Question about Smith - Internships, Scholars and Transfer as a Junior

<p>I got into the Smith School of Business for Fall 2010 but I probably won't be able to attend UMCP because of financial reasons. The only plausible alternative is going to Community College and transferring as a Junior. </p>

<p>How hard is it to get into Smith as a Transfer? I've heard conflicting things - some says it's harder than as a direct admit, some say it's actually easier. Obviously going to a CC would mean internships the summer of Sophomore year are completely out of the question. Do people get internships as rising Juniors at UMCP? Also how meaningful do you think the Scholars program is - specifically BSE?</p>

<p>Smith is the toughest school in the whole of UMD. it is actually tougher than general admission to umd as a freshman/ transfer. I have had friends who were denied from smith with 3.8GPAs, its ridiculous honestly.</p>

<p>If you got in as a freshman your best bet is to go. Trying to go as a transfer is tougher.</p>

<p>^ I’m hearing that a lot, but on an other post in this forum someone said they let just about anyone in. My parents have essentially given up on paying for college and the prospect of saving 80k over 2 years is very tempting (I’ll be paying OOS tuition…).</p>

<p>I think you should really go to UMCP this fall. It is very hard to get into the Smith school, and having gotten in is pretty impressive. Transferring is a lot tougher, and most likely you will not get in to smith, even if you do get in as a transfer. Your best bet is to try to get a scholarship or financial aid, or going to another university that has the equal business stats as umcp. Good luck!</p>

<p>right, or defer you admission to spring (take classes at a community college in the mean while), and try to find some scholarship/ aid. And for transfers, if you are denied from smith once, you can NEVER apply again, unless you want to try for shady grove which isn’t worth it. It is very impressive that you got into smith as a freshman, try to explain you situation, I would like to think if you can get into smith as a freshman you should be pretty competitive for financial aid. Remember Smith is a top 50 undergrad B school.</p>

<p>^I like the option of deferring.</p>

<p>Do you think you can defer for a whole year? Maybe call admissions and ask. </p>

<p>If you are able to defer for a year then you still save 40K according to your calculations. You can try to take as many gen ed or other courses that count towards graduation as possible at CC. It may then be feasible to graduate the university in 3 yrs. </p>

<p>One thing that’s not true, is that there is no reason you can’t get an internship after 2 years of good grades at a CC. You may have to do a little extra work in terms of searching for one, but I think a lot of business companies would love to have a straight-A CC student (esp. if you’ve taken applicable courses…I am sure your CC offers math, accounting, statistics, etc. courses) on the intern payroll. </p>

<p>The other thing that is definitely true, is of course juniors at MD get internships. Junior summer is the most popular time for internships.</p>

<p>I am confused about why you would want to go to UMCP OOS, though, if you really have to go to community college for 2 yrs. Did you apply to your state school as a financial safety? I can’t see any flagship state unis being that much worse than MD. I would say you should probably go to a school in your state for all 4 yrs. </p>

<p>It seems like it’d be tough especially to get your bearings transferring in that late. Like, maybe it’d be better to spend 4 yrs somewhere cheaper, even if it is ranked slightly lower.</p>

<p>^ I live in MD, but because of some immigration issues I’m going to have to pay OOS at UMD. I assume getting an internship as a Sophomore would be easier at UMCP than at a Community College. Do Sophomores at UMCP get internships usually or do people just wait until Junior year?</p>

<p>Ahhh, I see…</p>

<p>Students at MD sometimes get internships after sophomore summer, but not always. I know many who have and many who haven’t. It’s generally seen as less critical than one junior summer, but business majors especially like to be overachievers in that department.</p>

<p>It would be harder after CC because you might have to put some extra effort into demonstrating on your resume that you would have the skills of any 4-yr university student (stating specific classes that are applicable, etc.), and you may have to go out of your way to find the opportunities (as opposed to just seeing a flyer in a hallway or logging onto Hire Smith). At the same time, I honestly think they’d rather have a CC graduate with good grades than an underclassmen at a 4 yr with mediocre grades (which many people have and still get internships haha).</p>

<p>So, meh, all is not lost in the slightest…</p>

<p>I see. Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it :)</p>

<p>CC grades don’t transfer to 4-Year University, do they?</p>

<p>No - but good grades would definitely be helpful when it comes to getting a decent resume-building job freshmen summer (NOT burger king!) as well as perhaps an internship sophomore summer. And of course when it comes to getting admitted to the business school. </p>

<p>Additionally, many CCs in Maryland have special agreements with universities in MD - ex. you are an auto-admit if you get X GPA, etc. There are also fairly extensive scholarships awarded to CC graduates attending a uni in Maryland. I know a kid on a full scholarship, in fact. Check this out: [University</a> of Maryland - Transfer Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.admissions.umd.edu/admissions/finaid/scholarshiptransfer.asp]University”>http://www.admissions.umd.edu/admissions/finaid/scholarshiptransfer.asp)</p>

<p>If you do take the CC route, make sure you keep your goals in mind. A lot of people waste time in CC (i.e. aren’t careful to take the courses required for their major & therefore end up spending 3-4 yrs rather than 2 at uni anyway), get discouraged because some of the student’s are slackers or some classes may be easy, don’t join clubs or otherwise work to build their resume, etc. However, a CC can definitely lead you to success if you push yourself. I recommend trying to see if you can sit down with an advisor in the business school and ask about how to put yourself in the best position to transfer in, what courses you should take, etc.</p>