<p>At least in my school district, many/most of the kids who go to college have parents that know far less about the process than the kids do. So, while I understand xiggi's recommendation that parents keep tabs on the GCs, in the real world that lets the GCs off too easily. He's right that they will defend their turf, but there's also a natural human instinct to let someone else have his/her way if the someone else wants to do all the work and has a bigger stake in the outcome anyway. But if the expectation is that parents will do all the work, that's just another way of screwing the kids whose parents aren't sophisticated and involved.</p>
<p>do your D have a "common" name that might have caused the Uni to misfile stuff? But, yes, if MD is still desired, by all means appeal.</p>
<p>I believe that UMD requires two teacher recs in addition to the GC rec. Did the rec from her calc teacher ever get sent? They will accept school paperwork after the priority deadline as long as the application is in by Dec. 1.</p>
<p>For parents with juniors or sophs reading this, we experienced a change is GC's this year, and while I had no direct contact with the GC or the office/secretery, I did insist that D write out a request for the GC to send a recommendation for each of the U's she applied to, even ones that were state U's that did not require one. Attached to each letter was a copy of her resume. Some schools actually hand out "brag sheets" for students to list the type of EC's that a GC might not be aware of. This helped to make it so that the GC had all the appropriate info in front of her when writing the letters. We did this for teacher rec's, again even if they were not required. We asked 3 teachers for rec's, and sumitted a letter to the teacher with the resume attached. D had quite of bit of into that a GC or teacher would not know about. We never did see the GC rec, but when it later came time for scholarship letters, the same 3 teachers redid the letters and gave D a copy for outside scholarships. The letters were written with info from the resume, and went WAY beyond the call of duty. I thought that D needed to make sure that those writing rec's had a full picture of her. I think it also made it much easier for those involved to put out a rec. In her letter, D never asked to see any rec's, never asked for specific info to be written about, just asked for a rec and provided the resume.</p>
<p>To the OP, I think you should considerhaving D email, call or visit (if you are instate) to inquire as to whether there was missing info, incorrect info in the file, and as to whether there is an appeal process. If this is where she really wants to go, and there is a process to appeal, she can go for it. I would take the attitude that "oh my gosh, something went wrong", not one of anger, accusations of sabotage, etc. Let it be just a 17/18 yo who wants to try to understand what happened and try to rectify via appeal.</p>
<p>This is also a good reason why one should considered contacting an admissions rep the spring or summer before senior year at the colleges or U's one plans to apply to. Even if it is a large instate or out of state U that says it does not assign counselors. We got that rec from someone here on CC and we did that at D's top choice. We emailed prior to a visit the summer before, and a few times during the application process to just touch base and ask questions. It was a reach for her, and I wanted her to simply have someone who she could email if she were ultimately deferred in the early round to find out exactly what she could do to improve her chances later. Turns out she was accepted, and we did not need to do this. But it would have come in handy if she had not been accepted to have someone who "knew" her more than just her application.</p>
<p>CBK, does your school have SAT scores on the transcript that get sent, even if you only want ACT scores sent? We encountered this. Our official transcript has every thing imaginable on it: all SAT scores, all ACT scores, all AP scores, all SAT II scores, all immunizations (yep, on the transcript.) It goes whether you want it to or not. And in our state (Florida) some U's have online access and it doesn't even get "sent." It is all just there to be seen. The reason I ask is that on other posts, you mentioned your D only scored 1700 ish on the SAT, and scored a 590 on an SAT II. It is entirely plausable that your HS sends transcripts with this info, even if you did not have them sent via College Board. If this is true, and if you are OOS, that may be what happened. Perhaps with a range of scores, they felt there was an inconsistancy. I am just guessing here, just trying to help you understand.</p>
<p>
I addressed that back in post 17. Top 25% is top 25%. Now, while it is a very good score for UMD-CP it is still an un-common test. Look at the CDS. 98% submit the SAT and the school doesn't even publish it's ACT stats.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Left out yearbook editor info
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</p>
<p>
[quote]
Left out math AP calculus teacher rec
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</p>
<p>
[quote]
Lackluster counselor rec (she cheers on classmates)
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</p>
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Recommendation referred to her as "solid young man"
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</p>
