Honors Discussion

Hi! All my threads keep getting deleted, but I am an Honors College student ambassador at UMD and would love to help with any questions newly admitted Terps might have! Questions don’t have to be limited to Honors. I’m also an out of state student, a computer science major, and have a part-time job at UMD, so feel free to ask anything and I’ll try my best to help.

Do you recommend Honors for Engineering majors? Is it a lot of extra work? What learning community are you in? Did the honors seminars count as your electives?

What’s the difference between students who get admitted to honors vs scholars? And what is the difference between the two programs? I have done some research, but I’m having some trouble figuring this out.

@auntlu Absolutely! Honors makes a large school feel smaller. In Honors programs, it’s easier for students to get closer with faculty (whether they be faculty in the student’s Honors programs or faculty that teach H-sections, which are smaller than the regular versions). Also, I’ve met all my closest friends in my LLP.

Depending on which LLP you choose, the workload can vary. Gemstone, I would say, is the most work, but the most rewarding. They do a student-run research capstone, which is why it takes so much time. LLPs don’t have to connect with the major you’re in! They just have to correlate with your interests! But, there are PLENTY of LLPs in Honors that are good for engineering majors like EIP, ACES, Gemstone, and maybe ILS, depending on what kind of engineering major.

I, personally, am in ACES. And, yes! Honors seminars CAN count as elective and Gen Eds, depending on what seminar it is.

@thoughtterrarium No one knows for sure what the difference is. I don’t even know the difference, since the Honors College doesn’t tell anyone outside of the staff! I only know that students are reviewed for Honors first and those that the Honors College chooses not to offer admissions to are then passed down to be considered for Scholars.

As an accepted honors student, if I choose Aces as my first choice, do I have a decent chance of getting in? Do people tend to get their first choice?

Also, do I have to rank all of the LLP’s when I respond? There are really only two maybe three that I am remotely interested in.

Thank you.

accepted yesterday and offered carillon. Was not offered honors or scholars even though gpa 4.6,ACT33, IB,lots of ec’s with leadership, varsity sports captain, honors music, excellent recs etc. Does that mean probably no merit scholarships either?

My daughter was also accepted yesterday into Computer Science and offered Carillion. Strong stats, etc. Is it possible to be reconsidered for Honors? She likes UMD, but hopefully will have other good options as well. Being part of the Honors program might make a difference in her choice.

@f062469s I think that it just eliminates you from not getting the Presidential Scholarship and B/K. Some programs offer scholarships to students.

@maparent123 The Honors College doesn’t do many reconsiderations. They only do them if there is an extreme circumstance.

Just got accepted with the Honors Program as a CS major!
I know UMD CP has a strong CS program, but what made you decide to attend UMD CP specifically? What were the college’s best and most attractive features?
I’m currently trying to choose between UMass Amherst, UNC Chapel Hill, and NC State for CS, and among those I believe UMD CP has the strongest CS Program, but I’m not entirely sure what sets it apart from my available selection so any advice would be really appreciated. Even the smallest features would be lovely to gain an insight to!

I was wondering how the University Honors LLP compares with the more specific [programs. Why did you choose a more specific one rather than the generalized program? Also, do you have a rough estimate of the total number of students in the Honors Program?

Hi! My DD was admitted to Engineering, also Honors College. She has heard good things about the EIP. Is that a good program for her? Or UH?

Also, can you tell us about the form choices for these programs?

Thanks!

@SungSong I got into ACES, which was a big drawing point for me to attend UMD, but, also, UMD appealed to me personally because of both the CS department and the school itself. For one thing, CS department is really flexible. You can get a degree in 3.5 years, which allows you to have room in your schedule to pursue a double major, a minor, or just take classes outside of your major that you find interesting without slowing down your track towards graduation. Also, the department offers two potential specialization tracks, - cybersecurity and data science - in case you find that you’re interested in pursuing a more specific computer science degree (you can choose to not do a specialization and get a general computer science degree).

There’s also lots of research opportunities and something called the QUEST program. QUEST is a collaboration between the business school, the engineering school, and The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. It places students from each of the schools in teams where they get to develop some sort of product and work with industry professionals and make connections within the industry they’re interested in! (More info here: https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-programs/quest)

Additionally, because UMD has such a famous CS program, many companies try to get interns from the university. Someone I’m interning with this summer (I’m just a freshman!) said that 80% of their interns (at the specific location I am going to) come from UMD.

Something really cool that’s coming up is the Brandon Iribe (co-founder of Oculus) building here at UMD. I’m assuming UMD students will get more chances to do VR coding! Oh, just another note, because UMD is such a CS-heavy school, there are LOTS of CS clubs (ex. VR club, hackathon clubs, cryptocurrency club, and many more).

