<p>jchamberlain909 - It is difficult to say what is going on. There are many variables, and I did some charting of the data I could find out here. 2 kids with identical scores can get different levels of scholarship, so how do we understand this?</p>
<p>There are other variables coming into the decision. For instance, all AP’s are not created equal. Students with hard science and math AP’s (calculus in particular) I suspect are favored, as they are at elite schools. Students whose essay responses are particularly good, and in alignment with the rest of their application and goals might get a better deal. Or it could be that MD gives more money to students in particular programs. Is your prospective major different from your peers?</p>
<p>So it looks random, but there’s a lot more going on than we can see. Even EC’s - you don’t necessarily know every EC on your peer’s lists, nor how they have framed them.</p>
<p>In my case, my APs were both in Calculus AB and BC, Physics C-Mechanics and Physics C-E&M, Computer Science and also history and the social sciences. So my APs were both in technical and non-technical areas so that was not what did it. The apparent randomness of the decision bothers me. I am wondering if UMD has a quota by high school and, coming from a very competitive high school, that I might have somehow just missed the cutoff.</p>
<p>jchamberlain, I am surprised that you were not offered honors or scholars with those grades and a rigorous course load. Merit money is hard to come by at MD so that is less surprising. Do you mind telling your high school? Is it a magnet? Were your SATs skewed – like a relatively low CR and higher math? Just trying to figure it out.</p>
<p>jchamberlain - I don’t know if U MD has school quotas for scholarships. I would look at your GPA first. 4.3 is weighted. What is your GPA on a 4.0 scale? Many schools recalculate GPA, stripping out non-academics. Would that make any difference? </p>
<p>My SAT scores were 720 R and 710 M. I go to high school in Howard County (no magnet schools). I am starting to think that my high school counselor might have been responsible.</p>
<p>jchamberlain, really I think your GPA is biting you. Over 70% of MD’s admitted students had GPA’s of 3.75 and above a few years ago, and I think the average for this class was 3.9. </p>
<p>Honors College candidates are competitive (according to MD) for ivy league admissions, so they have very high GPA’s, 3.9 and up. As I understood it the Scholars program is based on grades/SAT score as well as evidence of community service. </p>
<p>Add together your GPA and your SAT score at the very bottom of the top 25%, I don’t think you need to look much further for your reasons. At least that’s what the numbers convey to me.</p>
<p>What do you think? Is your GPA lower than the folks that got scholarships?</p>
<p>But I did just go back and check the Admitted thread and it looks like there were others admitted to Scholars with GPA/SAT scores quite similar to yours. So IDK about Scholars.</p>
<p>For admissions, I would assume they would be looking at weighted GPA versus unweighted because weighted average GPA is what UMD uses for their statistics. My weighted GPA was 4.45 because I took the most difficult course load possible. I don’t know anyone at my high school who took a more difficult course load. Other people at my high school (offered Scholars) had nearly the same GPA and SAT scores but took a less difficult schedule, which indicates that they received more As in their classes than I did.</p>
<p>Every high school has a different scale for weighted GPA. Maryland recalculates everyone’s GPA on their own scale values, so the weighted GPA you have at your school is not necessarily the same that Maryland uses for their assessments.</p>
<p>As you stated earlier, it is entirely possible you did not get a good recommendation from your counselor. Is there a particular reason you suspect the counselor? </p>
<p>Did you put a lot of time and thought into your essays? If not, that would also hurt you.</p>
<p>Lizzie, as for scholars, it is GPA, test scores, and leadership/community involvement. Again, this is another way that a less than glowing recommendation could hurt. Scholars is not a consolation prize for not being invited to honors.</p>
<p>@jchamberlain99, what high school in Howard County do you go to? UMD maybe has a quota. I also know that unweighted the average GPA 2 years ago was a 3.86</p>
<p>@jchamberlain99 …They also look at things like trending grades…If your “slacking” has occurred during junior or senior year to affect your GPA, that’s much different than if it happened early on. Also, someone who has a similar (or lower) GPA but who gets recommendations about how committed they are, hard working, etc. will show much more favorably than recommendations that don’t say that. Finally, when GPA is lower than SAT scores would indicate they ought to be, it raises questions about how much the student is living up to their potential. </p>
<p>I highly doubt there’s any quota thing happening, and it’s likely that your counselor didn’t say anything bad, per se, but maybe didn’t go on and on about how you are a top student, etc. I don’t think you should put blame there. For all those applicants who didn’t get accepted, they’d probably suggest that you to put this behind you and hit the ground running when you get to UMD. There are additional merit awards available as a sophomore-senior, depending on the college/major you are in, and those definitely go to the top-performing students who’ve proved it after they’ve been enrolled at UMD. Good luck.</p>
<p>What happens if you dont complete the General Scholarship Application? I already received some merit aid without it but will I get federal aid without it?</p>
<p>Would it be worth it to try to get more merit aid with new information?
I participated in fairly prestigious writing conference
Realized I never sent my SATII scores: 700 US 710 Lit 630 Math II. I know these are not great scores but I was hoping to get more than 2k a year.
Fordham gave me a lot of money, should I try to pitch that?</p>
<p>Well, even if SATII scores made a huge difference (which they probably don’t, unfortunately), it’s probably too late in the game to bargain merit aid.
However, I know people have gotten money from other schools by mentioning how much money they have gotten elsewhere. Not sure if it works at UMD though. Word of note: any money you get will probably be need-based, so it’ll be subject to change.</p>