Freshman Connection I need help deciding! Questions for FC engineering students too!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
1

Hello!
I have recently been accepted into UMD for the Spring 2021 semester next year and was offered to take the Freshman Connection program. I have been looking at as much information as I could about the program both officially and from others’ experiences, but I am still on-edge about what decision to make. I live in-state, have loved UMD since I was young, and would be thrilled to go there. However, one issue is paying for it. I had been thinking about going to community college (specifically HCC) to save more money, but I have read that those who have gone through FC enjoy it because of the smaller classes, ability to sleep in, meet other students, etc. Essentially, it seems although you get the full college/freshman first-semester experience but with a more relaxed schedule. There is the downside to not being able to do most/all clubs since they will likely be during afternoon classes, but I am not too worried about that since I can join them the following semester. Also, UMBC, although I am not as eager to go, has offered me a merit scholarship. I like the campus and what it has to offer, but it’s not as appealing as UMCP. I plan on majoring in engineering, and will, therefore, take the necessary classes to get into the LEP since I wasn’t accepted right away at UMCP. I’m most likely going to take a mix of GenEd and major-specific courses over the summer at my local community college as well.

Therefore, my questions for now are:

  1. If you are/was FC student or is a guardian of one, what made you decide to do the program, what do you like most about it and what do you not?
  2. I have read that FC tuition is cheaper than regular fall tuition, is this true for FC specifically or was the discount off just from financial aid?
  3. What made/didn’t make you choose to do FC over taking classes at a community college instead?
  4. I have also heard that FC courses are easier than regular courses at UMD, and would like to hear about your experiences with your class schedules both fall and spring semesters.
  5. For FC students that have gone into engineering, what was the experience like? Were you behind the other students at all or the same pace? What did your schedule look like?
  6. Although I am not too concerned about social life since I believe it will be easy to make friends no matter the semester I come into as well as reading that students can have a good social life despite having a different schedule than their peers, what were your personal experiences with that? By missing out on clubs, I feel as though I would be missing out on making friends.
  7. What was it like registering for both dorms and classes? Since FC students seem to be a pretty low priority when it comes to class selection for the spring semester, I am worried I won’t be able to get classes I was (since I feel like engineering is a popular major as well as reading a horror story from here)
  8. Although not related to FC (I will probably make another discussion for this), for those that also considered UMBC, what made you decide over either school? Also, what school resulted to be cheaper (especially if you got a scholarship)? I heard UMBC is much cheaper, but Google has been telling me otherwise.

I will probably have more questions in the future, but these are the major ones I have for now. I have always dreamed about going to UMD, but due to financial circumstances, I have to consider my choices and hope I make the right decision. I would also like to use this information to hopefully convince my mom to be more open to letting me go to UMD! Thank you for reading my questions and worries, and I appreciate any help!

2

My son was in FC this past Fall. He had a great experience – which I’m feeling compelled to share here:

  1. If you are/was FC student or is a guardian of one, what made you decide to do the program, what do you like most about it and what do you not?

My son really wanted to go to Maryland. Period. Best part of the semester - he had classes Mon to Thurs only. He’s a pretty structured kid, good at keeping a schedule - so he studied in the morning after going to the gym with his roommate (also in FC).

There were a couple clubs that he wanted to join but didn’t because the timing wasn’t right. He’s considering joining them now.

  1. I have read that FC tuition is cheaper than regular fall tuition, is this true for FC specifically or was the discount off just from financial aid?

No tuition (in state) difference between FC fall and Regular spring.

  1. What made/didn’t make you choose to do FC over taking classes at a community college instead?

He was ready to live away from home.

  1. I have also heard that FC courses are easier than regular courses at UMD, and would like to hear about your experiences with your class schedules both fall and spring semesters.

Same classes – no difference in difficulty. Might even be harder because clearly the experienced faculty are not signing up to late afternoon/evening classes.

  1. For FC students that have gone into engineering, what was the experience like? Were you behind the other students at all or the same pace? What did your schedule look like?

My son is not in Engineering.

  1. Although I am not too concerned about social life since I believe it will be easy to make friends no matter the semester I come into as well as reading that students can have a good social life despite having a different schedule than their peers, what were your personal experiences with that? By missing out on clubs, I feel as though I would be missing out on making friends.

