Please chance me for Maryland -- Low GPA/High ACT

Hi everyone! I’m an OOS applicant from Texas very interested in Maryland due to its proximity to DC and overall academic strength. Please chance me based on the following information:

GPA: 3.47 UW, ~3.7 Weighted, Really low junior year grades (3.0), no unusual personal circumstances
ACT: 33 (all subscores above 30)
APUSH: 5, AP Chem: 3, USH Subject Test: 710
Extremely strong extracurriculars (class council, president of a few clubs, internships), above average rec letters, above average but not stellar essays

My major will likely be Poli Sci.

Also, would applying by the priority deadline give me a significant advantage in admissions?

Thank y’all so much!

My daughter who is OOS got into Freshman Connection with the same gpa and 32 ACT score. I would think as long as you get your application in soon you should at least get Freshman Connection.

Thank you so much @NusaDua !

My son applied to Maryland early action with same GPA and a 33 Act. What is Freshman Connection?

@curiouscali100
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1742573-freshman-connection-questions.html

My daughter is in FC this semester and loves it. The whole floor of her dorm is FC which helps since classes don’t start until 3pm. The dinning hall is open until 12am and she told me she goes to the gym around 10 pm. There is a lot of activity due to FC late in the evening. Her largest class only has 30 students. She found that all of the students she talked to that were OOS were from limited enrollment programs. These programs can only take so many OOS students. So your scores might be just as good as a regular admit they just weren’t as high as the LEP students. My daughter said she would do it again in a heart beat. Plus she has Fridays off.

Just wanted to clarify about LEPs (limited enrollment programs)… The determination of a Spring admit (so Freshman Connection) v a Fall admit is entirely the decision of the university itself, irrespective of LEP request.

The admission to the LEP is done by the department themselves, only AFTER the university decides which applicants to admit to the university itself, and only those admitted are sent for a second evaluation by different programs. Each LEP uses their own set of criteria for admission which is entirely independent of the university review. So, no worries about applying to LEPs if you are OOS.

To the best of my knowledge, the observation of LEPs only taking “so many OOS students” may just be an anecdotal/coincidental circumstance of those choosing to enroll in Freshman Connection (it is an optional, first-come, first-serve program)…Yes, the university itself has a limit on OOS students (note that they do accept more OOS than most public, state universities), but not the LEPs themselves.

However, it is absolutely true that LEPs are limited due to space. LEPs are more competitive because of this, so even students that are admitted to honors college may not be admitted to the LEP requested.