<p>I just talked to a friend of mine and he had a 3.(?) GPA and 1840 SAT's and didn't get in. He's in-state and so am I, but I always thought of UMD as a safety until this year, when I have learned about people I know who got rejected. Now that I really am focusing on colleges, though - I don't know if I can get in. My GPA is a 90% unweighted and 93% weighted, so a 4.0 weighted and 3.8 or so unweighted. My SAT's are a 1300 on my first try, but hopefully I can get them up to 1400+ because Math was only a 600. </p>
<p>So my two questions are: </p>
<p>Can I get in?</p>
<p>If I get in, is it worth going to such a state school over somewhere less prestigious out of state (not likely to get aid from comparable schools OOS)?</p>
<p>I'm freaking out about the college process now because when I was 13 or something I thought I was going to Stanford, but after getting a reality check, I feel like the school that I thought of as a gimme - UMCP - is hard to get into and schools even close to Stanford (northwestern, duke, usc) are high reaches >.<</p>
<p>Well, that 90%/93% is pretty good. Just keep it up and take a few more AP or Honors classes. Rigorous classes helps. Your SAT score definitely needs some improvement, but I think you can get that 1400+. And also keep in mind everything else counts: Extracurriculars, essays, etc. </p>
<p>Me, I got in with a 3.38 GPA, but a 2270 SAT and loads of extracurriculars. And I thought my essays were good. </p>
<p>So yeah, UMCP is hard to get in, and gets harder every year. It’s probably only a safety for those who knows they can get to the Ivy Leagues and other amazing school. Now those schools are extremely hard to get in. Go to those school’s threads on CollegeConfidential and look at some of the stats profile; they’re just, wow. </p>
<p>Your second question: UMD is a great school. If you can get in there with a full ride, or just needing to pay little of the tuition, then it’s a perfectly good choice. It’s definitely much better than less prestigious OOS, then.</p>
<p>In my school everyone who is really smart goes there because they don’t get into Stanford, Upenn, or can’t afford Notre Dame + similiar schools.</p>
<p>We barely ever send anyone to Ivies, but we can get a couple kids each year into ND, Northwestern etc. The rest all go to UMDCP, and they are really smart kids. I’m confused by this though because I thought of CP as a party school :P</p>
<p>And my EC’s are weak. I don’t like volunteering for really extroverted stuff like speech and debate so I do yearbook and newspaper :d</p>
<p>Did you live in Maryland btw</p>
<p>MD hasn’t been a safety for a while now. MD does not really factor in ECs for admission. They give a lot of weight to SAT and GPA. ECs do matter for scholars and honors programs. I think your stats look good for admission.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Maryland - Freshman Profile Information](<a href=“http://www.admissions.umd.edu/admissions/counselor/freshmanprofile.asp]University”>http://www.admissions.umd.edu/admissions/counselor/freshmanprofile.asp)</p>
<p>The most important thing to know about applying to UMCP is that you really need to apply by the university’s priority deadline, November 1. </p>
<p>Only students who apply by November 1 are eligible for Honors, College Park Scholars or merit aid. All students who apply by November 1 have a better shot at admission than students who apply after that date.</p>
<p>I quite agree that UMCP has ceased to be a safety school for most Marylanders, but I think you have a very good chance of being admitted. Even more so if you do get that 1400 you’re shooting for.</p>
<p>The thing to remember is that with the economy in the tanks and UMDCP being the flagship for MD, they have a lot of students applying, so if the economy does not improve you can expect it to remain competitive.</p>
<p>The other issue is going to be your major. Like any college, they have certain academic degrees that are seen as being very competitive when it comes to gpas, rank, stats, etc.</p>
<p>UMDCP a few yrs ago started programs for certain counties that wanted engineering, I can’t remember the counties, but I am sure if engineering is your desire the school can tell you the exact name of the program and the counties. I believe it is only 3 counties in the state.</p>
<p>UMDCP has done everything they can to increase IS enrollment, to the point that they decreased OOS acceptance rate from 30 to 25%, thus being able to get more IS students in. However, again, because of the economy they have been unable to keep up with the demand.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I think that you have a very good chance of getting in if 1) you should apply by Nov 1 2) write good essays. I woundn’t take the SAT again if your goal is to get into UM. Write good essays with the help of a coach if that is not your stong point (700 in reading is pretty good). IMHO UM is overrated based on the stats. My son had a 3.5 and 1330 OSS and he was accepted. The rating of your school is also very important. My son’s 3.5 is much higher then his SAT scores, there are over 50 students in his school going to IVY league schools. If you take honors and AP classes in his school it’s hard to pull consistant A’s. How many people get 5’s on their AP’s and get a B in the class on a consistant basis? UM I believe doesn’t look at the scores in the admission process (I could be wrong). Good luck</p>
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<p>I think this kind of depends on what the OP wants. If he or she wants admission to College Park, then, yeah. If he or she wants Honors or College Park Scholars or merit aid, then I think both good essays and raising the Math SAT would be very helpful. I’d agree you don’t need to worry about the CR at all; just take SATs again (if you choose to do so) and focus on improving on the 600 in Math.</p>
<p>Most of all, no matter what else you do, apply by Nov. 1. Better than that, apply by October 15. It won’t give you an advantage in admissions, but the admissions office gets so overwhelmed with applications in the second half of October that they are very slow to update your admissions information online. If something is missing (recommendation, SATs, whatever), you could end up not knowing about it for two weeks. Leave yourself a cushion.</p>