There are tons of ways to be involved – and no one seems to care who’s FC and who’s not.

  1. What was it like registering for both dorms and classes? Since FC students seem to be a pretty low priority when it comes to class selection for the spring semester, I am worried I won’t be able to get classes I was (since I feel like engineering is a popular major as well as reading a horror story from here)

Housing is the same for all freshmen; class access for FC was very easy (and you will know your schedule for the Fall by May – which is nice); biggest downside is that Spring admit freshmen are the LAST to register for Spring. But there are a ton of courses with reserved seats for freshman – so my son is actually taking 4 classes that are all required for his major this spring.

  1. Although not related to FC (I will probably make another discussion for this), for those that also considered UMBC, what made you decide over either school? Also, what school resulted to be cheaper (especially if you got a scholarship)? I heard UMBC is much cheaper, but Google has been telling me otherwise.

UMBC is as expensive as UMD-CP. My son was admitted at UMBC as well. There’s a different vibe. You should visit both during accepted student days. We visited a couple school post admission just to get the feel of them so my son could make a decision he could be happy with and commit to…

Good Luck! FC is not a bad outcome at all! Remember, you have been admitted to UMD-CP which is a great accomplishment!!

3

Hi @momherm ! Thank you so much for reading my long post as well as replying, it was very insightful! I’m glad your son enjoyed his time being there so far, it definitely makes FC all the more appealing. If you don’t mind me asking, I have a couple of questions. I know you had said that your son was ready to live away from home, and I was wondering if you guys found the FC program very fulfilling despite paying a little more than the community college? I do not know if expenses played a role in his decision, but I would like to know more about how much he’s enjoyed his experience so far and maybe if he prefers the schedule over a regular one! I also wanted to ask if your son had found a roommate that was also in FC or if he was randomly placed with someone that happened to be in FC? I plan on looking for a roommate over facebook but if that doesn’t work out I just wanted to have a better look into the chances of getting an FC roommate. Thanks again!

4

My son was in FC this past fall. It was a great experience. He enjoyed having late classes.

Some clubs and activities meet late in the evening. He joined the boxing club which practices at 10 pm. He also played intramural flag football after his classes. He had plenty of time for pickup ultimate frisbee and was able to go to the gym when it wasn’t crowded.

His roommate was not FC and that did not present issues. His friend group includes FC and non-FC students.

He was on the waitlist for a few classes this semester. He got into all but 1. He likely would have gotten into that class because he was high on the waitlist but decided he preferred another class.

5

Hi @deawd ! I’m glad your son enjoyed it so much, as well as have options for clubs even with the late classes. It is also good to hear that he didn’t have much trouble getting into the classes he wanted, hopefully it will be the same experience for me!

6

If you want to see what kinds of classes were available for Freshman Connection this year:
https://app.testudo.umd.edu/soc/search?courseId=&sectionId=&termId=201908&_openSectionsOnly=on&creditCompare=&credits=&courseLevelFilter=ALL&instructor=&_facetoface=on&_blended=on&_online=on&courseStartCompare=&courseStartHour=&courseStartMin=&courseStartAM=&courseEndHour=&courseEndMin=&courseEndAM=&teachingCenter=FC&_classDay1=on&_classDay2=on&_classDay3=on&_classDay4=on&_classDay5=on

Click on the red hot link for each department to see what classes were offered this year. Obviously, the classes available for next Fall may be different, but the basic foundation courses that are offered will likely remain the same.

@pnnnci In the case of engineering students that need math classes, for example, if you click on the MATH link, you will see that MATH 140 (Calc I) and MATH 141 (Calc II) are both offered.

MATH 141 is one of the gateway classes needed for internal transfer to engineering. All the gateway classes are listed on this page https://eng.umd.edu/transfer/internal, and MATH 140 is the prerequisite to MATH 141 (unless you AP out of it), so depending on where you are, you have the ability to take either as a FC student.

If you look at the CHEM link, you will see that CHEM135 is also offered as a FC class, and that is another gateway class for internal transfer.

