<p>My son really wants to attend UMD CollegePark, our state flagship. He looks like a good match (3.9 weighted GPA, 1390 CR/M SAT, strong schedule each year, not great but enough volunteer work and ECs). From what I can tell, he's likely to get into the limited enrollment business program he wants also. However, we all know you shouldn't count on acceptance until you have the letter in your hands.
He does not appear to be interested in doing any other applications. He will get no financial aid, and we can afford the school with no merit offer. Best case is he gets accepted and all is good. Worst case he doesn't get accepted and we have no backup plan. Am I crazy to let him go with this plan, after a discussion that the may wind up at CC?
It appears that he'd get merit money at Indiana University and possibly Ohio State, which I've suggested he also apply to. I think they are both rolling admission, and I get the impression people who apply earlier tend to get offered more merit money. But after living through a pretty miserable senior year with my older son, I'm not sure how hard to push. With first son we were shopping significant merit scholarships, but we are not for this son.
Any advice?
Thanks</p>
<p>For colleges that I think my sons should consider but not on their lists, I ask them, if none of the colleges you apply to accept you (unlikely but one never know), would you rather go to communit college or college x.</p>
<p>If your son does not get into UMD CollegePark, would he rather go to community college, take a gap year (not a choice for our sons) or go to Indiana University/Ohio State.</p>
<p>Applying only to one college is a bit risky unless he is fine with community college/gap year being backup. Just add one or two safties that he would be happy with.</p>
<p>Unless the top choice college is a solid safety (including admission to the major and net price), the student still needs to find a solid safety, unless starting at community college is sufficiently desirable and more desirable than any four year school potential safeties.</p>
<p>Basically, have the discussion about safeties and let him make the decision about whether to use community college as the safety, or find an actual safety in a four year school.</p>
<p>How much aid would Ohio State or Indiana give him? His costs to attend there would be close to $50,000 a year. It’s about double the cost of instate at UMD. I don’t think either of those universities has guaranteed scholarship awards.</p>
<p>UMD-CP is a great school. Have your son apply Early Action! He will need to complete his application by November 1, but he will get a decision by January 31. </p>
<p>In addition, i would encourage him to find one more college to apply to that is affordable and a sure thing…unless he is comfortable with the CC route.</p>
<p>It IS a great school. It’s also not a slam dunk with a <em>weighted</em> GPA under 4.0, if the weighting is similar to the in-state county with which I’m most familiar. More and more kids who treat UMCP as their safety wind up unpleasantly surprised when the priority admissions decisions come out.</p>
<p>I agree with the warnings… My older son had better GPA (4.3?) and something like a 1440 SAT and I didn’t consider him a shoe-in. For a long time I didn’t see it as a match for my younger son, but it does appear to be.
Of course if i encourage applying out of state, we ma wind up with a much bigger bill. Maybe I should focus him on other in state schools… Another stressful year ahead :(</p>
<p>January 31 is too late for applying to many other colleges. It looks like you can wait til June :eek: for Indiana, but only till Feb 1 for Ohio. Would he consider one of the other UMd campuses?</p>
<p>To be clear, I think your son is in pretty good shape. But it’s not a done deal.</p>
<p>He was thinking about St. Mary’s, but they don’t offer a business degree.UMD CP has a much better business program than any other in-state school. I think the problem with waiting is the merit money will dry up, and with 3 kids in college for at least the next 2 years, we can’t afford most out of state schools without merit. Fortunately, he’s very frugal, and if he doesn’t get in at CP he may very well go elsewhere in state and hope to transfer. IF I CAN GET HIM TO DO APPLICATIONs…</p>
<p>I do NOT think he should wait until after Jan 31 to send OTHER applications in! But he will know the outcome of his UMD application by Jan 31 if he applies EA by November 1…which might be helpful.</p>
<p>Many universities require applications before December 1 to be considered for their best merit awards. So…any applications really should be done by that date. </p>
<p>I would strongly suggest looking at some other in state options…MD has some fine instate public universities!</p>
<p>Again, why not lay out all of the cost constaints, the need for safeties, and the early deadlines for scholarships, and let him make the decision on where to apply? If he is fine with using community college as a safety, let him do that. But he may get more incentive to apply if he wants alternative four year school choices that are affordable.</p>
<p>IU is an easy application, and merit aid goes quickly. They did eliminate the auto merit, but are still giving aid. In addition, they still have auto admit to Kelley Business. If he gets into his first choice then he is only out the application fee (and the housing deposit that you may want to make).</p>
<p>I think it is insane to apply to only one school, unless it is an early action school that informs you by the first week of December and you KNOW you can afford it.</p>
<p>I really think that this should be a non-negotiable thing: he needs to apply to a couple of financial safeties, at least. (Since I have the world’s most stubborn kid, I know this can be easier said than done. 
