DS19 felt ‘that’ vibe with the UMD rep when we visited NACAC PVA last night in NYC. It had been a school on my radar, but not his up until that point.
In general, every school we stopped to talk to last night said male VP students were needed and there are plenty of scholarships out there for them, which sounded perfect for us! In fact, most discussions were ho-hum when he asked about the BM. When they asked ‘what instrument?’ and he said VP Classical, they all came alive and were eager to keep him there while throwing out the word ‘scholarship’. One school even said it didn’t matter if he missed the EA deadline, just be sure to submit in the next few days because he is a male vocalist and they are looking for them!
Anyway, I would love some insight about the VP program and/or the campus. I know that getting a good vibe from one person behind a table isn’t enough to change gears and add it to our list…plus that goes the opposite way, too, since a few schools he was very interested in had reps that turned him off immediately, and I had to remind him that in the long run these fairs aren’t supposed to make or break his feelings about a school.
We met a really nice admissions person at UMD who is, coincidentally, a vocalist. Maybe your S could reach out to him? My S isn’t applying as the program wasn’t right for him (he’s a jazz sax player doubling music ed.), but was very impressed by this guy on our visit. His info is here: http://www.music.umd.edu/faculty/music_directory/administration_and_staff His name is Aaron Paige.
@Scubachick should have some good insight…she has a D in the Opera Studio (graduate program) there. Also, all of you with VP Sons, congratulations! It is soooo very different for the VP Daughters!
We have not felt the slightest bit of extra love for having a male interested in VP!? That is really interesting. Hope to feel some love during the admissions process! I have a soprano daughter coming up behind and I’m hoping she wants to apply to some lovely laid back LAC’s with no auditions. 
I know nothing about UMD, but it’s always nice to feel loved and recruited!
It is so easy to be swayed by representatives of schools, tour guides, etc. My kids were, and sometimes, I, a rational adult, was too. Now that your son has been so welcomed, maybe he would be up for a deeper investigation. But there are times I found my kids went with those first superficial impressions from an encounter with one person. And it was fine 
PM me. D is in the grad program. So far so good.