<p>I got into Maryland fall 2010 into the Letters and Science program. I havent been able to find a clear answer as to what it is so could somebody please explain?</p>
<p>I also am having a really hard time deciding between Maryland and Penn State. I loveeee the atmosphere at Penn State and was accepted into the Smeal Program(Business School) but oos tuition there is unbelivabley high(I am from Maryland, so i have in state for UMD).
I would really appreciate peoples opinions. Thanks</p>
<p>Letters and Sciences means that you either put “undecided” on your application when you applied, or you applied, but didn’t get into, an LEP. Basically, you go to the University and then have until the end of your sophomore year to declare a major.</p>
<p>Thanks alot, does anyone have an opinion about Penn State?</p>
<p>I would say that Maryland’s business school is more well-respected than Penn State’s but PSU parties harder. If you felt more at home at Penn State then go there. I’m sure you will do fine at either school.</p>
<p>marylands undergraduate business program is ranked 16 in america yours 21st but the difference is a .1 Md 3.9 penn 3.8. Instead of paying that out of state tuition i’d pay for a dorm at umd and just stay there. Maryland is a pretty good school with good looking chicks and pretty good parties. </p>
<p>However this year umd got a 43 from businessweek and they gave smear a 38… </p>
<p>My thoughts.</p>
<p>I heard of kids who got originally denied to UMDs busiess school out of high school (letters and sciences), then applied at the end of there sophomore year and still got denied. Those kids were forced to switch into an Econ major because they could not pursue there major at UMD. So smeal is much safer.</p>
<p>On another note. I know of 2 kids a few years ago we got in Smeal but not Smith. They were like how is that possible. A few months or so later they got an email from UMD saying you have been accepted into Smith. So try emailing UMD?</p>
<p>Hi. I’m an advisor in Letters and Sciences. Although this thread is a bit old, I wanted to comment in case someone else comes across this…some folks have it right in this thread. If you aren’t accepted into one of Maryland’s 10 Limited Enrollment Programs (LEPs), you can apply again after completing prerequisites and obtaining certain GPA requirements. Students do this as “internal transfers.” Most of the LEPs are “promised” as long as you hit those requirements. A couple, like Business (BMGT), are competitive. That’s why everyone doesn’t get it. Students are always asked to have an alternative major in the event that doesn’t happen. Did you know a lot of students who originally want Business later change their minds and majors? More than half! See this too <a href=“http://www.lep.umd.ed%5B/url%5D”>www.lep.umd.ed</a></p>
<p>LTSCAdvisor–My daughter is also deciding between PSU and UMD. She got turned down for her major at both schools (graphic design @psu; architecture @umd), but received “undeclared” acceptances. She is into Letters and Sciences, and accepted to CP Scholars at UMD. I take special note of your comment above regarding many of the LEPs being “promised,” with caveats…how about the Architecture major? Would my D have hope of getting into that later on?</p>
<p>By the way, to the Original Poster here, I would pick UMD in a SECOND as a Maryland resident. My daughter is going through a similar thought process, but would pay OOS tuition at either school. Hands down it would be UMD if I were you/your parent!</p>
<p>Transferring from L&S is very hard… From my personal experience in the fall of 2010 as a first year student, the first semester is rough for almost everyone and grades first semester will be surprising. First year grads though year are what is most important for an internal transfers.</p>
<p>My son was a 2009 UMD Smith graduate. He was originally in L&S and transferred into the business school after his soph year. Assuming things haven’t changed since he was there, here are a few thoughts:</p>
<ol>
<li>Smith is very competitive. Although a number of years ago you could get in as long as you had over a 3.0, that is no longer the case. You likely need a 3.5 or higher to feel comfortable about getting in from L&S. The business school requirements should be online and you could probably call Smith and get those stats.</li>
<li>Assuming things haven’t changed since my son was at UMD, a little known secret is that in addition to applying to Smith at College Park, you can (at the same time) apply to Smith at Shady Grove. It is easier to get into Shady Grove and you still receive a UMD Smith degree. You would still be a student at College Park, could live at College Park as it’s only about a 40 minute drive to Shady Grove, would take all your non-business school courses at College Park and would just need to take all your business courses at Shady Grove. A downside is there aren’t as many major selections at Shady Grove. It’s been a few years so my recollection of all of this may be off a bit, but you could call UMD and get the update. </li>
<li>UMD had (and probably still has) a program called “Freshman Forgiveness” where you can retake courses from freshmen year if you are unhappy with the grade you received freshmen year. Only the higher of the two grades goes into your GPA calculation (although I believe both go on your transcript) and I believe (but am not certain) Smith does not take into account the lower grade when evaluating applicants from L&S. If you do re-take a course under this program, you only get credit for it once and the course not included in your GPA does not count when calculating the number of credits toward graduation.</li>
<li>The PSU business school (Smeal) and UMD business school (Smith) are very similarly ranked, although PSU is known better for getting its students jobs and internships. Also, for jobs, when my son was there, UMD/Smith focused primarily on the DC/Baltimore area and was not very good at helping students find jobs outside of this area (in NYC for example). My son fortunately got a great job in NYC, but he got it on his own.</li>
</ol>
<p>My DS applied to the Engineering school and was admitted to L&S for Fall 2011. Is this considered one of the “competitive” schools and there may be a chance that he would not be able to do an internal transfer in his sophmore year?</p>
<p>Is the reason for being admitted to L&S - instead of being admitted directly into the major- due to the student not having some of the necessary qualifications for the major?</p>