<p>I'll go first: my son has decided he will attend Maryland! Our whole family is very happy for him.</p>
<p>Who's next?</p>
<p>My son is also attending.</p>
<p>@oregonianmom
Why did he choose Maryland? Not that UMD is a bad school, but I (a Maryland resident) find it odd that somebody in Oregon would apply for UMD.</p>
<p>^He wants to be near Washington DC, and the Journalism school at UMD is a top 10 program.</p>
<p>Im going to Pitt over Maryland....Maryland is jus tooo big, I dont wanna be in a class with 600 kids in Maryland when I could be in a class wit 200 at Pitt. Plus UMD has too many commuters for my liking. Campus wise UMD looks better but I would have more fun in a city...there is hella stuff to do in pitt.</p>
<p>Still waiting for a decision from his number 1, but we are sending in the deposit to hold his spot. </p>
<p>He will be a part of the scholars program, and attending orientation April 4th</p>
<p>bulletandpima, why would you send the deposit in if your S is still waiting for his number 1 school? Isn't it due by May 1?</p>
<p>Probably because he wants to register for housing since Maryland is under a tight housing shortage and many first-year students are not guaranteed housing. The sooner you get your deposit in, the more likely you'll be guaranteed housing in one of the dorms on campus. </p>
<p>If you could recommend a dorm but I do not think you could, I would recommend Queen Anne's on South Campus on South Campus or Dorchester. Both of these dorms are centrally located and very close to most academic buildings as well as the famous McKeldin Library.</p>
<p>His number 1 does not guarantee an appt before May 1.</p>
<p>It has nothing to do with housing, but Bruins is right about the dorms. I already spoke to housing because he is in scholars he is guaranteed housing if the deposit is before May 1.</p>
<p>Our s is waiting to hear from Yale and Princeton. If he's accepted to either we'll have a difficult decision. So far he's been accepted to Pitt (honors and full tuition merit), U of Miami (honors and full tuition), UNC (honors), Duke, WashU and UMCP (B/K). At this point UMCP is his #1 choice.</p>
<p>Our s applied to some of the same with the same results accept no BK for UMCP. He'll be in Scolars at UMCP. He is waiting on AFA and Notre Dame, but even accepted at ND he will reject over UMCP.</p>
<p>Maximus...Maryland over Duke....wow</p>
<p>Actually that is true for our s. Duke is a great college, but DS likes the program and the school better.</p>
<p>^^^ ditto. Our s was one of the 350 best apps at Duke. The students at UMCP in the particular program he's interested in are all very talented. He's aware that the education he'll receive at MD is, maybe, a bit more dependent on his effort to maximize opportunity. He's been assured that those opportunities will be readily available.</p>
<p>Playa, Pitt is also a great school that is under appreciated by too many on CC. Good luck with your choice.</p>
<p>WOW, Maximus001...your son is choosing UMCP over Duke, WashU, and UNC honors? May I ask why? Duke hasn't released their decisions yet, so I'm assuming your son got a likely letter - "one of the 350 best apps at Duke." </p>
<p>Was he admitted to UMCP's Gemstone program? Was money/tuition the reason why your son sees UMCP as his #1 choice over Duke, WashU, and UNC honors? What is he interested in/planning to major in?</p>
<p>Maximus,
We have friends who turned down big names for UMD, too. The Honors advisors (at least the folks in CMPS and Life Sciences, which is what we have direct knowledge of) are very good about getting these kids through the red tape and into the appropriate courses at an early stage.</p>
<p>Hotasice,
Gemstone is an option within honors -- it's a four-year, multidisciplinary project team. There are some who take the program and run with it; there are others who say 'no thanks.' There were a couple of brief essay questions in part II of the app that help the ad comms figure out which program within Honors would be the best fit. My S said flat out in his essay that Gemstone wasn't his thing -- he wanted to do individual research. My other S, however, would go for Honors Humanities or Gemstone in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>He is a B/K finalist at UMCP, but that's not the only reason. He was accepted to the Honors Humanities program which he feels is an excellent opportunity for a well rounded undergraduate education that emphasizes the arts and humanities. He's a musician and loves the performing arts, especially Shakespeare. </p>
<p>His primary academic interests are in Math, physics, chemistry and nanotechnology all of which are great at MD.</p>
<p>He loves the campus and wants a big college experience with great sports and such. He also feels that the internship opportunities in and around the DC area are fantastic.</p>
<p>Just a few of the reasons why UMCP is #1 right now. BTW, check out the profs at MD...a mighty impressive group of educators.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Regarding housing, this is cut & pasted directly from the Department of Residential Life website:</p>
<p>"Are freshmen guaranteed the opportunity to live in residence halls?
Residence hall housing for fall will be guaranteed for all first-time freshman students who, upon being notified by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions of their acceptance, submit their enrollment confirmations and housing and meal requests by May 1 (latest postmark) or within 30 days of the date of any later notification of acceptance. Official written housing confirmations are mailed within two weeks of such submissions. Actual room and roommate assignments are chosen and communicated via web posting about three to four weeks before move-in day in late August."</p>
<p>That said, to get best room choices, a deposit should be made as soon as possible (way before May 1). My personal opinion is that this isn't exactly fair for students who are waiting to hear from other choices. Many public schools do it this way, though. Maryland is not the only one.</p>
<p>@CountingDown</p>
<p>I am so glad that your son did not choose to do gemstone yet still wants to do gemstone. I was unaware that the niche question on the application was to determine Gemstone acceptance or not. As a result, I was not accepted to it which made me fret. I wouldn't have done it anyway if I got Gemstone, since I too am interested in individual research and feel that Gemstone would not let me stand out as much (I'm going to be doing pre-med requirements on the side of chem engineering BS class in fall).</p>
<p>Is your individual-research-son applying to the engineering school? If so, was he invited to Inventis? If yes, is he interested?</p>
<p>Maximus-- has your son taken a look at the course listings for the English department? Non-majors have a couple of Shakespeare courses available to them. Also, in addition to his Honors Humanities curriculum, there are a number of great Honors seminars relating to the performing arts ('Ghosts and Magicians in Performance' was the first honors seminar I took and is still one of my favorites) that he might be interested in.</p>
<p>People interested in individual research-- the programs you hear about as a high school student are by no means the only research opportunities available, so don't get discouraged if you aren't involved with them!! I didn't even develop an interest in research until mid-sophomore year, and then I was able to seek out a program that fit my interests.</p>