<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm an junior in HS, and I was wondering how Spring admission works? Does one choose Fall or Spring, or do the admission committees defer a student to spring? Then, if one is accepted for Spring Semester, how does he or she catch up/take mandatory fall classes? I checked Testudo, and UMCP does not offer a lot of "fall courses" in the spring. Also, is Freshman Connections the only option to take fall classes?</p>
<p>Junior interested in UMD College Park</p>
<p>I dont think one gets to choose whether they want to go to spring or fall, (but if one did Im positive the person would choose fall semester) you are admitted into either spring or fall or admitted into spring and wait listed for fall
I think if you're admited in spring you can take fall classes but you wont be able to live on campus</p>
<p>dont take my complete word for it because I was admitted into fall but this is what some current freshman connection students have said....</p>
<p>Ok... is one applies to a LEP program, does that affect Fall or Spring admission facet? If anyone has an answer, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>no it doesnt affect you...
if you're not admitted into a LEP program you'll be placed in letters and sciences
but what will probably affect you is your SAT scores to get into a LEP program...if you dont have a "high enough" SAT score you wont get into the LEP program </p>
<p>UMD basis alot of their descisions on SATs and thats soo sad...
i wouldnt be surprised if they didnt read the essays...or niche questions (>.<)</p>
<p>They def. read the essays for the honors, gemstone and scholars. I am not saying that they read everybody's essay, but if you are eligible for these programs, the essay, especially the niche determines the program.</p>
<p>Although it may be sad that the weight of an SAT plays such a large importance...UMD has a large applicant pool from not only the nation, but the world, with gpas being variables (weighted, vs uw) the SAT and AP gives a clear cut picture of the knowledge that has been obtained when comparing everybody. The are people who are poor test takers and this might be seen as not being PC, but the reality is you will take tests in college, in some classes that will be the bulk of your grade...i.e. STATS, ECON, and most mathematical or scientific classes. The school knows that and that is why the SAT weighs heavily in scoring. Unless you are looking at a LAC, that is true for every other prestigious university. Look at UVA and UNCCH, the SATs are a part of their recruitment. UMD with ea yr is fighting to move up that national university ladder, the SAT scores are superscored, which means the scores are just going to continue to rise. 20 yrs ago when you could only take them 2x before they started averaging the scores (very few people took them 3 times). A high SAT was close to the 1300, now that seems to actually be on the lower end, with the median pushing close to 1400. Look around at the stats and you will see very impressive scores for a state university...4 yrs from now my guess is the SAT 50% will be about 100 pts higher for acceptance....esp if the economy remains this way...many parents saved (we did), but with the stock market plummeting daily we are now selling our stocks at a loss (it is now equal to what it was in 97)</p>
<p>BACK on topic</p>
<p>Freshman connection exists to prove that you can handle UMD courses. They believe in you, but compared to other applicants on paper, you need a little more proof. You do not apply for freshman (or at least I have never seen that) they determine it when reviewing your app.</p>
<p>Starting next year applicants can also pick and choose which SAT scores they send in.
You can take the test 4 or 5 times and just send in the two highest, so you will see a shift across the board on higher SAT scores being reported to schools. The College Board has figured out how to make more money...and catch up to the ACT advantage.</p>
<p>The purpose of Freshmen Connection is not for students to prove they can handle UMD courses as a previous poster said!! It allows spring admits an option to take courses in the fall during off peak times between 3pm and 9pm Monday - Thursday and on Friday from 10-4 if they want to be a part of the UMD campus prior to January and also graduate in June 2013. Students in the program can participate in all campus activities with the exception of varsity sports. They do not have on campus housing. Spring admits also have the choice of taking classes elsewhere in the Fall, doing community service, working, traveling, etc. The FAQ section of the office of extended studies gives a thorough overview of the program. From UMD's standpoint it allows the school to balance enrollment due to openings resulting from december graduation and spring study abroad programs. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>I think you might have read into my post wrong...what I am stating is that according to admissions, although you are qualified for UMD, there were other students more qualified and thus you need to prove yourself some more. From what I understand there are some regs that must be fulfilled to gain spring admit...i.e. gpa, whereas that same gpa as a fall admit might put them on academic probation it does not stop them from registering for spring.</p>
<p>Freshman connection also have dedicated private counselors to assist during the fall. It is a correct assumption that Freshman connection will allow you to graduate on time with all of your credits from UMDCP. I believe the total number that I read was there are about 900 students</p>
<p>If you look at the FAQs, UMD even states
[quote]
Because there are so many highly qualified applicants and not enough placement spaces, a number of students are offered admission for the spring semester
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
You are encouraged to take a full academic load. Full-time status for Maryland undergraduate students is based on registration for 12 or more credits per semester. Freshmen Connection students usually take ENGL 101, 1 Math course, 2-3 CORE courses, and must take UNIV 100 (around 13-16 credits total). Tuition is charged at a flat rate for up to 16 credits, so you should take at least 13 credits.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Univ 100 is a course that fall admits can place out of and is not mandatory. English 101 is also a course fall admits can validate. Thus, these are traditional freshman courses that UMD believes the spring admit needs to be successful.</p>
<p>As I said before it is basically an honor to be invited into this program and UMD has faith in the student, but feels there is more of a need for a closer connection with the University in the Fall semester. Freshman connection is a terrific program and much better than being told flat out...NOT ACCEPTED.</p>
<p>Here's the link Frequently</a> Asked Questions</p>
<p>CC is a great source for information but I recommend that everyone contact the schools directly to verify what you hear on these threads. Again, I would like to relay the information I received directly from 2 UMD admissions contacts. Spring admits have no additional requirements and do not need "prove themselves more"!! Period.</p>
