My DD is applying to UMCP for engineering and she is in the top 5 to 6% of her class and her SAT scores are 760M, 710CR and 750 CR. She has a lot of extracurriculars and is president of both Model UN and Mock Trial. Her unweighted GPA is about a 95%.
I think she will get into the UMCP but I am uncertain of Clark.
Thanks in advance.
Great question! Kudos to you for asking that, as I’ve seen so many people make assumptions about admissions to Clark that are incorrect. Understanding that it is a LEP (limited enrollment program), the Clark School of Engineering has declined direct admission to many stellar students that have great stats. Excellent students often are surprised and confused that they are admitted to honors college at Maryland, but not to engineering. Clearly, the fact that you have posed the question indicates you are already aware of this, so I am responding not just for you, but for others to understand as well.
So, yes, your daughter has “the stats” per se (fyi, they only consider M and CR, not writing portion), but you are correct that having the stats alone is no guarantee to admission to Clark. There are definitely other factors for Clark…please understand my comments are personal opinions only. I cannot speak for the school, and I have no insider knowledge of the specifics of what they actually do consider (just a mom of a senior (!) MechE student).
However, I’m fairly confident that some of the things they consider would be what classes has she taken that are related to engineering/does she have any activities that are related to engineering/has she demonstrated interest in engineering in any way. So, the fact that you mentioned she is president of her school’s Model UN and Mock Trial specifically, I personally think that’s great but not relevant for engineering. It shows leadership, yes, and good verbal/public speaking skills, but not sure how that translates to an interest in engineering. Of course, if her school does not have any activities that are related to engineering, that’s something to consider also. Being female will help, but not compensate. Understand I am not making a guess as to her chances, just trying to give my opinion/insight into the admissions for engineering from my perspective.
The best thing she can do is make sure she applies by the priority deadline of Nov. 1. It’s not a commitment, but it gives her the best shot, without question.
Best of luck 
Thanks. She spent a week at RPI last summer and has built a roller coaster in the past. But to be honest she may be better suited to a university of Rochester, Case or WPI given Her background.
“She spent a week at RPI last summer and has built a roller coaster in the past.”
That’s actually very helpful - I would highlight those in some way as they are more applicable and demonstrate interest in engineering…but that’s just my opinion.
“But to be honest she may be better suited to a university of Rochester, Case or WPI given Her background.”
How so? What is her background? And does she have an interest in a particular discipline of engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, etc)?
FYI, not sure if you saw this or not, but here is some info I put together about engineering at Maryland that might be helpful for you
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1732708-everything-you-want-to-know-about-engineering-at-maryland-p1.html
My DD is interested in ME/Mechatronics/Robotics but I think she would be better suited at a school that has a more liberal arts side to it, given her interest in writing alos. Not that any of those schools that I listed are exactly liberal arts colleges, but FWIU in a school like Rochester there is a great deal of interaction between sciences and non-sciences. WPI is a tech school but there is a liberal arts undercurrent there.
I get a bit concerned that the larger the university the more siloed the various schools and departments become.
In state Maryland ?
Stats look good, you don’t mention AP classes, depending on the school/county, people can take up to a dozen … I think for engineering and honors at Md, you have to “take the most rigorous program your school offers” … they are both selective.
and UMd can be fickle or all the top 2% of your class could apply (and maybe not go) or, well, all good schools get more applications every year. Everyone sees the tuition bargain and says … hey, what’s wrong with Maryland. So I would pick and choose some other state schools (GaTech - more selective, maybe, VaTech, Delaware, Purdue), some privates (either full pay, merit or FA) and maybe some reaches and UMBC (fine edu) or peers.
AP credit can also really affect what is practical, in terms of adding liberal arts. If you get AP Physics C, CalcBC, AP Chem done, there is a lot of time left. If you take mostly AP english, history, etc, you already have all these classes done, so liberal arts classes are optional.
In terms of liberal arts offerings, big schools have well, more. Also, UMCP has a thriving honors program that she may get into. One of the options is classical liberal arts and they also have research oriented and even cybersecurity living learning communities. The honors liberal arts offerings are pretty extensive, science maybe not as much.
You can also use AP credit for double major or minor or whatever.
Engineering is pretty intense and there are often just 8 or so non-technical electives to take. you really have to look closely to see what would really be practical in terms of minors, double majors, dabbling while still getting through the slew of difficult classes freshman and sophomore years. A bright student can just load on the humanities as extra classes, but it could hurt GPA or just be exhausting (reading 19th century lit novels in an all nighter since that was the only time I had free to read, but I loved the class sessions, top notch at Rutgers).
There are some advantages to Rochester, Case, etc … but engineering is sort of grinder major almost everywhere. I would also carefully read how a particular school handles engineering electives, I think they all have a different flavor.
Actually, Maryland is really a pioneer at integrating different disciplines/departments. Have you seen my posts about QUEST? It is specifically designed to teach students with various backgrounds how to work together as a team to get better results by capitalizing on different strengths to solve problems more effectively. It is designed for business students, engineers and computers, math and natural science students.http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-programs/quest/what-quest
The thing that appealed to my son the most about Maryland was the interdisciplinary training. When he looked at the nitty gritty of specific courses for mechanical engineering and compared between schools, Maryland’s curriculum stood out. A lot of schools don’t include electronics and instruments training as part of MechE coursework. Here is Maryland’s 4 year plan- the class titles are on the second page https://eng.umd.edu/sites/default/files/me-4yr-acadplan-2012.pdf
As for her interest in mechatronics/robotics, there is http://www.robotics.umd.edu and http://www.isr.umd.edu/research. There is a special day for showcasing robotics research/projects/programs every fall and as soon as I find out the date I will post it…that would be a really good day to visit!
Pickone1 is correct that, “In terms of liberal arts offerings, big schools have well, more.” The gen ed requirements options are quite extensive and there are options some that are new each semester.
We are NY residents. By the time DD graduates she will have 6 AP classes including Calc BC and Physics. She could have squeezed in AP Chem but chose not to.
Thanks for the links @maryversity ! UMCP is on our list of schools. It does seem to have a more modern take on undergraduate engineering education than most large schools.
DD is also interested in GaTech but I have the feeling that school would chew her up and spit her out.
Glad to help…let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer or point you in the right direction.
Since your daughter is interested in the same major as my son, I can probably answer a lot of your questions. Feel free to pm me if you want.
FYI, I have one comment about the AP Chem…all engineering students have to take Chemistry for Engineers. Not a huge deal, but more challenging than taking Chem AP exam. So, if there is still an opportunity that your daughter can add it to her schedule for senior year and take the AP exam, she might want to give that serious consideration. Chemistry for Engineers is a very tough class. Fortunately, my son was fine, but he had a lot of friends that missed dean’s list because of that class (dean’s list is 3.5 and Maryland uses the +/- grading, so an A- is 3.7, a B+ is 3.3, a B is 3.0, etc, so there is a significant difference).
On the other hand, if your daughter is already taking several AP’s in her senior year, she probably does not want to kill herself…senioritis is a highly contagious disease that can be quite devastating…senior year is stressful enough with college apps!
FWIW, my son eliminated GA Tech because he wanted a little more diversity in the student population (read females) but I don’t think that’s a concern for your daughter, haha. That does bring up a different concern though. Your daughter should look at and compare all the WIE (Women in Engineering) programs at each school. Let me know if you didn’t see the links for Maryland’s…