@njdad16 - since compsci is not a lep it should not be a prob to switch from letters and sciences to that. I know, it may not make sense why he was put in L & S if he asked for compsci as an alternate, but I think (and of course I could be wrong) it is because of advising…assuming your son wants to apply for transfer to engineering, the L & S advisors are trained to help students prep for that with picking courses and advising them for that whereas compsci advisors wouldn’t have that training - they would just be trained to help with compsci …make sense? So, that’s usually why students are put in L&S because the advising staff is more well-rounded for transfer to other majors (not because the students are “lesser” like someone implied)
@4CookieMonster I don’t know…never tried appealing anything. I know your d can apply after the end of freshman year if she still wants to http://honors.umd.edu/prospective-current.php Honestly though, being admitted to Smith is the bigger deal, and after that departmental honors is also a big deal - she can apply to (as a junior?) based on college performance - that’s the one that goes on the diploma (departmental honors), not honors college. FYI, Smith has a lot of really cool fellows programs, so she might want the free time in her schedule to do those instead … @terpmom7 would be better to talk about this though
Congrats on honors at Rutgers! But, as a Jersey girl myself, and Maryland alum, I wholeheartedly agree with Maryland over Rutgers as the top choice!
If you meet all the gateway requirements for Clark, you get in (not competitive admission as an internal transfer for engineering like the way it is for business). If you don't meet the requirements, don't apply until you do...? The major would remain L&S I would assume until you declare otherwise...? Good question for admitted students day.
I don't think it's a prob transferring to CompSci at all but again, a good question for admitted students day....
Depends on what route he wants to go - if he wants to go for engineering, then wait, but if is just as happy to do compsci, go for the transfer now and start from the beginning as a compsci major. He should look at the 4 year plan for each major to see which appeals to him more. My understanding is compsci is more programming. Here's the Computer engineering plan (pg 2 is easier to understand) http://www.eng.umd.edu/sites/default/files/images/current/forms/4yrplan/2012-2013/comp-4yr-acadplan-2012.pdf
here is the plan for compsci http://www.chembio.umd.edu/sites/default/4yr/CMSC.pdf but to get clarity on the classes you do need to look up the class codes on https://ntst.umd.edu/soc/ (sorry, in this case engineering is a little easier to read haha)
Hope this helps in the interim…def plan on going to admitted students day - sign up asap cause they do fill up quickly!
My son is a sophomore in engineering and absolutely loves it at MD, so please don’t eliminate MD based on this problem. He loves his classes, his teachers, the campus, the sports, the clubs, the easy transportation to get home (metro and train). Also, if you are in-state, this school is a great bargain.
From what others are saying and from reading the MD website, it truly sounds as though it is not difficult to get into Clark possibly after only one semester. I don’t think it will be difficult to get at least a B minus in the gateway classes, and it looks like one class can be repeated if the student ends up with a C. Look into freshman forgiveness.
I feel your pain. We were disappointed when our son got into honors and engineering but got no merit money. We knew others that got merit money and we felt that he had equally outstanding or better qualifications. I wrote a lot of bitter letters to scholarship committees that I never sent!
@maryversity Gave all the important information both in the about the LEPs and here.
@pacollegekid97 Clark does not admit everybody as freshman, to be honest your SAT scores were below what is typically a direct admit, but as you have learned it is not difficult to get into the engineering LEP. Your SATs were also a little low for the honors college but your GPA probably helped.
@njdad16 The major is L&S until you are admitted to an LEP or declare a non-LEP major. You have to do one or the other by 60 credits usually.
@mdhelp Are you saying that being in honors guarantees merit money? Because I know that this is not the case. There are students in honors that receive money, but there are also many that do not.
Sorry all! Forgot that not everyone may be familiar with that kind of expression. @hummingb clarified it, just because you receive honors does not mean you will be offered merit money.
For all of you who question the whole but I/my child got honors college so why not into engineering, how is that possible thing…let me try to address that. @mdhelp, please correct anything that I state incorrectly. Understand that admissions to Maryland engineering is a two stage process. It’s not that that left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. It’s that there are two different admissions committees with different sets of criteria. First your application goes to the general admission to the university, that is the first stage, and it is that committee that considers your credentials for honors/scholars/civicus/global communities, etc. Boom. Done. Now, among those that they select to admit, IF you happen to have requested a major that is a LEP, then your application goes to that school (Smith for business, Clark for engineering, etc) which looks at each application ANEW with an ENTIRELY SEPARATE admissions committee that has ITS OWN SET OF CRITERIA. They don’t care whether you are invited to any particular program like honors or scholars since that is NOT relevant in THEIR consideration.
You will note the paragraph that says “Among other things, the Clark School of Engineering looks closely at grades in math and science courses; in the past students with more A’s than B’s have been given greater consideration for acceptance. Students’ interest in STEM and participation in extra-curricular STEM-based activities are two other factors that the Clark School weighs in making acceptance decisions.”
A common question that keeps cropping up is: (and I am copying and pasting here, folks!)
Why was I not admitted to Engineering, especially given my class standing, grades and other factors?
One of the factors that the Clark School considers is students’ standardized test scores. The following points provide score ranges for students admitted to the college last year:
Combined Math/Critical Reading SAT Scores:
Average: 1414
25th Percentile: 1350
This year, the SAT/ACT ranges stand to be even higher than last year’s scores. Aside from this, however, there are a number of other factors that are considered, so there is no score or grade point average that “guarantees” admission to the Clark School.
I agree that the Engineering program looks into other aspects of your resume. I was lucky to get accepted but I really do believe that attending a 2 week summer program in engineering helped. I do not have the stats that some of the other students have and they didn’t get into Clark. In addition to my summer program I have volunteer hours through out all 4 years of high school. I did not participate in any research projects or did I take AP chemistry. So I feel that the summer program was the only other thing that stood out and showed I was serious about engineering. I really wish I was able to read my recommendation letters.
