@Jwatkins , they don’t need mid year reports. They just want a final transcript showing you graduated.
@bigfarts27 the scholars selection is found on the coalition app in the checklist section under the UMCP application. When you click on th checklist button I think scholars program selection was near the bottom of the checklist. It’s not in the decision button section… That’s to mark whether you will go to UMCP.
@Momofseveral10
Ok, I was thinking about how to better explain how honors is different at Maryland…at most schools, it is more of a “status” given to all students that meet an academic performance threshold. There are perks and programming components, such as special courses, etc, but there is not a space limitation.
At Maryland, what I said about it being more of a program is the crux of it. What that means that space is limited. There is no academic threshold that automatically infers eligibility.
All of these special programs that Maryland has are designed as living communities, so space is limited. They try their best to match as many academically strong students with others but it is not a stats thing. It is a holistic thing that involves factors that are not and can not be posted on a forum (essays, letters of rec, short answers, etc).
So, unfortunately, not everyone is invited to a program, and those that are invited to a program may not get the program of their choice. That happens. That does not mean they think less of the academic success of any given student. If they were not impressed, they would not have offered admission to the university.
Take it however you will, and if that means you eliminate Maryland from contention, that is your choice. However, my kids judged which school they would attend by their program choice. They each went to the school that they felt would give them the best education and most skills in their chosen field. For my son, it was Maryland, hands down. For my daughter, even though she was admitted, she chose a different school that had a better program in her field (motion graphics, animation). If it were not a program issue, she would be a Terp now because she loved Maryland in every other aspect. Everyone should make their own decisions.
I can only tell you that there are many of us that have had such positive experiences, such as @SoofDad, @NusaDua, @whenyoubelieve, just to name a few of the current contributors (and I know I missed a few, for which I apologize) and many more in previous years that we are all motivated to help others see how awesome Maryland is and to help navigate the crazy admissions decisions/process by answering questions to the best of our ability. However, I will stand firm that the most accurate source of information is the school itself. Go to admitted students day. See what the school has to say and what they have to offer.
Best of luck in the decision process. I believe that every student ends up in the right place at the end of the day, and it does not matter where you go to school as much as it matters what you do when you get there.
@maryversity, thank you for your thoughtful response. But the difference between honors and non-honors is a matter of programming (as is usually the case): “Honors College students have exclusive access to exciting interdisciplinary courses offered in the honors living-learning programs, and to special honors versions of traditional classes hosted by academic departments.” UMD also states that they admit 1,000 students into the program each year, out of a class of approx. 4,000 – so that’s 25%. Given my child’s resume, I am now beginning to wonder about a clerical error… And I know that sounds egotistical, but based on how my child’s app has been received elsewhere and the postings here and on Reddit, the UMD result is an exception without explanation and that is a shame because it had been a top choice.
I don’t think they admit 25% to Honors. There are over 28,000 undergrads at UMD. Someone said there are 1,000 students in Honors total.
Plus they must admit way more than 4,000 to get enough enrolled students, so I don’t think 4,000 is the undergrad admitted number?
I don’t know all the really numbers for admitted vs enrolled and Honors, Scholars, etc but I really don’t think it’s 25% in Honors.
Could you share the link where you got these numbers?
@Astro77: Here is the quote "The Honors College features small classes taught by outstanding faculty who encourage discussion and foster innovative thinking. Each year, approximately 1000 undergraduates are welcomed into this highly selective program. " So I guess the question is, what do they mean by “welcome” and “each year”?
Here is the link: http://www.honors.umd.edu/
Yes, good questions about “welcomed” and “admitted” versus 'enrolled". I’m not sure what their yield is. Obviously, they offer Honors to some kids who end up going to go to Ivy’s, etc.
Anyway, I think the only people who can give you any satisfaction or answers about why your child didn’t get Honors is the Admissions office at UMD. I understand your frustration but none of us can really help.
@Momofseveral10 the 1,000 number comes from the total number of Early Action applicants that are offered Honors along with their acceptances decision. That number each year is anywhere from 12000-18000. So the 1,000 isn’t out of the ending class of 4,000 but rather out of all students who get a positive result in January, making the percentage much lower than 25%. Also, another note about the Honors program is that regardless of how many high stat kids got into honors and ended up choosing a different school over UMD, there’s no official method or policy to replace them. So although 1,000 kids are offered Honors, the number of them that attend umd may also be much lower.
