Clearly, there is a lot of disappointment, surprise and questions from unexpected outcomes with admissions. Note that I am a parent of a recent graduate, so these explanations are not “official” in any way, so if you have questions or concerns, I would recommend asking the school itself. In the meantime, I hope this clarifies things to some degree.
I remember the worry, as the first-time parent of a college student, that not being invited to honors college would lessen the chances of a good job. If other schools offered honors admissions, and four times the scholarship money, I wondered if my son should choose one of them.
My son’s reaction was that Maryland was the best fit for him and that’s where he wanted to go (as long as we could swing the finances - we are OOS). He was disappointed he didn’t get admitted to honors college, but whatever, he would still graduate with honors. I said there is no way to guarantee that because college is a different story than high school and engineering is a tough major. He said, mom, you worry too much. Fast forward several years, he graduated with lots of bling and cords from all the special programs and honors he earned. More importantly, he landed a great job, supports himself financially in every way, and really loves what he is doing.
Similarly, on another thread, @NusaDua reported "My daughter did FC (2016) and got all A’s her freshman year and was invited to join Civicus for her sophomore year. She chose not to because she is working on a double major and didn’t want the extra required classes or live in Civicus housing(she got a single in a dorm apartment on south campus.) Entering UMD she was sad she only got FC(34 ACT) and not regular fall admission and would have loved Civicus but time changes people and they see they don’t need “special classes"or housing to succeed. So even if you don’t get what you want entering UMD you can succeed and get into programs later due to your gpa.”
Sometimes, an unexpected outcome is a great motivator. Students that are honors students will be exactly that, regardless of what program they initially were placed in or not. Placement in a program is an external factor that does not predict success. I stand by my belief that success in life is not dependent on where you go to college as much as what you do when you get there.
I have tried to explain that the Maryland honors college is not as much a “status” like other universities, but rather it is more of a “program.”
At other universities, anyone meeting a set academic threshold of performance (whether it is gpa or standardized tests or class rank) is invited to honors. Plain, simple, straightforward, predictable.
At other universities, being in honors means access to special classes and sometimes it also gives perks like registering earlier than peers.
At Maryland, there is NO specific academic threshold set that determines invitations. Reviews for invites are done independently of admissions. There are lots of factors that go into the invites and frankly, none of us are privy to that information. It’s highly unpredictable.
Yes, it is designed for academically talented students, but not being invited does not mean you are not academically talented, nor does it mean you are in a “lower” percentage of admitted students.
The honors college at Maryland includes a living learning community component, so space is LIMITED. Plain and simple. Yes, those invited get access to special programs and yes they have access to exclusive classes (program theme classes and other smaller size classes that include seminars and honors version of core classes) and maybe even an exclusive ice cream party. Students that complete the requirements get a citation on their transcript and bling at graduation. (Note that if you are admitted to departmental honors, you will also have access to honors seminars and h-versions of classes)
However, note that with the benefits of special classes/housing/programming, there are requirements - that means extra classes which translates to more time commitment. There is no perk (other than some earlier orientation dates which translates to earlier class selection for the initial semester) of registering earlier than you peers simply by virtue of being in honors college.
After your first semester, registering for classes is based solely on credits earned. Students coming in with a lot of AP credits have the edge of extra credits, so it’s definitely possible that, for the spring class selection, a first semester freshman can get an earlier class pick time than a first semester sophomore.
There are lots of other LLP (living learning programs/communities) that students get invited to, and they also have their own exclusive programming, events and classes. If you were invited to one you have never heard of, I personally would not turn it down. Hopefully, you will get most of your questions about the program answered at admitted students day. In the meantime, say yes to it. Try it. If you find you don’t like it, you can always drop it.
And yes, students with top stats, can and do get admitted to the LEP of their choice, but no invites to any LLP. Or students with top stats will get invited to honors or scholars or another program, yet will not get direct admission to the LEP of their choice.
Sometimes, “just” getting admitted to Maryland is the outcome, and that is nothing to scoff at. I know of many students that would give their eye teeth to be “just admitted and nothing else.”
I honestly would not read anything into not getting the outcome you hoped for/expected. That does not make your accomplishments any less. It does not put you in a bottom quartile.
Whether you were admitted or not, you should all take pride in all that you have accomplished and do not compare your outcome to anyone else’s.
To that end, I love the post from @lycoris, and particularly the statement, “I will do the best with what I have like I have always done.”
