Chances at UMD - College Park?

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

<p>I'm a rising Senior....just got done with Junior year</p>

<p>Stats: </p>

<p>GPA: ~3.5 unweighted, ~4.0 weighted, these will hopefully be a bit higher by the end of first semester Senior year.
PSAT: 130 on Math and Verbal overall, 66 on verbal, 64 on math (This was kind of rushed though, only taken for AP Lang as an assignment)
ACT: Take this saturday...
SAT: Took yesterday...</p>

<p>Classes this year:
AP Psychology (A's)
AP US History (A's)
AP English Language & Comp. (A's)
Precalculus Honors (C 1st Sem., brought it up to a B for 2nd sem.)
Physics Honors (B 1st Sem., brought it up to an A for 2nd sem.)
Debate VI Honors (A's)
Government Honors (A's)
Health (A's)</p>

<p>Extra-Curric: </p>

<p>Debate Team (~325 NFL Points...for those who know what those are), this is my passion, I've competed in 5 different event categories as well, and placed in 3 of them (Student Congres, Oral Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Public Forum, Policy)
President of Debate
VP of Law Club
Mock Trial Team
Social Studies Honor Society
JETS </p>

<p>Community Service: Look to be a Counselor at local summer camp, should get ~100 Hours
Work: Public Library (20 Hours/Week)</p>

<p>Background: Single-Parent Home, Dad pays no child support, etc. Roman Catholic, Irish-Italian, Public School in Florida </p>

<p>Looking to major: Poli. Sci., Government, Political Media
Minor: Journalism/Psych </p>

<p>Courses for Senior year:
AP Euro
AP US Gov
AP Microeconomics
Independent Study (AP World History)
AP Lit
AP Stats
Debate VIII Honors </p>

<p>What do you think? Could I get any merit-aid? Also, how long do I have to be there to claim residency and get reduced tuition?</p>

2

<p>Hey, D-28:</p>

<p>I am assuming by your message that you are a Florida resident? If so, you must know that Florida has the Bright Futures program, which would make college for you in Florida very cheap.</p>

<p>As far as residency, I believe that if you come to Maryland as a student, you will be classified as an out of state student all four years. Most states have very stringent requirements about tuition and in-state status. If you graduate from a Florida high school and your parents are in Florida, you most likely would be considered a Florida resident. If your parents are moving to Maryland and working here, I am reasonably sure you would be classified a Maryland resident after one year of the parents living here.</p>

<p>I have no idea if you would qualify for merit aid. We are Maryland residents and visited the U of Maryland last week. My son has a 228 PSAT, 1560 old SAT, 2370 new SAT, and coincidentally, also loves debate. With those stats and 3.6 uw and 4.4 weighted gpa, they told us he had a chance for merit aid. But, maybe residents are given a higher consideration than out of state applicants, you would have to check with the admissions department to see.</p>

<p>We are taking a strong look at the University of Florida, and will be making our second visit there next month. We are hoping my son qualifies as a National Merit Scholarship finalist. u of Florida has a very nice program to attract NMS finalists. </p>

<p>Good luck to you!</p>