for posting.
Why is a 45% acceptance rate considered "highly competitive"?
I also note that just over 20% of admitted first-time UMD students accept, meaning nearly 80% go somewhere else.
From experience over the last 40 years talking with college selection committees, a quietly spoken truth is that you are less likely to get a letter of acceptance, even if qualified, if the school deems your chance of accepting is virtually nil. So if your highly qualified child's apps are to only the Ivy's and Stanford, and then also to a single mid/high tier state school, the state school might not actually accept you, as your accepting is less than a crap shoot for them. Hint, colleges want to offer admission to students likely to attend.
Looking at those numbers, looks like one has a 60%+ chance of acceptance as a transfer from a MD Community College, as opposed to that 45% as direct enroll. Sounds like a decent way to up ones chances. And from the school's perspective, over 60% of transfers accept, making them a safer pick.
Finally, no college wants it's freshman class to be overcrowded with students from a small number of schools. Just like Harvard doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for Phillips Academy, I suppose UMD doesn't want to be considered a finishing school for MCPS W schools. They gotta hold some Redneck DEI seats for the hicks form Garret County after all. (And I can say that because I was a redneck good old boy DEI admit to Cornell way back in the day, but got a letter of rejection from my 3rd tier redneck state school, lol)
Anonymous
02/03/2025 17:12
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Are there any opportunities to “fix” an AP grade in MCPS? My child made barely a D in the first quarter, and barely an A in the second quarter. Would they need to retake a full year of this course to replace the C? I know that summer is not an option but will MCPS let them retake just one semester for example during senior year?
Did they take the AP placement tests how did they do on that?
Can you actually fix the grade? Like if you retake the class, won't you still have that on your record? I could have done that in high school and been a valedictorian, forget study hall. I mean it makes sense if you have some base line skills to graduate take the civics class over again until you pass it, but taking an AP class over? I don't know.
Anonymous
02/02/2025 21:30
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
There are lots of legacies. We were serious when we said is really competitive.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf
Anonymous
02/02/2025 16:48
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
Doesn't seem like it because two of his friends' parents that didn't get accepted were legacy.
Anonymous
02/02/2025 15:52
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.
Does legacy mean anything at Maryland these days??? This is really absurd.
Anonymous
02/02/2025 15:47
Subject: C in an AP class
Anonymous wrote:Just thinking about my kid’s prospects for UMD now. Will likely have a C or 2 on their transcript and a handful of APs. Coming from a W school and applying to either Psychology or Business programs. What do you do think? Could also apply as an Education major.
I can tell you as a 2025 parent at Blair and based on my child's friends, tiny chance with a C and not much rigor. Friend with similar profile (grades/APs) as your child that applied for Education was denied. It looks like the majority of kids that were accepted at Blair were in the magnet/CAP with 3.9+UW/4.75+W GPAs.