I see a lot of people in the threads getting upset that they weren’t directly admitted to CS.
There is almost no difference between internally transferring once you’re a UMD student and if you were directly admitted.
I applied as a math major, and I was admitted this semester into CS for a dual degree. Since CS is a non-competitive LEP, there is no actual maximum number of students in the major as long as they meet gateway requirements. Every single student who meets the gateway requirements is GUARANTEED to be admitted to the major. Gateway requirements have to be met by ALL CS students regardless of whether they were directly admitted. The only difference is that an internal transfer has to have a 2.7 cumulative GPA to officially add the major to your transcript by the time you complete the entry level courses while direct admits need a 2.0 by the same benchmark.
Afterwards, the 2.0 GPA applies for both types of students. Gateway requirements are just CMSC131 (equivalent to AP Computer Science A), CMSC132 (Second Java class), and MATH140 (Calc 1 or AP Calculus).
Before I was even an official CS major, I was given a Teaching Assistant position for a CS course. I was able to lead a discussion class without being officially in the major.
@s14122 Thanks for the details. It really helps to hear from someone who has gone through the process and validating what they have explained on the university site.
@Hippobirdy You can find all the grade data on Planet Terp. https://planetterp.com/course/CMSC131 for example, is the grade data for the first coding class. Each professor grades differently. You can repeat one course among the three. I find the grades to be quite generous. For example, I got an A in the second programming class despite getting 1 A-, 1 B, and one C on the three midterms and getting an A- on the final. Projects carry your grade
^You can see here that it is non-competitive.
Even if they changed this, whatever rules were made when you enrolled will apply until you graduate. For example, when UMD switched to the GenEd program, students who enrolled before the change had the same requirements as when they enrolled.
@kolifan24315 Very few people fail Engl101. It should be fairly easy if you are a strong writer, but anyone can pass it with effort. A 4 or 5 on AP Lang exempts you from Engl101 as well
Hey thanks for the reply
Additionally, how difficult is cmsc131 and math140 for someone who has done some integral and differential calculus and java up to inheritance?.
I have umass amherst open which has given 16k chancellor scholarship but umd remains my preference. Is the l&s transfer worth the risk?. Do most students succeed at it?. How doable is a 2.7 generally in freshman year typically?
You should join UMass if it’s a great deal cheaper. Are you OOS for both? The CS departments at both schools are really strong so it shouldn’t matter. Maybe visit the Admitted Student Day for both and that’ll help better.
I’m out of state with a residency abroad, and i am a usa citizen so i qualify as out of state. there is almost a 20k worth difference in fees bw the 2 colleges. So, i want to assess how doable the transfer is and if many students usually succeed at it after some slogging
UMD has yet to release merit decisions so that situation may shift slightly for you. They will be released in the next two weeks. Otherwise the price difference is hard to ignore.
Any idea if getting a 4 or 5 on the CS AP exam is really helpful?
I.e. would it be better to not take the credit and get (hopefully) an easy A or at least an easy B?
Son will be FC and will be doing the internal transfer for the CS LEP.
@huchord getting a 5 on Computer Science A (not Principles) exempts you from the first CS course here. It’s useful in that you’re a semester ahead, and you should be totally prepared for the next CS class. Definitely don’t forfeit that credit unless you forgot everything in the class. A 4 does not exempt you, so then you’d have to start from the first class, CMSC131.