Nothing in NY today 
I got mine today, 
Cecil County
For everyone who received a B-K invite - CONGRATULATIONS! It really is an honor. I bet now the question on your mind is “what is the interview like?”. D1 interviewed last year and received the full B-K. The day unfolded as follows:
- After checking in, invitees were sent to the college they signed up for where there was a very nice buffet breakfast. There was a large number of current UMD students and professors present that were very engaging. They answered any/all questions and generally talked to everyone. The Dean of the school spoke for a few minutes and then we were put into groups for a tour.
- The tour of the department was AWESOME. They also took us through a dorm room and a few other campus areas. Then it was back to the main meeting for lunch.
- Lunch was also awesome. Every table had a UMD staffer that engaged everyone in conversation. A provost gave a short talk. Then off to the interviews.
- This is where I thought there was a little bit of a short coming in the program. D1's interview was @4:00 pm so we were waiting a long time. Again, there was a nice waiting area with UMD students to talk with, but the wait was hard.
- The actual interview lasted 15 minutes with two interviewers. I wasn't at the interview but D1 said that the interviewers did most of the talking and the questions given to her where pretty soft underhand lobs. VERY low key. Absolutely nothing to stress about.
My overall thoughts were:
- All of the UMD staff/Students were very informative but a little bit overwhelming. D1 is a little introverted and I spent a lot of time deflecting attention. Do yourself a favor and come prepared with lots of questions because they are not going to let you stand quietly in a corner.
- There were a few invitees that were there by themselves. Very hard. Avoid if at all possible.
- The day will be very long. Almost an endurance test.
- The biggest impression I left with (completely unofficial) was: I don't think the interview had any impact on full or partial. Everyone from UMD was "selling" UMD and they learned really nothing about D1. I think the decision was made before we showed up.
@PJW1234 thank you so much for posting that! I really appreciate it. Could you please also shed some more light on the interview? Do they give out banneker key bc they recognize ur hard work, or because you have, say, a daringly ambitious business plan? or bc… of good character? that sort of stuff. I apologize for my lack of a briefer question haha.
Also. So though it seems redundant, do you think anything CAN be done to improve BK chances through the interview from ur family’s experience?
thanks!
Thank you@PJW1234
Did the interviewer asked where else your D applied to? Also, did she end up attending the UMD?
D1 is currently at UMD and is loving every minute. I really have no idea what they base the B-K on. D1 had ACT 34, 4.0/4.75 gpa, 8 AP classes, pretty strong extras. Big plus was her essays. They were very, very good.
They did not ask where else she applied. Questions were along the line of:
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- What is a challenge you have overcome?
- What is an academic accomplishment you've overcome?
@PHW1234
Thank you. It’s very helpful!
Awesome. Thank you
question 3 was “what is an academic accomplishment you are proud of”.
@twinsmom15 It’s the best odds of any of the major scholarships that I’ve seen – at least the ones that aren’t automatic for NMF and such. The fact that more than half of the finalists will receive the full B/K is pretty astounding, actually. And the generosity of giving all of the students who interview at least the partial award is also great (though I’m admittedly greedy in wishing that the partial award was half tuition so that it would increase as tuition does). Other schools give partial awards for their big merit scholarships, but they generally have many (many) fewer of the full awards than UMd does.
My daughter got her packet today. We are in New Orleans. Her interview date is March 4. We are very excited as my son is a senior at Maryland, who has a full ride at UVA Law School. We are hoping we will be 2 for 2!
My son received the Banneker Key invite yesterday and I have a question. Will it still be necessary to attend the Admitted Students day after the Banneker Key session? Wondering if everything that is covered in the Admitted Students day will be addressed during the BK day?
In my S2’s high school, there are ~10 B-K invitees every year and this year is of no exception. Strangely enough, S2 is the only one who receives the email. There are 2 SAT/ACT perfect scorers who have received the B-K invitation but not the email.
According to him, some of his classmates who have very high SAT/ACT scores but with little EC/leadership activities have not yet received the invitation.
B-K interview is very important and it does determine whether you will get the partial or full B-K award.
D1 graduated from high school 2008 and she received B-K invitation. The interview process was very similar to what has been told by @pjw1234. However, she could not connect with the interviewers (2, both were faculties) and she was awarded the partial scholarship. Surprisingly, she was then awarded additional $5000 scholarship from the school of engineering. In other words, you can obtain multiple scholarships from UMD as far as the total amount does not exceed the COA.
When will they announce the finalist?
2562ivy, I think last year notification was at the end of March and came in the mail. For what it’s worth, last year my son wanted to go the interview without parents and did fine. He got the full scholarship. I remember him saying that the interviewers asked him about his essays and a book he had read recently, in addition to the above questions. He didn’t feel like it was high pressure–more like a comfortable conversation.
@Ireadcc, your experience sounds like ours from last year (your D1 “could not connect with the interviewers”) – our son’s interviewer (faculty) was fairly hostile and S ended up being awarded the partial scholarship. (There were 2 people in the room, but the other person apparently didn’t say much and appeared to be administrative staff, according to my son.) Another candidate, who had the same interviewer, told us he had a similarly negative reaction from the faculty member (but I don’t know what he was awarded).
However, most candidates (like @Twillsmomnp’s son) report a very benign experience; and a member of one of the student panels that day said that although he’d had a rather harsh interview, he still ended up getting the full B/K… So who knows… (Interestingly, like @Ireadcc’s D1, our son also received an unexpected and substantial departmental scholarship, such that all his college-related expenses ended up being covered.)
@Twillsmomnp
Thank you very much for your info:)
Does anyone know if more invites will be sent out?
Last year D1was scheduled to interview on March 3rd, was postponed to March 10th due to snow, and received a letter notification dated March 25th.
Unfortunately, I have never heard of a second round of invitations going out. Sorry.