<p>If UMD has an appeals process, this case was made to order for it. Call and find out how to appeal an admissions decision and see if that's a possibility. (Assuming the top 10 percent rule doesn't apply in an ironclad way.)</p>
<p>It's possible that this sort of incompetence, or deliberate sabotage, could sink her with private college apps as well. She may want to take a gap year and try again. Do a search on parents forum for the story of "andison" for encouragement about what a difference a gap year can make. </p>
<p>Document all these errors. Then make an appointment to see her boss, the principal or the head of guidance (at our school, that's the assistant principal for curriculum and guidance) and lay out your grievance about this. Be polite, but firm. If you decide to appeal, you want assistance from someone at the school other than her GC to write a new rec for her. Perhaps there's a very experience senior guidance counselor who could step in. </p>
<p>Also, make it very clear that you do not want your son assigned to this particular GC when he gets to the high school. This is a time to ask specifically for someone, so ask around to other parents and find out which counselor is considered the best or most experienced and ask for that one. </p>
<p>If you are unhappy with the treatment you receive from the h.s. administration, complain up the ladder. With your documentation, meet with the Supt of schools and if necessary, specific members of the school board. If nothing else, you should be able to make sure that your son is not victimized by this GC's unprofessionalism.</p>
<p>
xiggi warned me about this a looooong time ago and I pass along his warning often. Nothing went anywhere without us seeing it first. We had the GC redact all test results and I'll be danged, the TAKS (Texas) results showed up anyway. (They were in an unusual spot and neither D nor I saw them until too late). Glad they were good.;))</p>
<p>Just remember if you don't send the scores to your high school, and you DO get a great score. Remember to send that one to your GC or she'll never know that you are competitive for some national awards and scholarships that come through the high school itself. Trust me on this one. I'd know. I built a great trap door and then fell right in it. ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
but honestly, don't think she would even go after the slap/sting
[/quote]
I understand the emotion but if this does turn out to be a mistake, hopefully she won't base her opinion of the entire school on an error made by a clerk, adcom, or HS GC.</p>
<p>I'm a UMd alum and two of my kids have applied-- one acceptance and one rejection. </p>
<p>A few things:
- Are you out of state? That rejection is very possible if you're out of state. (Sorry.) I looked at our school's naviance and, while most students were accepted with 1390 SATs, not all were. Then again, your daughter had 1700 SATs and 31 ACT. If the SAT was on the transcript and it was used, yes, there is a very good chance of rejection.
- The average gpa of kids being accepted at Md from our school is a 4.0 weighted. Your daughter's gpa was probably similar but it's not high for Md.
- Were there 2 recs? They do ask for 2 recs. </p>
<p>Listen, Md is very, very institutional. It's hard to get things done with them over the phone. Find out if you can go <strong><em>in person</em></strong>. It's the best piece of advice I ever got about Md. Ask two teachers for sealed recs and get another rec about her Intel project. Take it down to them with the sealed transcript and explain your case. Also take down a letter requesting a reconsideration. If you can't see anyone past the front counter, at least hand them everything with that letter in a big manila envelope-- and be sure to explain that Maryland is your daughter's first choice and you are requesting a reconsideration because you understand there may have been some errors by the high school. Include your daughter's best stats on the letter (the 31 ACT and the Intel-- not her gpa and not her SAT). </p>
<p>A little story about Md... Years ago, my daughter applied. According to the online 'check status,' everything was in on time. Yet, we never heard their decision. When all her acceptances and rejections were in, I realized that, if accepted to Md, she would go so I called and pushed (around the end of May maybe). Anyway, they told me they had never evaluated her at ALL! They just forget her. We got a letter in July denying her. I really think she would have had a good chance back in Jan-- but in July, with a full class, her credentials didn't stand out. This is a school were time counts. You need to get on this now-- but I would do what I can in person.</p>
<p>Regarding the guidance counselor, it is probably incompetence. Go over her head but don't make it sound personal. Around here, the heads of guidance protect their staff. I would go to the principal. I have declared war on a guidance counselor in my time and I found-- much to my surprise-- that they were MORE careful from then on. If your son gets the same woman, she might double-check everything with him because she won't want to tango with you. The key to that, though, is to be right and respectful. If you start saying sabotage or start yelling and screaming, the administration will just dismiss you as a nut-- even if they drove you to it. </p>
<p>Let us know what happens.</p>
