@flyboy1968 what’s the stigma exactly?
@owsophomoreyear what do you mean you would not “fit” into FC? What is there to fit into? You’re on campus, you’re living in a dorm, you’re attending classes. If you fit into UMD, you fit into UMD. What am I missing?
DD just found out she was accepted OOS this morning. 1440 SAT, 4.3 weighted GPA, 5 AP’s, a lot of volunteer work and some leadership. She is thrilled. One of her top 2 schools.
Accepted OOS into scholars program. 1460 SAT 3.54 UWGPA and 4.27 WGPA a few EC and a lot of work experience. 5 AP with 4s and 5s
D accepted, worth the wait
@JY1424 You can can enroll in Freshman Connection, which will allow you to start at UMD in the Fall, living in a Dorm.
Check out this link
https://oes.umd.edu/incoming-current-visiting-students/freshmen-connection
My daughter didn’t feel there was any stigma associated with FC but then again she was OOS. She lived in a dorm with other FC students. She got all of the classes she wanted. Got to sleep in late and didn’t have any Friday classes. She had regular UMD teachers and the class sizes were small. She said if she had to do it over again she wouldn’t hesitate to do FC. Her sophomore year she got all of the classes she wanted and even got a single in an apartment dorm on South Campus. After that first semester no one would ever know you even did FC. She has made the Deans list every semester too. Another positive was she was able to take three of the required prereqs to take upper level courses in her major so was actually ahead of regular admits who couldn’t get into them.
The only negative thing is joining clubs since most meet when you have class and the fact that fall regular admits can pick classes before you for the spring semester but my daughter got what she wanted. Also, you only have one day for orientation and not the sleep over like regular admits.
UMD was her first choice due to the major they offered and the proximity to DC so it was a no brainer for her. At first she was disappointed she thought with a 34 ACT(under 4.0 gpa) she would have been a fall admit. We even went to accepted student days at Northeastern and Penn State which were also in her top three but on the way home from both she felt UMD was the right fit for her and she was right.
My son got into Scholars too. Does anyone know if they join scholars, will they still have time to join any of the sports clubs, intramurals etc and go to the football games etc?
@Peanut38, I found these two links on FIRE that are very helpful. Looks like a awesome opportunity!
Accepted OOS. 31 ACT 95/100 GPA, tons of leadership, community service, and unique extracurriculars. Also accepted to the CIVICUS program and my letter says “You should be especially proud of your invitation to the CIVICUS program. This innovative living-learning program combines the personal attention of a small college with the diversity and opportunity of a large research university.Living together in Somerset residence hall, CIVICUS associates are community leaders engaged in service-learning on campus and in local communities to make a positive difference”
Everyone with thoughts on Freshman Connection- There really is NO stigma. I have many friends who have gone through FC and actually preferred it! They are housed together so they all had the same schedule making dorm life easy! (they all slept in every morning) Nobody else on campus knows your schedule or cares. There were plenty of fall admits taking later classes too because they had daytime jobs or just didn’t want to get up early. There really is no difference unless you hoped to play on one of the varsity teams. (which lets face it- you wouldve probably had to be recruited for anyway) DONT BE STUPID- If UMD is your dream school- don’t not go because of that!!
I know of a student with a scholarship who was FC. It really isn’t a big deal. I am actually hoping my D gets accepted and if it’s FC, that’s fine with us! Unfortunately, we still have to wait as School of Music has intentionally requested all decisions be held until they meet with admissions. It’s another week or 2 wait for us.
For those who were accepted FC, do NOT discount it! And for those who got Scholars instead of Honors, it isn’t a demotion. Again, I know a student who had the same stats as my son. She’s premed, he’s EE. Sometimes it’s all about the fit of the student as they offer different things.
For those of you accepted, Congratulations! UMD is getting very difficult to get into. If you notice the various stats, the standardized test scores are incredibly high. My son is currently a junior there and just in the past 3 years we have seen a change. Per some of the staff there, they want to make UMD the “Berkeley of the East” and by choosing such high quality students they will. I will say that they do need to keep up in terms of professors in some of the majors. 
True about scholars vs honors @ijh0828. The 2 programs are both great in their own distinct ways. I’m still waiting for my DS to get home and open his decision (sitting on pins and needles…) but I am convinced he would be a better fit for scholars than for honors.
Can fc dorm with non fc students?
S in state, accepted to honors college, Smith
Sat: 780M, 730E
GPA: 3.8uw/4.6w
5’s on AP, varsity athlete, NHS
Not sure what this all means. MD might be option if he is selected for key scholarship.
Yes they can dorm with who they want. It was nice for my daughter who just went random because all of the students on her floor were in FC so it was very quiet before noon since they all sleep in. My daughter had friends that roomed with non FC and they did fine.
Do they award merit scholarships with your deicssion letter? Or does that come later
@tscarp12 I believe someone mentioned merit scholarship information comes out in March.
Merit awards come out later, mid-February or so.
Still no letter in my Coalition? Received email that Decision made so odd?