I was recently admitted to UMD for the spring semester starting in 2016. I am considering doing Freshman Connection so I could be on campus during the fall term. I am pretty sure I will do this (unless I am accepted to a better school) since I am a Maryland resident. So far I have been accepted to Penn State, University of Florida, Drexel, Fordham, Alabama, and Loyola University Maryland. I am still waiting to hear back from eight other schools. Out of the schools I have been accepted to so far, I think I would choose UMD. The only other school I am seriously considering besides UMD is the University of Florida.
So here are my questions:
Is freshman connection guaranteed for all spring admitted students? If not, how many seats are available for students?
Do FC students enjoy this program?
I have read that FC students are treated differently on campus by the administration and the students. Is this true?
I want to be a business major (LEP program). Would it be difficult for me to transfer internally into the business program at UMD since I am entering the institution as a spring admit or does that not affect my chances?
How do people feel about UMD or UF? Which school is better? Which business program is better? Is it worth going to UF and having to pay OOS tuition (even if money is not an issue)?
@America2468 - I’ll try to answer some of your questions by including copies of some posts from another thread. My D is a Freshman at UMD, and she was not in Freshman Connection, but she has a good friend from high school how was in FC. FC basically ended on January 26 when the Spring Semester started. I do not know anything about UF.
If you are talking about an internal transfer to the Smith School of Business, that is one of 2 LEPs that are competitive even for internal transfers.
Here are the other posts:
Freshman Connection Cons - you have later classes
You cannot play Division I sports
FC Pros - You get to live in a dorm on campus
You get to have a meal plan
You can attend athletic events, football games, etc…
You get to attend social events
You get to attend parties…
No cares that you are in Freshman connection
You get to start you college life in Fall 2015, just like everyone else
02-03-2015 at 12:30 pm @kellyr0ma wrote - What’s Freshman Connection like?
02-03-2015 at 7:09 pm @kellyr0ma - It’s like being a Fall admit student, except that your classes are in the afternoon/early evening. My D has a good friend who was in Freshman Connection
02-04-2015 at 10:31 am
Did she enjoy it? @SoofDad
02-04-2015 at 11:00 am @terpmom7 wrote - @kellyr0ma I’ll let soofdad respond about his daughter’s friend in fc, but in general, it’s the same experience that every other freshman has. Like @SoofDad said the only major difference is the time of your classes. This is especially true now with there being on campus housing for some or all of fc students. My daughter has friends that were in fc and friends that were regular fall admits, and there really isn’t any distinction between the two groups. People don’t sit around and ask/talk about whether you are a fc student or not. So when you ask what is fc like or did any particular person like it, you’re likely to get the same answers if that same question was asked of fall direct admit students. Freshman year is freshman year. There are going to be all the normal highs and lows of being away at college for the first time. Really the only downside is taking later classes, and many wouldn’t even say that’s a downside.
This is my perception of fc from my daughter’s friends that were in it. If I’m missing something or just plain wrong, please jump in anyone.
@kellyr0ma - Sorry for the late reply. Yes, she liked it. It was pretty much as @terpmom7 described in post #70 - a regular freshman year. With my D and other friends, she went to football and soccer games, social events and parties… ate at the Diner and 251… went to the Epply Rec Center… had a room in Denton Hall (air-conditioned)… moved in the same day my D did…
@SoofDad Thank you for such an informative response! I know you may not know this but is FC guaranteed for all spring admitted students? The reason I am wondering about this is because I have not heard back from all of the schools I applied to. This is important because on the FC website they allow students to apply beginning March 2nd which means I would not have heard back from all colleges yet.
While I can’t say for certain, I don’t think it is guaranteed…and looking at the timeline wording of “for best consideration” leads me to believe I may be right that there is limited space, so first-come, first-serve kinda thing? http://oes.umd.edu/freshmen-connection/calendar
Unfortunately, that specific question is not on the FAQ page…http://oes.umd.edu/freshmen-connection/faq
Hey I was a Freshman Connection student so I’ll do my best to answer your questions. I am currently a Sophomore student who just applied to the Smith school.
Is freshman connection guaranteed for all spring admitted students? If not, how many seats are available for students? Yea it basically means that you will "official" be a regular student in the Spring semester.
Do FC students enjoy this program? If you like to live off campus and party it is a great program! TBH I lived at the View and most of the people who were there partied a lot. Its the same with the Varsity.
I have read that FC students are treated differently on campus by the administration and the students. Is this true?
Nope, as a FC student and as a FC summer mentor I can say that nobody will know and FC does not mean that you are any dumber than the regularly admitted students.
I want to be a business major (LEP program). Would it be difficult for me to transfer internally into the business program at UMD since I am entering the institution as a spring admit or does that not affect my chances?
FC does not affect your changes but keep in mind that it will be competitive. That said, if you can keep up at LEAST a 3.5 and have STRONG STRONG STRONG gateway performance (By that I mean get As) then you have a good shot of getting in.
How do people feel about UMD or UF? Which school is better? Which business program is better? Is it worth going to UF and having to pay OOS tuition (even if money is not an issue)?
I don't think that UF is better than UMD. If you are looking for a "better business program" by Maryland I would highly consider UVA (McIntire school of Commerce). There is no doubt UVA is better than UMD. UMich and UVA are the only two schools that are worth paying out of state tuition for.
Quick question about the freshman connection program. In order to participate in freshman connection, do I apply for spring 2017, or apply for fall 2016 and get a decision whether I’d be considered for spring admission?
I think you would have to apply for fall 2016 to have a shot at freshman connection. You may want to call UMD admissions about this. Can you apply by Nov 1 (priority deadline)? That may give you the best chance/
@SoofDad No, I haven’t taken the SAT yet and I’m registered to take it Nov 7th, I tried everything to get an earlier SAT date. Really hoping if I don’t get in for fall admission, I’d be considered for spring. My stats aren’t bad, but regular decision screws everything up.
NOT to get your hopes up, but I would call the school and ask about the Nov 7th test and the priority deadline… there was someone that posted on another thread that they called and were told it would be acceptable as long as scores were sent directly to the school (meaning you don’t see them first and then select to send them but register for Maryland to receive scores before you take the test…)…BUT I don’t know if that is true or not, so you should call yourself to find out for sure.
No…I am really sorry…but I do remember being surprised by that because when both my kids applied, there was not any test within a few days of the priority deadline like this…there were some dates in late October, of course, and they did say they would accept those with the same caveat of direct score submission. So, you never know. As I said, I wouldn’t get my hopes up, but it certainly cannot hurt to ask!
