Everything you want to know about engineering at Maryland...

Thanks so much, @maryversity. D17 can forward the links to him, and then we’ll see what they say at the open house.

@maryversity Might you know about the demands of the FIRE program and whether it would be a strain on a first year engineering student? If you do know about it, would you recommend it for an engineering student? I’m wondering if my son should apply for it or just stick with focusing on his first year courses.

@Whatrocks, unfortunately, I am not familiar with demands of FIRE as it is a new program. With respect to strain on a first year engineering student in general, I firmly believe the very first semester should be a lighter load in general because the transition to college life needs to be respected in the sense that they need time to be social to develop a “new family” and learn how to take care of themselves without mom/dad around - doing laundry, finding the right balance of work/social, etc.

Maryland is really good about that because in the four year plans for engineering, you will see only 13 credits for the first semester compared to 15-16 credits for other semesters. This also leaves a little room for the students in programs that have 1 credit classes the first semester to not be overtaxed as well. So, if they sponsor FIRE as a first-year program, I would trust that it would not overtax students…

Personally, I would recommend going to an open house to get more info, but if that is not possible, I would still sign up for it…let him try it and if he doesn’t like it, or it proves to be more work than he can handle, he can always drop it.

@NerdMom88 In addition, I would have your D include this link, with note to read pages 22-23 about Maryland
http://www.asee.org/retention-project
and also the page for Women in Engineering programs http://www.wie.umd.edu/undergrad and the page for aerospace…http://www.aero.umd.edu/about…which happens to be tied for #10 currently, but has been in top 10 for many years.

Honestly, the best way to evaluate a program has less to do with selectivity than it does with the actual program and personal fit. Some of the most selective engineering programs are more theoretical. If that’s what your D is looking for, that’s one thing, but only she can answer that question. Have her take a look at the four year plan http://www.eng.umd.edu/sites/default/files/images/current/forms/4yrplan/2014-2015/enae-4yrplan-ge-2016-2017.pdf While the first page shows the sequence with class codes, the second page gives the course name so you can get a better sense of the curriculum.

What is also unique about Maryland is the neutral buoyancy tank (only one on a college campus), proximity to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt is less than 10 minutes from campus), and DC (all the government agencies).

I’m wondering why engineering schools at other universities, that some rank higher than Maryland’s engineering school, are easier to get into than Maryland, e.g., Purdue. Any thoughts?

@Whatrocks Well, yes, I do have thoughts on this, but understand it is just conjecture on my part…
Mind you, my son never looked at Purdue, but when I was looking at a lot of engineering schools with my son, we did notice that as well.

At the time, as an example, Georgia Tech, which always has had an incredible reputation for top engineering, was much easier to get into than it is today. I have heard they did change things a little in that respect, but the premise on “easier” admissions has to do with the weed out process. Some schools feel that as long as a student has done well in general or on standardized tests, that’s good enough to go into engineering. However, once students start, the weed out process is brutal. Classes are meant to cut the chaff from the wheat, and only the strongest students survive. They have big issues with retention in engineering because of that.

Maryland does things differently because they do their weed out process with admissions instead. They look more closely at certain factors that they have found to be predictors of success in engineering. That’s why being valedictorian with a perfect 1600 SAT score does not guarantee admission to engineering at Maryland. People who don’t necessarily know what they want to do assume that they should be engineers just because they are good at math and science…and engineering is far too demanding to not have a passion for it.

So, that’s why you see Maryland engineering is very tough to gain direct admission as an incoming freshman. (That, and of course the fact that they want to be sure that they have sufficient resources to support all the engineering students.) However, Maryland does provide a gateway process that is not competitive. If you satisfactorily pass the gateway classes with the minimum needed, they basically guarantee they will admit you to engineering. So, you take the same classes and if you do well, that’s good enough for them.