)</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that a kid with your son’s stats would really be happy starting at CC if there were other options. He may SAY he does’t care, just because he is sure he will be accepted to UMCP. But in reality, he would care.</p>
<p>S1 applied to three state u’s (two instate/one oos/two flagships/one directional). His first choice was our big state u. It was a safety for him but I made him apply to others just in case something wacko happened (like him changing his mind at the last minute). </p>
<p>S2 applied to only two colleges (both directional state u’s). One was a safety and the other was more of a match (his first choice). He got in his first choice but would have gone to the safety if not accepted to first choice. He def. didn’t want to go to our CC.</p>
<p>I would definitely push your S to apply to a couple more schools just in case UMD doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>Young woman in our neighborhood went to Salisbury, majored in int’l business, graduated magna and has done quite well for herself. </p>
<p>Does that 3.9 weighted include a goodly number of honors/APs? He sounds in the range, but I have seen oddball results in recent years. </p>
<p>In any event, he won’t hear from UMD before RD deadlines at most other schools. If he gets bad news in late January, options are extremely limited unless he’s willing to attend the local CC and transfer in later. </p>
<p>Note on transfers to the UMCP business school – one must have a college GPA of 3.2. Check the business school transfers page – that number may have changed in the past 34 years, since the program is very competitive. We had an intern with a 3.18 when the cutoff was 3.2, with lots of good career-related ECs and and he got a transfer to UMD- Shady Grove. Not what he had in mind.</p>
<p>DEFINITELY have him apply by 11/1. In-state students not applying early can be read as lack of interest; from what I’ve read around here, kids who have been deferred/admitted to spring semester tend to be competitive stat-wise. One of my kids’ GC told the tale of a tippy-top student who didn’t apply til Feb (back when the deadline was that late) and did a sloppy app because the student was so confident of acceptance. That thin envelope was a shocker.</p>
<p>[Office</a> of Undergraduate Admissions · University of Maryland » Freshman Profile](<a href=“http://www.admissions.umd.edu/counselor/FreshmanProfile.php]Office”>http://www.admissions.umd.edu/counselor/FreshmanProfile.php)</p>
<p>–parent of two kids who were accepted at UMCP</p>
<p>Maryland resident here.</p>
<p>Oldest just graduated from UMD -CP. In my experience, there is no such thing as a sure thing in admissions to College Park.* Especially if you live in Montgomery or Howard County.*</p>
<p>UMD needs to admit students from the entire state. Based only on GPA, rigor of courses taken, and SAT scores, they could fill most of the freshman class from kids just from those two high performing counties. So you need better than “match” statistics if you live in those counties, even higher stats if you attend the top high schools in those counties or some of the well known privates.</p>
<p>Salisbury has a good business school.</p>
<p>FWIW, College Park was a “match” for my son, and also his top choice. He planned to apply to 7 colleges, but only completed 5 applications because he heard from College Park before he finished the last two. He was offered admission to all 5.</p>
<p>I’d suggest a couple of IS options - may be UMBC and St. Mary’s College in case you don’t get merit $ from OOS safeties.</p>
<p>Personally I’m a believer in fit and if your son’s fit is a match he does not need a lot of schools. I would think 2 or 3 applications would be fine assuming the extra ones were safeties. One caveat … if this were my kid I would be OK with these 2-3 applications as long as my kid has visited some other schools and see their options and was deciding on only 2-3 applications from a position of knowledge.</p>
<p>CountingDown, is it safe to assume that the SATs cited in your link are CR+M?</p>
<p>There are a lot of schools in which the app does not require an essay. I would find a couple of those schools that have the major that your son is interested in and offer OOS aid. IMO it’s better to be safe than sorry.</p>