This is the info originally posted in 2012 by astrophysicsmom (who is no longer active on college confidential), with just a few minor updates. The info is still the best advice ever! Welcome to Terp Nation!
If you are remotely considering attending UMD, sign up for housing NOW. Don't wait until you decide if you are going to go (or if you are waiting to hear from other schools). If you wait until the last minute, you most likely will end up in a triple. Even rooms that are planned to be a triple are a tight squeeze. If you decide not to attend UMD, you will need to cancel your housing request IN ADDITION to telling the office of admissions that you're not going to attend.
After accepting the admit offer, Sign up and get your UMD email and UID sooner than later. You'll need it to register, I think you'll need it to take the math placement exam, and it is amazing how many people arrive at their orientation/registration in the summer with no idea that they were supposed to have done this.
The UMD.edu website can be cryptic at first, but get familiar with pages that pertain to you....your major, your department, any special programs you are in, requirements for taking the Math placement exam and what it means, and get extremely familiar with Testudo (testudo.umd.edu) ...look at the schedule of courses for courses offered in Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 so you can start getting an idea of what courses are offered, etc.
As soon as you confirm that you are going to attend UMD and get the info from the Orientation Office, sign up for an Orientation session this summer. The spots are limited by each Dept/College, and DO get filled. DO NOT ASK for a special Orientation session. They hear all the excuses, reasoning, etc., but if you can't make one of the summer sessions, you'll need to go at the end of the summer. You'll still have classes to choose from, but they won't be at the most convenient times, nor with the most preferred professors.
Check out OURUMD.com, an awesome student-created website that is what most students refer to when checking out professors (much better than RATEMYPROFESSOR)...it has actual distributions of grades for courses by that professor, etc. update: this site has not been updated with new info for the past few years, so many newer profs have no info...however, the info on those profs that have been there for a while is still helpful. Take it with a grain of salt in the sense that only those motivated by a really positive or really negative experience are likely to have commented. Try to read between the lines because what is a problem for one student may work well for another.
update to #3 (oops, sorry)
the website is now http://www.testudo.umd.edu
and you should click on schedule of classes to see courses offered Fall 2016 and Spring 2017
Hi! Do you know if it is possible to appeal to go from Scholars to Honors? I was really hoping to get into the Honors College so I could attend the ACES program, which is my top choice and the reason why I applied to UMD. Since my application was submitted I am now able to superscore a 33 ACT and have improved my cumulative GPA by .06 to a 3.84.
To apply for housing, we would need to submit the Enrollment confirmation form and fee first, right? We’ll still be able to cancel in case we change our minds?
@mynameisx, congratulations on becoming a terp! As far as appealing the scholars decision I would consider it more of a request to switch to honors. My daughter (currently a sophomore) did the same thing when she got her decision. So it is very much possible. I don’t recall if there was a deadline in doing so, but it can be done. Contact admissions I believe. Again congratulations and good luck
@chardu000 - There is NO fee for submitting the Housing Form. Just make sure you notify Reslife if you decide not to attend. You do NOT need to enroll to submit the Housing Form.
@maryversity et al: my son is admitted with mechanical eng major and Clarks school of eng as “advising college” but the decision also says that he is admitted to Global Communities program. Not sure what this means really and cannot find much info (all threads date back to 2006). Any opinion, info, advice would be great!
Regarding housing: My son just tried to sign up for housing but cannot until he has formally accepted UMD’s admission offer. You must have a university email to sign up, and you only get that AFTER you accept their offer of admission. I guess they’re doing things differently this year . . .
In addition, it sounds like the housing agreement is binding: “The University’s housing and meals agreement is legally binding upon its receipt by the Department of Resident Life. No student should submit the housing and meals agreement without being prepared to accept and pay for housing and meal services or without having read its terms and conditions.”
@Lovestoread - It;s been 3 years since my D was accepted, but I think she was able to create Directory ID and password, prior to enrolling and then submitted her housing form But she did actually enroll not very long after being accepted, so my memory may be faulty.
So, I would recommend trying to create a Directory ID and password. When my D did it, the ID was restricted to 8 characters and it is not something that you can change later.
I believe the Housing agreement always had those words, but you can cancel it by notifying it before July (I’m not sure of the exact date) You can also call ResLife to clarify this point
How was she able to switch to Honors? Did she call the admissions office and explain why she wanted to switch? I want to switch so I can try to get into the ACES program, I’ve been really excited about it for a year or so and it’s the reason why I applied to UMD
@Lovestoread I agree with @SoofDad yesterday I went back into my acceptance letter and opened the Admitted Freshman Checklist and one of the numbers mentions creating a Directory ID (which you can do 24 hours after receiving your decision) and you input some information to verify who you are, (DOB, last 5 of SSN, last name) and then it allows you to create your directory ID (which will also be your email). Then you can fill out the Housing and Dining Agreement, as long as you don’t sign and submit you’re not making any commitment just yet but at least you’d have it already filled out and ready to go. You can do all of this without enrolling just yet, just remember not to sign and submit the Housing and Dining Agreement because that like you said is binding.
Thank you to Maryversity for the wide range of input! It has been really helpful to read the threads here and my son has become quite excited about UMD and the Honors program!
My son is filling out his housing request and on the signature page it says:
I will cancel in writing, if plans change, and pay significant late fees if cancel request is received after July 1, for Fall semester (after December 1, for Spring semester).
To those who were asking about binding contract.
