Hello all. I am new to CC and love seeing parents helping parents!! My son applied to EE, but was accepted to the L&S program. I understand he will need to apply to the EE program once he does a B or above with 45 credits. My concern is, because there’s no guarantee he will get accepted into EE even with a 3.0+, should he do his first 2 yrs in community college’s EE program; who has partnered with UMD. Has anyone had their son/daughter do 2 yrs in L&S with a 3.0 and not get accepted into the EE program? We attend the 3/8 Open House and I hope to get a better sense of everything.
@MotherOfTwoBoys - Below is the link for direct Engineering admits and transfers. I have copied the relevant text below the link. Your son can apply for an Internal transfer at the end of his first semester, as stated in the first sentence. The 3.0 reference below includes any GenEd courses that your son will be taking.
There is a requirement that all engineering students have a 2.0 at the 45 credit review.
As far as I know, any student who meets the criteria stated and applies for an internal transfer will get in. My D applied to a LEP (not Engineering), with similar criteria at the end of her first semester and got in.
I specifically remember that in the L&S session on Admitted Student Day that we attended in 2014, they were very emphatic that Engineering internal transfers were NOT competitive. Take the courses, get the grades, fill out the form, and you are in. You should be able to verify this on 3/8.
https://lep.umd.edu/engr-lep-after.pdf
Transfer Admission Requirements: Students beyond their first semester and those off campus wishing to transfer are required to meet the following gateway criteria
:•Completion of MATH 141 (Calculus II) with a minimum grade of B-
•Completion of PHYS 161 (Physics I) with a minimum grade of B-
•Completion of either CHEM 135 or CHEM271 or CHEM134 with a minimum C-. (Students who take CHEM134 must also have completed CHEM131 with a minimum grade of C-.)
A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all courses taken at the University of Maryland and all other institutions is required for internal and external transfer students.
@MotherOfTwoBoys - I recommend arriving early tomorrow. Traffic on the beltway can be pretty heavy
Thank you so much SoofDad!! Your detailed response is very helpful. Heading out at 6am for what should be a 1.0 hour commute; all DMV traffic is awful; ugh.
“My concern is, because there’s no guarantee he will get accepted into EE even with a 3.0+,”
- actually, if he has passed all the gateway classes with the minimum grade listed, for all intents and purposes, he basically IS guaranteed admission to engineering, so no worries - every one of my son’s friends that started out in L & S did get admitted to engineering, without issue. Never heard of anyone not being admitted if they pass all the gateway classes. The only thing I have heard of is that students have been dropped from engineering for failing to keep up their grades.
" should he do his first 2 yrs in community college’s EE program"
- nope, not unless it’s a question of finances…
Thank you so much maryversity! Your advice and Soofdad were both very helpful. We attended the Open House yesterday and he loved it, as did I. The plan is for him to attend this Fall.
That’s great. Welcome to TERP Nation!
My son is in the same position for mechanical engineering. We attended the admitted students day and they were very clear that if he got the minimum grades including the cumulative GPA requirement you literally walk with a piece of paper to some office and they change your major. It was a big relief for us. But I am still worried about the rigor of those courses.
@goteam2 - It is a fact that Engineering is a tough major, and it will be tough at any ABET Accredited University, but many students actually do succeed. It’s really up to the individual, and if it does not work out, UMD has a lot of other good majors for students to pursue.
my son was also admitted to letters and sciences instead of Chemical Engineering. My husband is a Maryland Alumni but sadly our son has decided not to attend MD for this reason. He was accepted into the engineering programs at Virginia Tech, NC state and University of Delaware (# 9 chem E program in the country). Not sure why he was not admitted at MD.
He could do an internal transfer into ChemE after 1 semester at UMD per the following link
https://lep.umd.edu/engr-lep-after.pdf
But he does have other very good choices, where he can do well.
My son was admitted to L&S, started school in 2016 and was admitted to Engineering after sophomore fall semester. It is not competitive (currently) - as long as you meet the credits and grade threshold, the approval is automatic.
My daughter was admitted to fall L&S initially. Her intended major was CS which just became LEP this year. About a week ago she got an email informing her that she has been admitted to CS directly. So apparently this can happen.
@ywnn1234 Really? We are in the same situation, but have not received an email. Have you already accepted?
No she hasn’t committed yet. She wants to visit the campus one more time before she makes the decision.
May I ask what your daughter’s SAT and GPA were? My son is applying CS for fall 2020