Speaking about the school itself, here are some things I LOVE about UMD, outside the CS department: the diversity, the different LLPs and programs available for students, the school spirit (!!), the large campus, the abundance of clubs and activities, and its proximity to D.C.!!

Let me know if you have any other questions (I’ve probably left a lot out that I might remember later…)

Sorry, in my message I was asking about Honors dorms, not forms. Lol

Also, which LLP would you recommend for an Engineering student?

@grk258 There are about 1000 Honors students at UMD. University Honors (UH) is the general Honors program that allows you to take H-level classes and Honors seminars, while the other programs have some sort of focus outside of Honors (and the other programs still get to take H-level classes and Honors seminars!). For example, ACES has curriculum based around cybersecurity. All the programs have some sort of curriculum that its students must follow, however. I chose to join a more specific program because I am really interested in cybersecurity, as a computer science major, and have been interested in it for awhile! ACES was the perfect program for me to join! I felt like joining UH wouldn’t be as interesting for me personally, so that added to my interest in joining a more specific program. I would strongly recommend looking at each of the Honors programs, reading about them, and then determining which program interests you the most. (Plus, in my opinion, it’s always better to list a specific program as your top, since you can always drop that Honors program and join University Honors.)

@Astro77 Honestly, it’s always better to prioritize anything but University Honors, since you can always drop down to University Honors from any Honors program. It really just depends on her interests and what she thinks will be a good fit for her! Since I don’t know her, I don’t think I could say whether or not EIP would be a good fit for her, but I HAVE heard that people in that program have a really awesome time in it and meet a lot of friends (but that can be said about all the Honors programs! They’re all amazing and have really diverse and friendly people in them.)

What kind of engineering are you? (It really just depends on your interests, but I might be able to help point you in the right direction of some programs that might catch your eye!)

EDIT:: Here’s a message I sent someone earlier about Honors housing:

All of the Honors programs have specific dorms, but it is optional for students of some Honors programs to live together. ACES and DCC live in Prince Frederick Hall for two years (DCC strongly recommends two years of living in PFH, but only requires students to live there for one). PFH is the nicest dorm on campus, having been built in 2014. (I, personally, am in ACES!) EIP lives in La Plata, which is one of the older halls, for two years. Students in Gemstone have priority in housing in Ellicott Hall (they are not forced to live there during their time at UMD, but if they wish to live in that building, they will have priority in living there). University Honors students can live in Haggerstown, La Plata, Anne Arundel, Ellicott, or not live on campus at all. Honors Humanities recommends students live in Anne Arundel Hall, but doesn’t require students to live there. Finally, ILS lives in La Plata, and students are required to live there for one year.

On the Res Life website, they have some pictures and layouts of each of the dorms. I can only say from personal experience that Prince Frederick is the newest and nicest dorm, but that doesn’t mean that the other dorms are terrible! Ranking Honors programs should be based on your daughters’ interest in each of the programs (when admitting students to each Honors program, the program directors look at the interest level of the applicant!) Also, this link might be very useful: http://reslife.umd.edu/hallsatglance/

is gemstone only stem majors? are any of the projects social science based- im a sociology major but I think gemstone sounds really interesting!

@lilia3 Nope! Gemstone is for everyone! I know business majors, sociology, and public policy majors in Gemstone. If it sounds interesting, don’t let your major limit you to only preferring certain programs. You’ll get a lot more out of the program if you’re interested in it (as opposed to doing it just because it correlates with your major).

When should we reply to Honors college LLP? My D isn’t sure if she’s going to UMD

@f062469s - while it is true that you would not be considered for B/K, you actually will still be considered for Presidential and Dean’s merit awards. https://www.admissions.umd.edu/finance/freshman-merit-scholarships
Over the years, I have found merit scholarships wholly unpredictable. They primarily seem to be tied to standardized test scores, but there is no threshold nor guarantee as there are other factors as well and limited funds available since it is a public university and not a private one (private universities typically have huge endowments, so more money available).

@Astro77 EIP is a great program for engineering students. My son was in scholars, but had he been in honors, that is the one he would have done. Ultimately, he did very similar programs with QUEST and Hinman CEOs and completed a minor in Technology Entrepreneurship. @whenyoubelieve is absolutely on point about selecting a program immediately - it’s a one-way move. You can “drop down” to university honors, but once placed in university honors, you cannot move to a themed program.

@auntlu - you need to reply to Honors survey asap, and by the deadline. If you miss the deadline, you may forfeit your spot in honors. They understand that you have not decided to commit and they are not asking you to do that at this point. They are just trying to set up the programs so that if you do commit, you are ready to go.