@Whatrocks I just noticed you asked if your son should “apply” to FIRE, but before you do that, consider some other things …

  1. There is a living-learning program open to all engineering students
    for guys: http://www.seeds.umd.edu/programs/virtus
    for girls http://www.wie.umd.edu/undergrad/flexus
  1. ALL students, starting from freshman year, can get involved in research. They do not need to be part of a structured program like FIRE... here are some links http://www.ugresearch.umd.edu and http://www.ugresearch.umd.edu/current-researchinmajor.html#panel1a

@maryversity Thank you for the helpful info. I am going to encourage Virtus. I want him in a serious learning environment where the kids aren’t partying all the time and buckle down and get to work. I figure that engineering students are more likely to be serious about their work. I could be totally wrong about that!

@NerdMom88 Some fresh off the press news that might be of interest to aero students… http://www.eng.umd.edu/html/news/news_story.php?id=10261

Thanks, @maryversity! I forwarded the article to D17. Her current dream is to work for SpaceX.

I’ve started looking through the different honors programs, and I think she’s going to be torn by choosing between one of the really cool residential programs vs. going with University Honors and applying for Flexus. (She hasn’t had a chance to look yet, due to illness and tests.) :-< Not a bad dilemma to have, though.

The Virtus program looks @maryversity, do you know if we have to confirm enrollment before he can submit an application? Actually, I have the same question for housing if you happen to know.

@NerdMom88 - yes, that will definitely be a tough call and she should definitely talk to current students. I think the Flexus program also is a tighter knit group as they do additional social things as well. http://www.eng.umd.edu/html/news/news_story.php?id=9789
Regardless of her decision of whether to participation in Flexus or not, your daughter will still be able to enjoy the benefits of WIE (Women in Engineering) programs at Maryland…http://www.wie.umd.edu/undergrad

@jmek15 No, I don’t think you have to confirm enrollment first - the application is already available for 2017-18, and since space is limited, I would think the sooner you apply the better.

Same thing goes for housing…the sooner the better. See SoofDad’s post #10 on http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1959101-advice-for-newly-admitted-terps-updated-2017-p1.html

FYI, here is a list of FAQs http://www.eng.umd.edu/admissionsfaqs

Does anyone know if the engineering FIRST Scholarship is available? If so, I’m looking for a link. Thanks!

@AFatTick As in FIRST robotics?

@AFatTick
I’m not seeing an active link (it says it is no longer accepting submissions) but the FIRST robotics page (http://www.firstinspires.org/scholarships) says the deadline is 4/15/17 for Maryland. However, when I click on the link for details and application it takes me to this page of “additional” engineering scholarships you can apply to http://www.ursp.umd.edu/scholarships/additional-scholarships and that is what’s saying its not accepting applications, so I am not sure…?

The best thing to do would be to ask the school directly…here is the contact info

Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Programs
A. James Clark School of Engineering
1131 Glenn L. Martin Hall, Bldg #088
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-3011

Mr. Bruk Berhane, Assistant Director
Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Programs
1131 Glenn L Martin Hall
Phone: 301-405-0287, (x5-0287) on-campus
Fax: 301-314-9867
Email: bberhane@umd.edu (link sends e-mail) or prospengr@umd.edu (link sends e-mail)

Ms. Aishah Briscoe, Program Coordinator
1131 Glenn L. Martin Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-3011
Phone: 301-405-5342, (x5-5342) on-campus
Fax: 301-314-9867
Email: prospengr@umd.edu (link sends e-mail) or abrisco1@umd.edu

Fwiw, here’s a page with the general list of scholarships for robotics participants (includes VEX under the REC Foundation also) http://www.cctvcameraworld.com/robotics-engineering-scholarships.html

@AFatTick Also, since you have a history of robotics, you might be interested in http://www.robotics.umd.edu

Is it possible to transfer into engineering the second semester of freshman year?

Here is a link that spells out the transfer requirements

http://www.lep.umd.edu/engr-lep.pdf