@maryversity You have been VERY helpful to so many of us and it is greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!
@Momofseveral10 I apologize if my mistake of assigning that gender is offensive. I honestly am just trying to answer as many questions as possible, as fast as I can with a few stolen moments here and there…
There are a variety of programs within Carillon, so it is not just a good fit for a sociology major…The site lists the following:
Social Justice - Art and Activism, Free Speech, iGIVE, Linguistic Profiling, Riots
Science - Language, Once and Future Planet, Visualizing Knowledge, Weather and Climate
Entrepreneurship - Enterprising Cultures
To be fair, I am not as knowledgable about Carillon as I am about scholars and engineering. However, my experience with Maryland has been nothing but positive. They really do an outstanding job working with students to offer the best experiences possible.
I understand your disappointment about honors. As I’ve explained on other threads, the honors college at Maryland is NOT comparable to other schools’ programs. That’s why I have stuck around on this forum, even now that my son has graduated. It was another parent who clued me in to that difference, and I am paying my gratitude forward. If my son had declined Maryland based on a (mistakenly) perceived “snub,” he would have missed out on the best experience of his life. He truly loved his time at Maryland and got a lot out of it. He had some very unique experiences and all because he had an open mind…
Bear in mind, too, that when students/parents post stats on this forum, you are not seeing the whole picture that admissions does. You cannot say that just because another student has lower standardized test scores that they are less deserving or that your child is more entitled…
I think @maryversity been very helpful. I appreciate all your help and thoughtful advice.
If a student who was admitted to UMD Honor’s (and was subsequently being considered for the Banneker Key Scholarship) had an notable accomplishment recently that wasn’t included on their application, would it be possible to let the school know now? Or is it too late to update them? Just hoping to be as competitive as possible. Would you try to let them know?
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@maryversity, what are the differences between the UMD honors program and that of other schools? You note that there is a difference. Any additional insights would be helpful.
We cant find much about Carillon, but if you click through the interest areas, all of them come at the topics from a sociology point of view, even the entrepreneurship one that you might expect to be more econ or business focused… instead seems to be about social barriers to entrepreneurship.
I’ve noticed that others on here are similarly confused for having been placed in this program.
@Momofseveral10 Just an anecdote: My cousin was accepted last year into honors. He and I are both from Maryland and have almost identical stats (4.0 UW, 10 APs, All 5s), except I have a 35 ACT and he had 33. We also both played piano under the same teacher and went to the same competitions. We both applied for engineering. However, the rest of our ECs are quite different. I was accepted into Scholars.
In the end, college is what you make of it and neither program is really going to change that. As a plus, I don’t have to live in Hagerstown with no AC like he does. Personally, I’ll still be attending as the pros and cons seem to balance out well enough for me.
Sidenote: If Scholars is truly equal to Honors there should be an option to appeal for Honors. Scholars should also be eligible for the B/K scholarship and able to live for 4 years on campus. In lieu of this, I personally still believe not getting into Honors to be a slight, regardless of what UMD says.
my child has about 200 points better than some of those posted for Scholars and for some of the honors acceptances posted here, my child has either equivalent or up to 100 points higher based on postings … plus many leadership, ECs and APs. But my child got placed in neither.
so it is hard to understand – holistic review only gets you so far as an explanation. At least there are other schools that have offered better. Disappointing nonetheless.
Ok, well, I will do my best but hope @SoofDad will chime in as he has more direct experience with honors. Basically, the difference is that honors at most other schools is more like an honor bestowed upon students that have high stats from high school. It is an enticement to acknowledge academic accomplishment and make them feel special/courted.
At Maryland, honors college is a program. Yes, it is designed for academically gifted students, but how they define academically gifted is not static. It has evolved over the years and continues to evolve. Prior to my son’s application year, honors college only offered honors seminars and honors version of certain core classes. It was not a living learning community. Due to the popularity of the scholars themed living learning programs, honors evolved to create and offer their own themes and living communities.
You can read what I have written in the past, but frankly, I believe that honors/scholars are in the process of evolving again, so it’s hard to know for sure…http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1857311-college-park-scholars-v-honors-college-info-discussion-p1.html
Hope that helps…?
My daughter had 1390 SAT, 3.5 gpa, excellent EC and is Spring admit
3AP’s, honors, dual curriculum school, Out of state
@gemini2727 Sure, you can let them know/give them an update. However, honestly, in my (personal) opinion, B/K does not seem to be about who has the most accomplishments as much as who, among the most accomplished, will contribute the most to campus.
@Momofseveral10 I don’t think that as outsiders we can fully appreciate the complexity Admissions are dealing with when going through thousands of applications knowing that many will not get what they were expecting. Much like Admissions had to select among a large group of really bright students and make tough decisions, it is now up to you to choose the best university for your student. The tables have turned…Make the most of the hand you’ve been dealt with. I’m sure all will turn out great for your student.
@WilliamNYC - Agree. At ant school you can find what you feel are discrepancies based on one lens and not the whole as they are looking. Noone else know how much weight they put into each aspect of an application.
I agree with @Williamnyc. I was disappointed that my son was not chosen for honors or scholars when I saw some of the stats listed here. However, he already has some great options regarding other schools , and hopefully when March
rolls around he’ll have even more. UMD is oos for us, and it is a great school, but at oos it is expensive. When all the school decisions come out, we’ll evaluate and he can pick his best option, which may not be UMD.
The most important thing is to have options. I am not a believer in the “dream school” philosophy.
Who knows if UMD actually rescinds decisions? The reason I’m asking is because my 1st Semester calculus grade is extremely low (a D) but I’m wondering if it even matters at this point. I’m hoping for a better 2nd semester though
When and how do honors kids typically hear about B/K scholarship? Is it mail or portal and how many do they tend to give out?
@syd24ranger - It is by mail in early February. Students are invited to an on-campus interview for selection of B/K finalists
There are about 400 total. 250 full ride, the rest partial. All who are invited get something.
@maryversity Ok, thank you. You’ve been very helpful on this thread, much appeciated!