<p>I have finished my junior year, and I'm looking to get into the University of Maryland, College Park. I have in-state safeties planned out(Frostburg, Towson, St. Mary's, etc.) and a few out-of-state considerations(U Delaware, UMASS Amherst, Temple U, etc.). UMD is instate for me, but it's still not an easy school to get into: I have many hardworking friends who didn't get in. Here's a list of my credentials:</p>
<p>UW GPA: 3.38(weighted: 3.88) General courseload: Freshman/Sophomore: Honors classes wherever possible. Extra spot in schedule used for technology rather than foreign language. Junior year: Technology, Test Prep, Honors Calculus, Honors Chemistry, Honors Modern World History, AP Language and Composition(presumably a 3, though not surprised if it's a 2). Senior year: AP Statistics, AP Psychology, Child Development, Honors English 12, leaving an open spot for an internship teaching at a middle school. </p>
<p>SATs: Critical reading is a plateau, I have bad reading comprehension abilities and I don't think I can improve much more. I love SAT math, and do well at it. In my test prep class, I often find myself helping nearly all of the other students in math, even the very smartest ones. Writing was a disappointment for me and I really want to improve.
CR: 560
W: 600
M: 740
M/CR: 1300
Total: 1900</p>
<p>Extracurriculars/Out-of-school activities:
School's Symphonic Band: 1st French Horn
Marching Band: Played Mellophone(like a trumpet, but silver-colored and has a huge bell at the end. It's in the same key as the French Horn). This year, I'm the Drum Major. Sophomore year, I was voted among the students as Outstanding Sophomore. Junior year, I was voted Outstanding Junior and Outstanding Marcher).
Comedy Club: I write and perform scripted comedy in a show, which is a series of skits that works kind of like Saturday Night Live. Removed Junior year due to budget cuts, don't know if it's returning this year. Last summer, we performed at the Capitol Fringe Festival in Washington, DC.
Cross Country: Varsity level since freshman year. Qualified for states junior year. Best time for a 5K is 18:31. I don't want to run this year, however(more on this later).
Boy Scouts: Currently a Star Scout. I don't think I'll be an Eagle, but you'll never know.
Swimming during the summer on a very low ranked swim team.
170 Service hours so far, most of which came from working the Archery range at a Cub Scout Day Camp.</p>
<p>Desired Career: I want to be a Math teacher, preferably Secondary Education.</p>
<p>Here's my first question: UMD states that foreign language is a requirement to get in(2 credits), but here, "advanced technology" is an alternative requirement for graduation that I opted for; I'm a math person and with learning disabilities being a result of my autism, will UMD take this into account or reject me because I lack foreign languages?</p>
<p>Second question: At my school, Honors English 11 and 12 were being taken away, forcing regular(for people who don't care) or AP(very rigorous) to every junior and senior. I had no intention of taking any APs in English; with my autism and terrible reading comprehension abilities, which made the class extremely difficult for me. How I managed to get a B I have no idea. This year, Honors English 11 and 12 are being returned. Will it hurt me to go from AP Lang to Hon. Eng. 12? I'm doing AP Statistics and AP Psychology, which better fit my interests than English.</p>
<p>Third: Should I retake my SAT? I read that with my Math score, more people do worse the second time than improve, but I really want to improve that Writing score of mine, where improvement/falling ratio is close to 50%.</p>
<p>Fourth: I hate cross country. I hate it SOOOO much. Coach pushes us ridiculously hard, and every day I come home cramping, stressed, and sometimes crying. Usually, about half the team is injured at a time, and when we're injured, we go on a stationary bike and have to do a cardio workout that puts my heart rate to near heart-attack range. I actually passed out from this workout once. Because of cross country, my first quarter is always my worst academically. I'm one of the team's best runners, but I really don't want to run on the team anymore, especially since I'm taking 2 APs this year(compare to 1 last year and none Freshman and Sophomore year), being the drum major of the Marching Band(guy who conducts the band), have college essays to write and research to do, and doing an internship for the first time. I think it's just too much to bear at this point. Coach actually scares me. He'll no doubt flip out at me if I tell him now that I don't want to run anymore. What do you guys think? Will it hurt my chances at UMD if I don't run this year?</p>
<p>So what are my chances at UMD? UMD acceptees, please tell me anything that may be useful to me.</p>
<p>Please, no trolling or anything of the sort. Thank you for your time!</p>