UMD Letters and Sciences instead of CS Major

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
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Hey guys,

I have been admitted into the Letters and Sciences at UMD instead of the CS Major I wanted. I looked at all the requirements needed to get into the CS Major, and I had a few questions about them. First of all, how long does it take to complete these gateway courses to get into Computer Science? Will I have to pay more for extra semesters because I am joining CS later than those already admitted into CS? Also, are these gateway courses very difficult to pass, and is obtaining the 2.7 GPA or higher difficult as well? Lastly, can I use AP credit to get out of these gateway courses? I got a 5 on the Calculus BC exam if that helps.

Thanks for all the help!

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Things are not actually as complicated as they sound.

First, a 5 on the Calc BC exam will give you credit for MATH140 and MATH141 (see the following link)

To transfer into the CS Major, you need CMSC131 or CMSC133, CMSC132, and MATH140. They call these Gateway courses but they are really just the same courses that all the CS Major students take.

This next link has a typical CS 4 year plan.

https://cmns.umd.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/4yr-plans/cmsc.pdf

You will see that a Freshman CS major would register for CMSC131 and MATH140, in their 1st Fall Semester. That is the CMSC131 course that you would register for. MATH140 is already covered by your AP Credit

Also, per the 4 Year Plan, you would register for CMSC132 in your second Semester, just as all the direct admit CS majors do. CMSC131 is a pre-req for CMSC132, so you cannot take both in the same semester.

Then you apply for an internal transfer.

As far as the 2.7 GPA, you are taking the EXACT SAME courses that you would take, if you had been a direct admit to CS. If you cannot maintain a 2.7, you should probably be in some other major.

This last link shows ALL the courses that UMD is offering for FALL 2021. You will not find any courses that are labeled as “Gateway”

https://app.testudo.umd.edu/soc/202105

Good Luck

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The CS program at UMD is very competitive. The website is only giving you the minimum requirements just to qualify. With competitive admissions, if you expect to get a 2.7 GPA, you’ll most certainly be denied admission as an internal transfer. You’ll need a GPA closer to a 4.0, and even that’s not a guarantee. If I were you, I would think about safety schools that will give you a more reasonable chance of getting the major you want. CS is ridiculously employable no matter where you go to school.

https://admissions.umd.edu/explore/majors/limited-enrollment-programs

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Find out from the CS department whether meeting the 2.7 GPA requirement results in automatic admission to the major, or whether it is merely the minimum to enter a competitive admission process.

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I recommend that all interested parties read the “Internal Transfer Students” section of the following link

https://undergrad.cs.umd.edu/faq

The very first question is “Am I guaranteed admission to Computer Science if I meet the gateway requirements?”

And the answer is “Yes. All students who successfully complete the gateway requirements will be admitted to the major.”

I would also recommend going to the UMD Reddit forum and seeing what actual students say about what their experience has been applying for a CS internal transfer. I also personally know students who have done internal LEP transfers at UMD, but not for CS. It would be great if some current UMD students could add to this topic.

As a final recommendation, attend an Admitted Student Day and ask specific question about UMD CS internal transfers

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My daughter was admitted to UMD letter of science in 2020 for spring 2021, and got into CS this summer. She took the freshman connection program in 2020 fall, and took regular classes in 2021 spring. She got all As expect one computer class B+, and made to the Dean’s list. Talk to counselor and get help, be careful with every step. Good luck.

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I’ll second that. Son was FC and L&S. Transferred to CS in the summer. Very similar grades, too.

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You need a 4.0 to transfer in???

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That is a False statement. A 4.0 is Not required to transfer in.

The following is something I posted back in April 2021

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I recommend reading the following thread

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I’m the student who wrote the post that was referenced by @SoofDad. Transferring into CS is incredibly easy, and yes it is guaranteed if you meet the gateway requirements. That GPA is very doable. Since you didn’t mention completing AP CSA, it will take you two semesters to complete the gateway requirements.

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Thanks for the info! That is reassuring and sounds doable. Can I ask if there is any trouble registering for these gateway requirements, given the many students in the major? I know UMD is a very large school and the CS major is quite large itself. Do students struggle to get into the classes that they need during registration process? And if so, would this delay admission in the major?

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Thanks for the info! That is reassuring and sounds doable. Can I ask if there is any trouble registering for these gateway requirements, given the many students in the major? I know UMD is a very large school and the CS major is quite large itself. Do students struggle to get into the classes that they need during registration process? And if so, would this delay admission in the major?

