Banneker Key Scholarship Questions

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

I don’t want this to necessarily be a direct chance me but more of a discussion on how I can make myself as competitive as possible for the scholarship.

I know that there is no real way to determine my chances because of the varying results but anything is better than nothing :smile:

So my stats are:
Demographics

  • US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: In state
  • Type of high school (Regular school, doesn’t have great rankings):
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (African-American(Born in Africa)):
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, URM):

Intended Major(s): Computer Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: IDK(School only shows Weighted)
  • Weighted HS GPA (so far I have a 4.06, but will at least be a 4.1 before the end of High School):
  • Class Rank: School doesn’t rank
  • PSAT Score: 1070(This was really bad but was during my freshman year)

Coursework

9th Grade:
English(Honors): A
Geometry: A
US History(Honors, there was no AP US History in the school I went to):A
Biology(Regular):A
Spanish 1:A
Foundations of Comp Sci: A
Chorus: A
Personal Fitness(This was only for a semester): A
Health (This was only for a semester): B (this was because they didn’t count the last quarter that I got an A in because of COVID)

10th Grade(END OF YEAR PREDICTIONS):
Algebra 2: A
Chem (Honors): A
English (Honors): Pretty sure I’m gonna have a low A/High B by end of this year
Spanish 2: Pretty sure I’m gonna have a low A by end of this year
Chorus: A
AP Gov: A
Homeland Security: A
Physical Training: A

Awards
Principal Honor Roll

Extracurriculars
Founder and President of CS Club in my school
Debate Team(1 yr)
Participated in many hackathons
Volunteering This Summer(Tutoring Math)
(I know that I need more, I’m doing the Congressional App Challenge, and may start a school newsletter)

I know that I need more Awards and EC’s, do you have any suggestions on activities I can do to get more competitive in those areas??

Thanks in Advance!!

2

Hey! You’re on a great path so far, but Banneker Key is always kind of weird. IIRC, in-state gives you a better shot. You don’t need more ECs just for a college application–do things because you love them, not because you think they’ll look good. Continue to develop depth and leadership in your current activities, and take opportunities as they come up. If you want to get awards, see if your school or a neighboring school has a list of awards to submit to.

3

I recommend reading the following thread.

4

Thank you so much.

I’m really trying to do what I love and still be competitive but doing CS in UMD isn’t rly original since it’s a pretty popular major.

I’m thinking about starting a newsletter for my school that talks about anything(from tech to SAT prep etc.) but I would like to have another student co-founder since I already started my school’s CS Club by myself.

From what I know my school doesn’t offer many awards, but I’m thinking about maybe organizing a CS hackathon type event(virtually) for CS Clubs in my county but Im not sure.

5

You HS college counselor should provide a list community scholarship that students can apply to (probably to seniors.)

6

Hi, my GC does do that, and you are correct, it mainly is for seniors, but I may have to ask her for more sophomore tailored scholarships.