Freshman Connection makes the SAT/ACT 25%-75% Freshman Profile artificially high

I have a strong feeling Maryland does not count the students admitted to Freshman Connection in the Freshman Profile, thereby artificially raising the Profile to make the school appear more competitive for admissions than it is. The ACT is listed as 29-33 25th/75th which is 92nd-99th percentile, near Ivy League level - for example Dartmouth is 1 pt higher for each. Maryland’s website confirms these numbers are for Fall admitted students and further provide that Freshman Connection students, while attending the school count only as Spring admits. And these students comprise 20-25% of the class. I posted this to encourage those with lower ACT/SAT numbers to apply and to see what others think.

@TerpDad888 - You are correct. The stats of students given a Spring admission (i.e. Freshman Connection) are not included in the Freshman Profile. I believe this is true of all Colleges that offer a Spring Admission. Given that the Freshman Connection students can actually start in the Fall, that makes it a great option.

Those statistics are for admitted students and not enrolled. There is a difference there as well. Many who are admitted actually enroll in other schools.

I would think that is true for every school (that many who are admitted actually enroll elsewhere), especially given the common trend for students to apply to close to a dozen schools, if not more. I have a friend whose kids applied to 18 schools each! It blew my mind (my kids only applied to 4 schools each).

Some schools post scores of enrolled students as opposed to admitted students. It doesn’t give a good indication of of the composition of each class.

True, but it does give a good indication of your chance for fall admission when you apply…

There is some more info about “class composition,” specifically about engineering students, and I believe that this is enrolled student data http://www.eng.umd.edu/aboutus/facts-figures

Academic Departments & Annual Degrees Awarded

Aerospace Engineering (100 B.S., 45 M.S., 15 Ph.D.)
Bioengineering (104 B.S., 7 Ph.D.)
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (78 B.S., 3 M.S., 7 Ph.D.)
Civil and Environmental Engineering (134 B.S., 45 M.S., 20 Ph.D.)
Electrical and Computer Engineering (202 B.S., 185 M.S., 30 Ph.D.)
Fire Protection Engineering (29 B.S., 10 M.S.)
Materials Science and Engineering (37 B.S., 3 M.S., 10 Ph.D.)
Mechanical Engineering (350 B.S., 50 M.S., 45 Ph.D.)
Students

Undergraduate enrollment (total): 4,116
Fall '16 freshman class (total): 634
Graduate enrollment (total): 2,166
Fall '16 external transfer class: 263
Fall '16 internal transfer class: 400
Undergraduate enrollment: 24.5%, 14.7% underrepresented minorities, 33.7% minorities.
Minorities

Graduate enrollment: 22.3% female, 9.7% underrepresented minorities, 17.6% minorities.
Overall enrollment: 23.7% female, 13% underrepresented minorities, 28.2% minorities.

Incoming Freshman Class Profile

SAT/ACT/GPA information on this list of freshmen (class of 2020) is as follows:

Average GPA: 4.44
Combined Math/Critical Reading SAT Scores:
o Average: 1402
o 25th Percentile: 1340
o 75th Percentile: 1470
SAT Math Scores:
o Average: 730
o 25th Percentile: 700
o 75th Percentile: 770
SAT Critical Reading Scores:
o Average: 671
o 25th Percentile: 620
o 75th Percentile: 720
ACT Scores:
o Average: 32
o 25th Percentile: 30
o 75th Percentile: 34
109 Under-represented Minorities: 17%
213 Women: 34%
398 (63%) of these students have been selected for the Honors College. Another 93 students (15%) are listed in College Park Scholars.