<p>Also, all freshmen are required to take UNIV 100 (which serves as an introduction to the university) and English 101 is required unless you place out of it - regardless of whether or not you are a fall or spring admit.</p>
<p>DS did not take Univ 100 (he placed out)... it is not required for all freshman, he is a freshman currently. He also placed out of Eng 101 and is not req to take a eng course until his soph yr (He could take it now, but has determined to take other courses upon the advice of his counselor). This too is not required for everybody. Placement tests will occur after you accept your admittance offer. Your APs can and will validate certain courses. You can place out of many Core reqs if they are high enough scores for an AP. You will take a Math and Eng. placement test.</p>
<p>I also agree that you should contact the school directly and spend time looking through the web pages...nobody can give you enough info to answer all of your questions only Freshman connection advisor can. Again they have special advisors for freshman connection. All CC can do is give links and personal experience, which is not a substitute for talking to somebody employed by UMD...there is no such thing as a stupid question.</p>
<p>One thing UMD does a great job at is plotting your college career. You will meet them several times a yr, they review your grades, and courses that you want to take. You will meet them for orientation, than mid-term and again before registering for the next semester. They will be well aware of the grades you currently have...struggling in a course might mean that they drect you into a different class...performing high may result in them allowing you to jump into a higher course. With that info they plot out your course, which may change if you determine to change majors. They also will work with you on determining the best courses for your path, your core concentration also known as your minor.. Trust in them they will not lead you astray!</p>
<p>BTW it is still being misread re proving themselves more...anybody who has been selected as spring admit/freshman connection are students that didn't make it due to space limitations. UMD is huge and many fall admits will falter due to class size, freshmen connection allows a more personal relationship, which in turn will create a higher success. Many students get lost in the JUST A NUMBER situation,the most positive thing about freshman connection is it places an emphasis on the student/advisor relationship...the FAQs stress this.</p>
<p>Here are the core courses thta Freshman connection can chose from...again I suggest that anybody accepted into the program take it as a feather in their cap and enjoy the ability to be a TERP
<a href="http://www.fc.umd.edu/downloads/FC2009_Courses_by_Core.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.fc.umd.edu/downloads/FC2009_Courses_by_Core.pdf</a></p>
<p>UMD wasn't my D's first choice but now I think I'm seeing an advantage to the Spring Admission. Since you don't have to answer back until November, you can enroll elsewhere and if for some reason you don't like the other school, you could enroll at UMD in the Spring. Does anybody know if that's legit??? My other D went to UDel first semester hated it and transferred to Rutgers, but had to go through the transfer process. I'm hoping lightning doesn't strike twice...but you never know.</p>
<p>I'm a Maryland taxpayer. My D (a minor) was accepted into the Spring Admission program/Freshman Connection at UM CP. I am concerned about this and I would urge other Maryland parents and taxpayers to speak up about this.</p>
<p>We visited the Admissions office. There's not a dorm for the Freshman Connection kids. They referred us to a private apartment building several miles away. It was a nice building, but there's no R.A., no supervision, no bus on Sundays, it's too far to walk, there's some crime in the area there, and it's $800 monthly with a 12 month minimum. The students are limited to Fall classes after 3 PM and the choices are few. There are no lab science classes available then. In Spring, they become regular students but again there is no dorm guaranteed. The admissions officer just threw up his hands saying that my D was qualified but they had a space problem.</p>
<p>The problem is that there are only approx 8500 dorm beds for 23,000 undergraduates. The Freshman class is now only about 4200 students partly because of that. This is why they have the Spring admit program consisting now of 500 students. They have built many things at College Park recently, but they have not addressed the dorm situation properly.</p>
<p>Is this what you want your freshman son or daughter to experience? Is this what college should be like - living off campus, limited class selection, limited supervision, out beyond walking distance, no classes before 3 PM?</p>
<p>This strikes me as an embarrassment to the taxpayers of Maryland. I would also submit that in Maryland we have only one nationally known full service research state university. Other states have several (VA has UVA, Va Tech, W & M; PA has Penn State and Pitt; Ohio has Ohio State and Miami U; IN has IU and Purdue; etc). So I would submit that our tax dollars have not been served well.</p>
<p>If you are a Marylander who agrees with me, please write to your state delegate and senator. You can find them at <a href="http://www">www</a>. Maryland.gov Do you think that the University of MD at College Park has behaved responsibly?</p>
<p>Upset parent, I'm not going to argue most of that note of concern; however, there is one key thing that I believe you are missing: your daughter was given an opportunity. Would you have preferred spring admittance to the university or flat out denial? If they didn't offer a spring admit program, the latter would be the only thing available. </p>
<p>That being said, perhaps they do need to re-evaluate adding dorms, but I don't believe that this is the best time considering the current economic situation. Look at California right now, we are currently CUTTING spots at all of our Universities except for Berkeley. I'm in the top 6% of my class and did not get into a single UC that I applied to. There may be problems, but it could be far worse.</p>
<p>My S was a Freshman Connection student last year. As a parent I was concerned about him living off campus, taking late afternoon/evening classes, etc. Because UMD was his first choice, he enrolled. Happily, he had a great time academically and socially. As a sophomore he is now living in a dorm on-campus. He is still doing well academically but he enjoyed the social aspects of college life more last year, much to my surprise. His best friends are those fellow Freshman Connection students he lived with and went to classes with last year and he plans to move just off-campus next year with those same friends. Bottom line - I was concerned about the Freshman Connection program, but everything worked out fine. The Freshman Connection classes were small, so he got individual attention when he needed it, and there appears to have been a strong social bond among all of the students who participated in Freshman Connection. I am sure it's not right for all students, but for my S it was perfect.</p>