7

Hi @maryversity ! Thank you so much! Do you know how early the classes fill up? I am not sure if I will be committing to UMD so I feel like I may miss out on classes if I don’t sign up in time. Also, I saw that Physics was a requirement in order to get into engineering school. I plan on taking Chemistry and maybe Calculus (I assume that is MATH 140?) over the summer, should I take it there too since I don’t see it in the available FC classes?

8

No, sorry I can’t say how early FC classes fill up, but I wouldn’t worry about that too much until it gets closer to decision day. However, once you decide, then sign up for classes as soon as possible after you commit.

You need to be careful about taking classes over the summer. All courses with the same name at different schools are not equal to Maryland’s courses, so check the credit transfer database to make sure you will get the credit you are expecting https://app.transfercredit.umd.edu

Note: physics is not offered in FC because Chemistry for Engineers is offered. You don’t take both of those classes in the same semester.

9

This is a timely post. Would really love an answer to #5. Son accepted to FC, has strong credentials and has been accepted to other excellent engineering schools, but definitely wondering about the path towards UMD engineering as an FC student, and whether you fall behind or what assurances you even have to be accepted into the Clark school? To the poster, I wish you the very best of luck!

10

@rns1990 - Back in 2014, when we went to Admitted Students Day, they emphasized that internal transfers to Engineering were NOT competitive. Take the Gateway courses, get the required grades, fill out some paperwork, and you are in.

My D was not in FC, but was in L&S (she applied Undecided) and was able to do an Internal Transfer to a LEP (not Engineering)

This may not answer your question and hopefully someone who went into Engineering from FC will respond.

11

Appreciate your reply…I struggle a bit to comprehend how it works this way, but that is the sense I am getting. I hope someone can confirm its a similar course for Engineering. Thanks!

12

@rns1990 - If at all possible, try to attend one of the Admitted Student Days… You will have a chance to get first hand info.

13

@rns1990
“5) For FC students that have gone into engineering, what was the experience like? Were you behind the other students at all or the same pace? What did your schedule look like?”

Can’t speak to FC specifically, but my son had several friends in scholars that were not direct admits to engineering. They were all admitted to engineering without issue. All but one graduated on time with him - that one changed which discipline in engineering he wanted, so he ended up going an extra semester because of the different classes needed. Another was not a direct admit to engineering, but was able to apply for and be admitted to QUEST - he was eligible to apply since he was applying for internal transfer to engineering at the same time, and his acceptance into QUEST was contingent on successful transfer in time, which did happen.

Engineering is only competitive as a direct admission for incoming freshman due to limited resources - they really try to give a lot of support for engineering students, which makes a big difference.

After that, as long as you pass the required gateway classes, you are admitted as an “internal transfer.” They have space because students drop out of engineering all the time for many reasons. For many, it’s a lot harder than they expect and some never really had a passion for engineering as much as they were good in math and science, so they were told they “should” go into engineering. Engineering also requires a passion for problem-solving and creativity - you need to have that passion to survive the workload.

As for what the schedule looks like, it depends on the discipline within engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, aerospace, etc). All engineers have to take the same “foundation” courses which is why being an internal transfer does not necessarily put you “behind schedule.”

A lot depends on the individual student. If you are coming in with a lot of AP credits, you can apply as early as your first semester for transfer spring semester of freshman year, assuming you can fulfill the rest of the gateway classes through what FC offers…and if you are highly motivated, and you get the application for transfer approved in time, you can even catch the ENES 102 class during winter session and really be perfectly on schedule because you can take ENES 100 in the spring.

I encourage you to look at the four year plans of all the disciplines to get a sense of what your schedule would look like as an engineer, https://eng.umd.edu/four-year-plans, and then refer to my post #5 for how many of those classes are available for FC first semester.

Best advice is to attend admitted students day and ask your questions directly to engineering department reps.

14

This is really super helpful and reassuring! I took a look at the FC classes available and all but one of the sample CE class list (ECE100) is available. It’s really good to know that the transfer path is straight forward…my son has great credentials and is totally committed to studying computer engineering. Just wanted to ensure that this path would not put unforseen hurdles in his path. I do have a call into FC reps to have further discussion and I think the admitted student sessions would also be beneficial.