Are the scholars programs, particularly public leadership and business, a huge load on each semester and are they writing intensive programs?
I’m not sure if the scholars program works the same as the honors program, but my son was able to find a list of the fall 2016 online, and there’s a description for each seminar. Some of the descriptions explain the assignments.
I believe that all of the Scholars courses satisfy GenEd (elective) requirements, so it’s not really any additional work relative to Graduation requirements.
SoofDad is correct that the elective courses can satisfy GenEd requirements, if you select them that way (lots of options so it depends on your interests and whether you have room in schedule to choose a class that you are interested in, but doesn’t fulfill a GenEd - my son def only took the electives that dual counted for scholars/GenEd).
FYI, the one credit scholars seminar classes in the first year don’t fulfill GenEd, but the final capstone class does (where you do your internship or research or mentorship).
Can’t speak for your specific program (my son did STS) but the one credit classes first year did have writing assignments; not difficult from what he said but I do remember some of the work he did was career prep stuff like writing a resume. There were community service activities and site visits to unique places, so I kinda think I remember his saying one of his assignments was to review/report on the site visit. So, I really don’t think it was difficult or extensive.
@maryversity, first, thank you for all your insight. I’ve been reading your valuable advice on various threads. My son is undeclared major in engineering right now. He is also in STS. He does have a lot of AP credits and will also place out of the Diff Eq and the ENES100 class which he did during the Young Scholars Program. I think he will have all the General Ed courses already covered by the time he joins this Fall. Is it advisable to do the STS since he really doesn’t need it? I would rather he spends time doing a double major or a minor. What would you recommend?
Well, I think that is a personal choice, but I would definitely have him start the program so he can make his own decision. If he likes it, he finishes it, if not, he drops it. Not a big deal.
The advantages of STS are the location of the dorm (can’t get much closer to engineering classes if you tried, right across from Epply Rec Center for working out, right by the Incon (a convenience store that is nicknamed “incon” because the hours are inconvenient haha), the scholars community has some fun activities to help him develop friendships, there is a career prep component to the program, and the site visits are pretty cool - things you can’t do otherwise, such as visiting the ARL (Army Research Lab), which was my son’s fave.
It’s great that your son will have a lot of AP credits, but unless he is taking Diff Eq at a college, the AP credits will not place him out of Diff Eq. The way it works for placement is that the highest he will place is Math 140, then AP/transfer credits will allow him to sign up for a higher math. http://www.transfercredit.umd.edu/APGenEd.pdf
And it’s great that he did the YSP version of ENES100 as it does free up room in his schedule to do other classes. Before trying to tackle a double major, let him see how he does transitioning to college and get a better feel for what he might want to do. Understand that, unlike most other majors, engineering does not have a whole lot of room for choosing “extra” classes because so many are required. As they progress, the classes get increasingly difficult/demanding. So, if your son has a lot of AP credits, he will be starting further along in the curriculum, which will be even more demanding than most of his peers. Rather than tackling a full second major, the “free time” in his schedule will allow him to do a program like QUEST or Hinman CEOs if either of those appeal to him.
FWIW, my son’s absolute favorite “elective” for STS (which also fulfilled I-series GenEd and Scholars in Practice GenEd) was CMSC289I Rise of the Machines:Artificial Intelligence Comes of Age (no comp sci background required as it is NOT a programming class). It’s only offered in the Fall, and is a small class with limited spaces available. If he has an early orientation, he may have a chance of getting a seat.
Thank you so much for your insight. I was looking at Quest and the Hinman CEO program and they seem to be for Honors students. Is that right? Thanks, maryversity.
Well, QUEST is indeed an honors program, but applications are NOT restricted to students in the honors college. You have to apply for it after you matriculate, and do an interview. They have info sessions and actually come to a scholars class to conduct an info session (at least they did 3 years ago). The application I believe is due at the end of January and they let you know if you make it to the interview round I believe sometime in February, and you will know by end of March. FYI, your performance in college the first semester is more relevant than being in honors college (which is based on high school performance). It is highly competitive (about 45 students per cohort) and only students in engineering, business and CMNS can apply.
Hinman CEOs, on the other hand, is a living learning community that is open to ALL majors. It also involves an application process with an interview, and they also look at college transcript. I think the application becomes available in October-ish and they do admissions earlier than QUEST because of the residential component (guaranteed housing in South Campus Commons). It is also very competitive. Since this is only a two year program, the majority of students apply in sophomore year (for participating as juniors/seniors), but it is absolutely open for freshmen to apply to (for participating as sophomores/juniors).
Also, if he’s not sure he wants to do a whole program in entrepreneurship, he can just take a course…http://innovation.umd.edu/learn/fearless-ideas-courses/
http://www.mtech.umd.edu/educate/courses/
http://innovation.umd.edu/learn/
Thanks, maryversity! I appreciate your guidance very much! You should be on UMD’s payroll! 
Glad to help. And you are not the first person to suggest that, lol. Funny enough, a few years back, this one kid accused me of being a Maryland rep in disguise and refused to believe I am just a parent/alum. However, this is just my way of paying forward a debt of gratitude to the parents who did this before me (who were (and some still are!) of tremendous help to me), and also a way of giving back as an alum.
@Skyisblue2020 Just a heads up for your son that the QUEST info sessions are this coming week…
Applications for Cohorts 29 and 30 will open in December 2016.
Upcoming information sessions:
November 9, 2016 - KIM, Room 1110, 7 PM
November 10, 2016 - VMH, Room 1212, 7 PM
November 14, 2016 - CSIC, Room 1115, 7 PM
Thanks, Maryversity! Can you please elaborate on the Cohorts 29 and 30? How competitive is Quest? Did your son do the Quest program?
About 4 years ago, QUEST decided to accept a larger number of students by creating 2 cohorts a year (I believe each cohort is around 40-45 students). One cohort starts in the Fall of sophomore year, and the other starts in the Spring of sophomore year - they are just staggered by one semester. Each cohort goes through the curriculum as a group, so you take the core classes in a set sequence together.
It is very competitive, and yes my son was in QUEST. Absolutely loved it. It is all about team problem solving (think systems engineering) and learning how to best utilize assets within your team since you are working with students from business, engineering and CMNS backgrounds. Your son should def attend one of the info sessions!
Here is their annual report that gives you a sense of the program and gives a description of the 3 core classes, 190H, 390H and 490H
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/files/quest_annual_report_2015-2016.pdf
@Skyisblue2020 - in answer to your question about “how competitive” Quest is for admissions, per the annual report, there were 239 applicants last year, 143 of those were selected for an interview, and of those, 90 were admitted. The average GPA based on college transcript alone was 3.68.
Thank you so much, @maryversity ! You are an invaluable resource!!!
Haha, just a proud alum and very satisfied parent of an alum…