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Thanks for the info! How hard is it to get into the gateway classes that the L&S students need for CS. And in general, once in the major, is it a struggle for cs students to get into the classes they need and want? The school and cs department is very large and we are concerned that the class registration process could be a problem. Thanks

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No. Internal Transfer Applicants | Undergraduate Computer Science at UMD says that internal transfer students (i.e. UMDCP students not directly admitted to CS who want to change to CS) need to earn C- or higher grades in two CS and one math course and have a 2.7 or higher overall GPA.

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I do not have any first hand knowledge of the CS major at UMD. Perhaps @sl4122 can provide come answers for you.

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There are plenty of seats available for gateway requirements. If not, new sections will open up. For the intro classes (first two years), you will get all the classes you need. Upper levels do fill up quickly, but you will get all the classes you want to take within four years, maybe just in a different order than you originally wanted.

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Hi, thanks so much for willing to help. My son applied external transfer to UMD CS for fall 2022. He just got accepted to the letters and science and we believe this is due to he doesn’t have the prerequisites (CMSC 131 and CMSC 132 to be specific). Last year, he was accepted directly to CS for UMD when he graduated from high school. He eventually gave up UMD and attended a school offers him free tuition. Unfortunately, that school doesn’t fit him. Now we are here trying to figure out what to do next. I read as much information as I can from UMD website. But still have some questions hoping you can hep. He will contact the pre-transfer counselor for questions, but we want to know as much as possible before contacting UMD.

Here are a list of related courses or credit he has for attending UMD:
AP CS A, score 4, not accepted by UMD
AP cal BC, score 5, equal to UMD Math 140 and Math 141
CAl III for engineer, equal to UMD Math 241
Discrete math, equal to UMD CMSC 250
Object oriented programing, unfortunately, UMD doesn’t accept this
Programming language(c++ language), unfortunately, UMD only accepted this as a L1 course

I understand that he can take the exemption exams for CMSC 131 and CMSC 132 to full filled the gateway course requirement. He plans to do so. But we have some worries and concerns. On UMD website. It says no penalty for taking the exemption exams. It also says any attempt on the course is counted as one attempt (including taking the exemption exams, or taking the course from other institute or from UMD). It also says you can repeat ONLY ONE of the 3 required gateway courses. And if you failed after repeat that course you can never be admitted to CS.

Our questions and concerns are:

  1. One question/answer in FAQs read as:
    “Do all my course attempts count toward the gateway course review?
    Yes. Only one “gateway” course may be repeated to earn the required minimum grade and that course may only be repeated once. Withdrawing from a course with a “W” and repeating it in a subsequent semester counts as a repeat for gateway review purposes. For external transfer students, all attempts at courses, whether taken at UMD or elsewhere, count in LEP gateway”

Also, somewhere in the website, it said:
“Students who have attempted but not succeeded in the gateway requirements at prior institutions will not be admitted to the Computer Science major”

Since my son already took AP CS A, and did not score 5, also he took object oriented programming in his current institute but UMD doesn’t accept it. Does this mean he already has failed attempts on both CMSC 131 and CMSC 132? and will never be accepted to CS?

  1. Assume AP CS A score 4 and his object oriented programming are not counted as failed attempts and he is allowed to take the exemption exams for both CMSC 131 and CMSC 132. In this case, if he failed both exams, then he will never be admitted to CS because taking exemption exams are counted as one attempt, and you are allowed to repeat only one out of the 3 courses (MATH 140, CMSC 131, CMSC 132). Is this correct?

If he passed one and failed the other one, he will need to take the course that he failed. And if he failed again after taking the course at UMD, then he will never be admitted to CS. Because the exemption exam counted as one attempt, so when he taking that course at UMD after failed the exemption exam. It is considered as failed on repeating the course even it said "no penalty by taking the exams. Is this correct?

  1. If he take exemption exams for CMSC 131, CMSC 132 and CMSC 216 and pass them all. He will finish almost all the first 3 semesters’ courses listed in UMD CS 4 year plan. But, since he will be in letters and sciences when he starts at UMD. He will not allowed to take CS courses that are above 100 level, correct? If so, what courses can he take without being officially admitted to CS? He has all the physics, chemistry, humanity, social science credits.

Hope you understand my questions. Thanks!

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Hi! These questions are a bit more nuanced, so I’d recommend contacting CS Advising. They would have a better response.

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Got it and thanks!

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