MY D got accepted 3.67UW/3.84W, OOS, 1420SAT, Good ECs and Recos. She applied for Physiology and Neurobiology major. In her acceptance letter, her Major is mentioned as ‘Letters and Sciences’. The acceptance letter says that she has to complete the gateway requirements and then apply for the LEP Major.
Do all students have to finish the gateway requirements and then apply for LEPs or do students get directly admitted into LEPs directly as well? Is this based on the stats/SAT?
Any information on this will be greatly appreciated.
I’m speculating as I am only the parent of an accepted student too but whether you get LEP or Letters and Science perhaps depends on whether you’ve taken and proved yourself in HS courses. My D applied as a Biology major but she hasn’t yet taken AP Chem, Biology and is taking Calculus this year.
I’ve seen kids that are in the Honors and Scholars program (mine got that) not get LEP but others not get Honors/Scholars but get the LEP. I’m guessing it has to do with whether they took gateway courses at least for the sciences in high school.
First students are either admitted to the college or denied. Then if they chose an LEP major they are evaluated by that particular major’s committee. Many are directly admitted to the major but with these programs bring “limited” there’s not enough space for everyone as a direct admit. Those placed in L&S do have to complete gateway requirements to internally transfer into the major but so do students directly admitted to the major. In the end if students complete the gateway requirements they are able to transfer to these majors, or direct admits that complete the gateway requirements are able to stay in the major. The only one that is currently competitive even after completing gateway requirements is Business.
I’m unsure all the criteria that individual committees majors use in their selection process but each major is unique. Some may have extremely high stat students vying for a very limited number of direct acceptance spots.
My daughter was admitted directly into Biology major. From what I read, she still has to complete a series of Gateway courses to remain in her major. She did take AP Bio last year, so may be that did help her get in directly.
DS got into honors with a business major. It seems that there are two brand new dorms and one dining hall for the fall 2021. The two new dorms are named Whittle-Johnson Hall and Pyon-Chen Hall. My understanding is that the first-year university honors will be in one of the two new dorms. DS might choose university honors. Please share your info and thoughts. Good luck everybody!
My D was in University Honors and in Hagerstown Hall. She enjoyed University Honors, but it has been revamped since her time, so I cannot comment on what is like now. She wasn’t crazy about Hagerstown Hall and moved to Denton for her second year and then to South Campus Commons for her last 2 years
Thank you for the info. I heard that Hagerstown is not that good:(. It seems that both the dorm and courses will be changed for the University Honors starting fall 2021. The students in the University Honors will be in a new dorm, will have clustered courses and a designated place for activities. I think DS will receive the updated info soon since he will have to let them know the preference by 2/22.
When the UMD AO came to our school, they specifically emphasized that you must check if you want your scores considered or not, and if you wanted them to be considered, they have to be the official score report from College Board. I don’t think they accept self-reported scores, unfortunately. The AO also told us that if you have selected that you wanted your scores to be considered, your application will be marked incomplete if they don’t receive a score from you. It looks like your son’s application was marked incomplete for the EA round.
How hard is it to get into Comp Sci LEP after starting in Letters and Sciences? Is there a harsh competition to get into the major later on? In the gateway requirements for Comp Sci LEP it mentions that the classes average only needs to be higher than C- to gain entry into major once requirements are completed. Is that true, or you need higher grades to get in?
We talked about the same time last year, when your son was applying to UMD along with other schools and I started to research for college that my D would apply this year.
So, is your son in UMD or did he pick other school ? My D just got accepted to UMD couple days ago, so hopefully she will go there but we are still waiting for a few more decisions and hopefully couple of merit offers .
Yes, my son ended up at UMD. He has chosen to do this year’s classes virtually from home. He had a great first semester and is happy with his choice. UMD ended up being his top choice and he was also admitted to Penn State, UDel, and Loyola. The economics of UMD made the most sense too even after receiving good offers from UDel and Loyola.
Comp Sci is not currently competitive like Business. It appears that as long as the gateway requirements are met, internal transfers are currently just that easy for Comp Sci. Meet the requirements and request transfer.
Sorry for any confusion. I think that preference forms for LLC’s are sent only to Honors, Scholars, Carillon, and Fire admits. They have to choose which specific LLC they want.
Is it true that if someone get C-/C+ in the freshman year you can get admitted in CS? My son got the admission friday in Letters and Sciences… so what percentage in letters and sciences applying for CS get into CS from past year stats?
My D started at UMD in 2014. She applied undecided. They guy who turned out to be her BF applied the ChemE. (they did not meet until Senior year).
Back then CS was not a LEP and the BIG concern about Internal Transfers was Engineering. At Admitted Students Day, UMD went out of its way to emphasize that Engineering internal transfers were NOT competitive. Take the gateway courses, get the required GPA, fill out the transfer form and you are in.
The only competitive LEP back then, and now, is Business. I My D did an internal transfer to a LEP (not engineering) at the end of her first semester and got in, NO problem.
Her BF was NOT a direct admit to ChemE and got L&S. He also did an internal transfer to ChemE. NO problem
My D is now finishing up Grad school and her BF is gainfully employed a a Big Pharma Company in Maryland.
I can’t really speak about CS, but I suspect that internal transfers will not be a problem.
Maybe someone with direct knowledge of CS can provide an answer