@terp22222 As FC, you can attend classes, but they start after 3pm. It’s really no big deal! I know several students at UMD who have not been hindered by it as you can get GE’s out of the way. You also get to sleep in. 
As for why…it’s a fierce pool of folks. My guess is that your SAT score was one factor. I know that will definitely be an issue for my D. In my view, it should NOT be a big factor as not everyone tests well and it’s one day, maybe 2 or even 3 of your life. It’s not as many days as school and continued learning. My D’s SAT score improved by 60 points so I can only hope they see that as a positive. Congratulations on getting into UMD!
@Momofseveral10 Your student can definitely appeal the decision about Honors or Scholars. My son had a friend who didn’t get into either yet her stats were phenomenal! She had research experience as well as a lot of Leadership. Within a week of the appeal, which includes having someone write a letter on your student’s behalf, (my son’s friend had a NASA astronaut write it), this student got into Honors. I don’t know about money though. That’s separate thing. My son got into an honors EE program at another State school with zero money! No rhyme or reason for things, but in the end, we chose the school that demonstrated they wanted him the most. UMD wasn’t his first choice at the time, but in the end has been the best fit. Good luck!
@Momofseveral10 Your student can definitely appeal the decision about Honors or Scholars. My son had a friend who didn’t get into either yet her stats were phenomenal! She had research experience as well as a lot of Leadership. Within a week of the appeal, which includes having someone write a letter on your student’s behalf, (my son’s friend had a NASA astronaut write it), this student got into Honors. I don’t know about money though. That’s separate thing. My son got into an honors EE program at another State school with zero money! No rhyme or reason for things, but in the end, we chose the school that demonstrated they wanted him the most. UMD wasn’t his first choice at the time, but in the end has been the best fit. Good luck!
@Jwatkins Things happen. They don’t rescind based on one grade. Also, many schools have an admissions counselor contact the student to ask, “what happened?” I am aware of a student who lost a parent during senior year and the grades suffered, as anyone can imagine. She was contacted by the school (this was not UMD) and she explained her situation. She ultimately ended up with a scholarship that she never had in the first place! Continue to do your best!
@navyterpx2 Wow! That must be new since my son applied. It was mandatory in 2015. I know that my D’s guidance counselor sends all the schools the midyear report anyway as it’s all done via Naviance.
@ijh0828 This was from my son’s registrar “Students - you will need to let me know (via email) if your non-common app college requires a mid-year. Please note that UMD does not require a mid-year.” When my other son graduated in 2015, he got a D the second semester and I called admissions and they said they didn’t care, just as long as he graduated.
A clarification on the number of freshman students in Honors program each year. The Engineering school has the incoming freshman profile for the Class of 2020 (I assume most recent year data is published) within their Quick Facts page. They indicate 63% (398 students) of the Engineering class is selected to the Honors program with another 15% selected to Scholars. I believe the 2016 freshman class in total was well over 4,000 students based on information provided by UMD. Therefore, it would be quite likely that approximately 1,000 freshman are enrolled each year into the honors program. This would be approximately 22-23% of the freshman class. Also, this would indicate approximately 40% of incoming freshman honors students reside within the Engineering school. .
CU1986: Thank you for pointing me to this data. So from this, I see that my child, who was accepted into the engineering school, will be in the top quartile for SAT math and the top quartile for SAT reading, yet in the bottom quartile for consideration for honors participation (my child was not selected for honors or scholars).
Somebody tell me again why we shouldn’t feel snubbed?
So is it possible to get merit if you’re not Honors or Scholars?
Does UMD offer merit-based scholarships for international students?
Truthfully, from this experience, I would advise my friends with similarly situated students not to waste their time and money applying to UMD. Why would anyone with top quartile stats and an otherwise strong resume accept an invitation to the bottom quartile of the UMD engineering program? There will obviously be better options for them.
@Momofseveral10 , I could not agree with you more. My son was accepted to Smith finance and has a 1530 sat(one sitting) , which is top 1%. I am kinda shocked that he was not offered honors or scholars, especially since the rest of his application is equally strong. Son was accepted to other good business programs with merit money, so I am not unduly concerned. It is just important to have other options. UMD is a state school after all, and I am sure they give preference to in state kids, which I agree with. Even so, there is no need for a strong oos kid to be at the bottom of the pecking order. That’s why it’s important to have other options. But I agree, the whole process left a sour taste in my mouth.