Chances?

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

<p>Currently a junior, live clost to UMCP. I really want to get in, its my #1 choice. What are my chances of getting in and getting merit aid?</p>

<p>SAT: 1630---CR-510, Math-530, Writing-590 Taken only once, will this score hurt my chances?..this is the range I get even on practice tests..</p>

<p>AP: US Govt and Politics-scored a 5, Currently taking 3 AP classes, Planning to self study 2 APs, and taking 3 or 4 APs next year. I will have atleast 8. All my other classes are honors</p>

<p>1 CLEP</p>

<p>EC: Volunteer 100-200+ hours, NHS, 2 school clubs</p>

<p>GPA: 3.81 un weighted and 4.38 weighted.</p>

<p>Class Rank: Top 20 or 15% not sure of it.</p>

<p>Im interested in the 3 year liberal arts dentistry program
..another question, with so many core classes and prerequisites filled by APs (yes I looked at the chart, i should have about 50 credits if i get in) will I be able to cut the 3 years into 2?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think you have a really good chance especially since your only a Junior if you keep this up i think you will definetly be in, the only way you may get deferred or waitlisted is because of your SATs if i were you i would take a few more times to try and raise your score but good luck</p>

3

<p>^^^what stillmatic said.</p>

4

<p>A couple of things.</p>

<ol>
<li> How do you have such a large discrepancy between SAT scores and GPA, and even AP scores vs SAT. If you pulled a 5 on an AP test, I can’t see that you are a poor test taker. I would def re-take that SAT again.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>I too think you will get in because of your GPA and course curriculum, but the problem is with those SAT scores, it will only be “general”. Which in the end will place you at a disadvantage for grad school or careers compared to the LEP student.</p>

<ol>
<li> You will not graduate in 2 or 3 yrs regardless of how many AP’s. The true thing AP’s allow you to do at UMD is the ability to opt out of the “traditional” freshman classes, but UMDCP will still require you to fulfill their mandates. I.E. X amt of humanities, even as an Engineering student.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>DS had 6 AP’s, and 4 CC classes, not one BS APs (like human geneography or Western Art) he will still graduate in 4. Not 3. All it allowed was for him to start at a higher Math, English and History. He is still required to take X amt at UMD. Even with that amount of credits entering he has carried at least 19 credits per semester over the past 4 semesters.</p>

<p>You can take AP human geneography, but if that course does not fit into your curriculum requirements, it will not help you. The AP course description must match their course curriculum, if it doesn’t they will give you the credits for th AP, but it sits in a pile of non-useable credits. Again, you will graduate with 160 credits, but 40 of them really didn’t count. </p>

<p>APs will not help you in graduating early because your major will require certain courses to be taken. Many of these courses will be offered only 1x a yr and are pre-reqs, thus, you can try to jump ahead, but because Course A is offered only in the Fall and you need a course that you have no AP for that means you can’t take it until next yr. Now add on top of this to guarantee full time you are req 12 credits, which means you need to fill with something else.</p>

<p>What I have seen occur through must of the students on this board that had a lot of APs is that they get a dual major. I have yet to see ONE student graduate within 3 yrs let alone your premise of 2 due to the fact that they had a ton of APs. </p>

<p>If I am correct even if you went to CC and did 2 yrs there, UMDCP still requires the final 60 credits to be at their school to be conferred a degree. They too have rigged the system to keep you paying as long as they can.</p>

<p>I know that this was a downer to you, but it is better for you to realize the reason to take AP’s is to get out of the 200-300 class sizes earlier and not to graduate early</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the info! So what you’re saying is that if I take APs even in areas I might want to major in or use towards my major, I still can’t save time by getting credit for prerequisites and core reqs…and I can’t use AP credit towards a major? I thought I could since I know a few people who did that a few years ago…</p>

6

<p>I’m not familiar with the 3 yr denistry program (nor do I know anyone in it? I didn’t even know it existed?), but I can speak for my own majors, English and History, both of which require a relatively small amount of credits to graduate (esp. English).</p>

<p>For one, some CORE classes overlap with classes you’d want to take for your major. Ex., if you are a government and politics major, rest assured you don’t have to worry about your “social sciences” CORE credit! If you are a history major, your history CORE credit will overlap with major requirements. Etc. </p>

<p>Some AP credits can count for CORE and major requirements. Ex. AP Engl Lit counted for a CORE class, as well as for one of my lower level Engl class requirements. However, this is for some reason NOT the case for engineering majors. Ex. they must ALL take intro physics, even if they scored a 5 with flying colors on AP physics exam. Don’t ask me why this is. I don’t know! </p>

<p>Second, UMD can be very odd about which AP credits are worth CORE requirements, and which aren’t. Ex. Engl Lang is not a CORE credit, but Engl Lit is. If you score higher on an AP exam, you can get more credits. Ex. my 5 on AP bio gave me both a lab science and non lab science credit, and ensured this English major didn’t have to take any science CORE classes! (It was worth 6 credits!). If I had gotten a 4, it would not have been worth all of those credits. </p>

<p>I will tell you I had to take only ONE CORE class that didn’t count towards a major requirement (Art history…lol). That’s right. Just one. Thanks to my APs. However, others with more APs, had to take more CORE classes. Again, don’t ask me why. It just works out funny sometimes. It really depends on WHAT AP credits you took, what you scored, what your major is, etc., all in combination.</p>

<p>I could have easily graduated a year early had I been very disciplined and on track. So it is not true that at MD, AP courses don’t count towards your degree - they most certainly do, in many majors. However, if your program is already a condensed 3-yr program, I doubt you will be graduating evening earlier.</p>

7

<p>^^^ I agree.</p>

<p>What my point was, do not go into the assumption that every AP will count towards your degree and that it will allow you to graduate early.</p>

<p>The OP needs to look at the course curriculum and reqs. </p>

<p>Also, that they need to realize some courses are offered only 1x a yr when you get into the upper classman yrs. Just having 1 class that the AP is not accepted for could place them behind in regards to graduating early. For example, they may have taken APBio, but not APChem, yet UMD may require Organic Chemistry and only offer it in the fall, that means they have to take Chemistry Fresh fall and Organic Soph., leaving them on the same time frame as everyone else. </p>

<p>It is not as simple as saying I am going to get 30 credits from AP, thus I am a Sophomore. It is very tricky to take all of the right APs to graduate early</p>

8

<p>thanks. i understand what you’re saying now.</p>