<p>As others have said, MD is mainly stats driven. An article in Balto or DC paper yesterday said that they are accepting 200 less freshman this year than last. Their applicatons, like almost everywhere, are way up. More students accepted the Honors offer last year than expected and no was was allowed to apply at midtem as is usually the case.</p>
<p>However I would talk to the GC about the recommendation. There is no excuse for referring to a student by the wrong pronoun. The GC was, at the least, extremely sloppy.</p>
<p>I wish your daughter the best with the rest of her applications and I agree that this is MD's loss.</p>
<p>Here's the article cmbmom referenced. The Baltimore Sun reported that they have over 27,000 applications for 4,050 seats.</p>
<p>Whoa, relatively low ACT score??? </p>
<p>Sorry, but an ACT score of 31 to those of you unfamiliar with this test is pretty dang high! The national composite average is about 21-23 range, best I can remember. IMO, this young woman's ACT score is highly competitive for a state university regardless of in-state or out-of-state!</p>
<p>
[quote]
At least in my school district, many/most of the kids who go to college have parents that know far less about the process than the kids do. So, while I understand xiggi's recommendation that parents keep tabs on the GCs, in the real world that lets the GCs off too easily. He's right that they will defend their turf, but there's also a natural human instinct to let someone else have his/her way if the someone else wants to do all the work and has a bigger stake in the outcome anyway. But if the expectation is that parents will do all the work, that's just another way of screwing the kids whose parents aren't sophisticated and involved.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Points well taken, JHS. </p>
<p>I targeted my suggestion towards the parents because I assume that the student does have a vested interest in the process. We all know that the most successful applications are led by the ... beneficiary. However, if there is a MAJOR role for the parents to play is the one of master "organizer" and calendar keeper. Ultimately, the process works best when everyone does his or her part ... and check over the shoulders of the others. </p>
<p>Fwiw, I believe that there students might be brushed off more easily than parents. And then there are the schedules that do preclude long waiting times in front of the GC office. Of course, not all schools are the same! </p>
<p>The main lesson here is that mistakes do happen, especially by well-meaning individuals.</p>
<p>It took me a while to find it, but I knew it would be out there somewhere-
[quote]
University of Maryland has seen an increase in the number of students submitting ACT scores for consideration, according to Shannon Gundy, senior associate director of undergraduate admissions. Gundy explains that ACT and SAT scores are given the same weight in the admissions process, so students should send the result for the test on which they scored highest.
"We will use the scores that work most to the student's advantage," says Gundy.
[/quote]
There has been a long running argument on CC as to whether schools will actually do what they say (the "trust them at the word" position). xig and I have always questioned it (the "why risk it? If you don't have to" position.) </p>
<p>It is my oft-stated belief that in scholarship committee meetings they will dang sure use the lower score to separate conjoinedapplicants . Here, with a dramatic difference between the scores, do we really think UMD did what they said they'd do? Or is the poster right who thinks the 1700 may have killed the applicant, even with a very good ACT in the file?</p>
<p>CBK's D (posting under CBK) posted at one point that she had a 2250. Was this on practice tests and not the real thing?</p>
<p>Curm,
UMD was very clear at student/parent presentations last fall that they would look at the best scores, from whichever test, period.</p>
<p>I know, CD but I just have a little too much skeptic in me to fully believe that they can get that lower score completely out of their minds. I WANT to believe, but can't - hence the fall into the trap of my own making I mentioned earlier. ;)</p>
<p>I'm wondering if the "solid young man" your GC refers to is the same person whose transcripts were sent in place of your daughter's.</p>
<p>CD IOW I have a job where I often ask people under oath if they can ignore a negative they heard about my client. Now after the judge's admonishment that they must disregard the brutal/sexy/dramatic (negative thing they just heard), I rarely have anyone admit they can't do that ........but it never seems to work out just that way. ;)</p>
<p>Lawyers call it "the skunk in the jury box".
You may get rid of the skunk, but the stink lingers.</p>
<p>Wow, I think that no matter if SAT scores were sent or not, this family deserves the right to know how on earth the GC, in good faith, could send a rec with such a blatant mistake. I also think, based on that alone, that I would ask to speak to someone in admissions to find out what other mistakes were made on my child's app. This is appalling. I find it appalling that the GC would also take the last three days of November off, knowing there were December 1 deadlines. I don't know if I would be able to hold my tongue if I were in this (the OP's) position. I don't know if it's possible, but I would ask of UM to review, with me, every piece of mail they received from my D's high school that made it to her folder. This is just wrong.</p>