Change me to UMD College Park

<p>I am Junior at High School in Maryland, so far GPA un-weighted: 3.2 Weighted: 3.8, Football Varsity.
SAT: 610 Math , 550: Critical Reading, 600: Writing, I took Algebra I, Geometry at Middle School. Honor Algebra II , Honor Biology grade 9. PreCalc , Honor Chemistry grade 10. Honor Physics AP Calculus AB grade 11, I will take AP Statistic, AP Calculus BC or Differential Equation in grade 12. Do I have any chances to be admitted at UMD College Park in Engineering Major( Civil, Environment or Mechanical) Minor (Computer Science).
The requirements from UMD are the same when I apply for Engineering or something else like History Major? Or they will ask more for Engineering? Is it the same with the other universities?
Please give me an advise. Thanks.</p>

<p>It is definitely more difficult to be admitted to the engineering school rather than to UMD at large - of course, if you apply to the engineering school and don’t get in, you can still get admitted to “Letters and Sciences” (for undecided majors or, history, etc. majors ;)).</p>

<p>I would say because it seems as if you have taken a rigorous course load that you will get admitted to UMD at large.</p>

<p>Your GPA is on the low side for being admitted directly into the engineering program, though - I am not in the engineering school so I don’t know even anecdotally if you would make the cut or not. </p>

<p>Good news is if you are not directly admitted into engineering, you can transfer in after getting good grades in CORE/etc.</p>

<p>Most universities are similar in that while it can be difficult to get directly admitted into the more competitive majors, you can still enter as undecided into the university and transfer into your program of choice if you do well - though of course it will vary from university to university which major/school is most competitive, and how competitive that school is.</p>

<p>Thank you very much for your advise</p>

<p>From an admissions standpoint I would not be concerned with your gpa. I agree with umcp that direct admissions to the engineering might not happen, but I would believe the reason why is your SAT scores not you gpa.</p>

<p>The gpa is not something I am shocked at because our DS2 also plays football, and I know for at least him, it is something that he does for @ 9 months of the yr (starts in March for optional weight training, @10 hrs a week, June - Aug he is at the school for at least 30 hrs a week, Sept-Nov. it is at least @ 20 hrs a week. To carry such a rigorous course load and still maintain A’s and B’s will be viewed differently than someone with the same gpa and no ECs.</p>

<p>The red flag for me is regarding your SAT. The amount of Math you have under your belt you should have scored much higher than 610 on that portion of the SAT. You might not be a good test taker and that could be the reason. I would suggest taking the ACT, some kids do better with the ACT. Your 550 on CR is also not strong when you are looking at History, but I would assume you would get in. </p>

<p>The reason it is a red flag, is due to the fact that maybe at your school they have a laxed grading scale. Someone that has been in the “GIFTED” program since at least middle school, with AP Calc, should have scored much higher than a 610. Even if you took it with Pre-Calc at the end of last year should have made you into the mid to high 600’s. Our DD is very weak in Math, and took the SAT ending with Pre-Calc, which she absolutely struggled through (avg low B, high C) and got a 650. She received a 29 on the ACT. Our school is one of the top schools within our county (Cambridge Program), thus the grading scale is very hard, which brings me back to my original point. You may not test well, or maybe the SAT is not the right test for you, but either way I would strongly suggest taking both over the spring since UMDCP superscores.</p>

<p>In case you are unaware, I would suggest that you would be better to post your questions on each particular college forum thread that you intend to apply to, instead of the general college admissions threads. You will get more detailed answers.</p>