Heartbroken I didn’t get into honors. I was really looking forward to the ACES program.
35 ACT, 1540 SAT, 4.0 GPA, 10 APs. Barely any good extracurriculars… I thought scholars was for people who had good extracurriculars and mediocre stats. Anyone else similar? Or got into honors with good extracurriculars and low stats?
Stats alone will not get anyone into Honors or Scholars. It is a holistic evaluation and all parts of the application matter.
I got into honors and never really knew it was even a thing. What even are the benefits? Also, if you were wondering I am OOS with a 34/1520 and 4.4W GPA and really good ECs.
Same question as Iro375 above -re: what are the benefits of honors? Son was admitted with 4.2 GPA 26 ACT major: Journalism. EC’s - Captain of Varsity Lacrosse 2 years , Varsity Football, club lacrosse, top scholar athlete, various volunteering, and writes for local newspaper. Would his acceptance letter mentioned any scholarships, if he got one?
Merit scholarships don’t come out until mid February or so…
Students in honors can enroll is special, limited-size classes. There are two types of honors classes. There are honors seminars and H-versions of classes.
So, the honors seminars are unique topics that may be able to fulfill a gen ed requirement or they are program-specific (i.e. only students in ACES can take those classes). Honors seminars, from what I have heard, are the most interesting/worthwhile classes, but do require a lot of work. Here is a link to the honors classes that are offered this semester to give you a sense (note that different classes are offered every semester) https://ntst.umd.edu/soc/201801/HONR
Then there are h-versions of classes, so for example, there is MATH141 and MATH141H. Yes, one is a lecture hall 2 days with one day of small discussion, and the honors version is small all the time. However, it is more challenging to do well in the honors version.
The Honors College looks at your application holistically. They don’t merely decide based on good extracurriculars or good stats. It’s a comprehensive look at your application.
@lro375 There are many benefits to Honors. As maryversity said, the Honors College allows you to take H-level classes (smaller class sizes and accelerated learning) for classes that offer an H-level version. Adding onto the discussion about Honors Seminars, they are AMAZING classes. Not all of them require a lot of work, but most of them offer credit for more than one gen-ed requirement, which is good (especially so if your 4 year plan is jam packed with credits.) Honors also allows you to join an LLP - a living and learning program. In my LLP, I’ve made my closest friends and had the most fun. I, personally, think that was one of the biggest benefits of joining the Honors College. Additionally, every day during the semester, the Honors College will send a newsletter email out with links of opportunities for Honors students like internships, scholarship applications, jobs, and ways to get involved on campus.
If anyone has any more questions about the Honors College, feel free to DM me! I’m an student Honors Ambassador at UMD and would love to help as much as I can!
Trust me, it is not a “snub” to not be invited to honors. The honors college at Maryland is not like any other schools’ honors programs. Being invited to honors or not being invited to honors will not make or break your college experience.
It is a program, that if you complete it, you will get a citation on your transcript, end of story. Yes, it’s a great/very interesting program, and yes, it does offer some exclusive classes/experiences, but there are sooooo many other interesting programs/opportunities at Maryland, many of which you apply to after matriculation. Your experience at Maryland is not “less” if you don’t get invited to honors.
I speak from experience. My son was invited to honors elsewhere, but not at Maryland. Thanks to this forum, we learned Maryland honors was different and it was not a snub, but a question of fit.
Fast forward to graduation, my son had both departmental honors and latin honors (which were printed on his diploma for all to see), not just a citation on his transcript and graduation bling. As proud as I am of those accomplishments, the real success of his college career is that he started work right after graduation and has been completely (especially financially) self-sufficient and living on his own since.
The true success story of college does not end with where you were accepted and the program you are or are not invited to, but it marks where you start your journey. The true success is where you go from that starting line. It matters more what you do when you get to school. Do well, take advantage of every opportunity you can, participate to the fullest. When you are in college, no one cares that you graduated in the top 1% or 5% of your high school class, or got amazing standardized test scores, because a LOT of students at Maryland can say that.
Not everyone that was invited to honors college graduates with latin honors (cum laude, etc). Some see being admitted to honors college as the end game and just enjoy the ride. If you see yourself as an honors student, and do the work, you will earn honors at Maryland. Once you are admitted to departmental honors (or another honors program such as QUEST), you are able to sign up for honors seminars and h-version of classes, if you still so desire.
As for your interest in cybersecurity, “students who did not participate in the ACES Living-Learning Program but are interested in the ACES Minor are welcome to apply.” (http://www.aces.umd.edu/aces1/faq)
College admission is not the end game. College is a vehicle to learn the skills needed to be self-sufficient and develop a network of diverse friendships. I truly believe it does not matter where you go to school, but what you do when you get there. (Of course, I will tell you that Maryland is the most awesome school in general and offers the quintessential college experience…and I can give you hundreds of reasons why Maryland is better than other schools, haha)
DS admitted to UMD and College Park Scholars majoring in Government and Politics. OOS/1570 SAT/35 ACT/11 AP’s/4.9W/3.9UW/ranked 9 out of 547/XC runner/Honors Chorus/Eagle Scout/NHS/Tour Guide & Orientation leader
He has been accepted to Honors colleges at other universities. We aren’t familiar with the College Park Scholars and would love to hear more about it from those with experience.
Here is a link for Scholars info
Here is a link for the current course offerings. There is a list of Scholars’ Program related courses in the first column
My DD got admitted to UMD Scholars, Major: Biological Sciences: Physiology & Neurobiology* - what does ‘*’ indicate? in state/32 ACT/1360 SAT/500 SSL/Overseas volunteer work during summer/Walter reed summer work. She has been accepted at Case Western, UMBC, VCU, U. Pitt; Wondering about any UMD merit scholarship for her or not, and any other helpful hints to help her nudge towards UMD.
PS: I did my MBA from UMD Smith, so biased for sure.
Here is an older thread that might help give more info.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1857311-college-park-scholars-v-honors-college-info-discussion.html
Merit money comes out mid February and is consistently unpredictable…
I was honestly really shocked I didn’t get selected for honors. I was accepted to scholars and the School of Music as a minor in my instrument performance, but I was really really shocked about honors. I know that honors are supposed to be stronger academically and have less ec’s but I really thought I had a very very strong academic background. Can someone reassure me/point me in the right direction as to why I didn’t get into Honors? I know that it’s “holistic” and a “question of fit” but at the end of the day you have to be rejected from honors to be considered for scholars so…yeah I just don’t know where I went wrong.
Also if I end up attending MD, any suggestions as to what program?
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1590 (800 Reading 790 Math) (24 on essay) (One sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 740 Math 2, 730 Literature, 730 Chem, 720 Spanish (did not study and tested poorly for all)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.67
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (4) AB Calc (5) Spanish Lang (4) AP US Government (5) AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio (Double Period) Honors Physics (extremely hard at our school), AP BC Calc, AP Spanish Literature, Orchestra, Honors English 12
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, various music awards (competitions, etc.), Silver Medalist National Spanish Exam, Outstanding Delegate North American Invitational MUN Conference, AP Scholar with Distinction, nominated to All Eastern Orchestra
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Spanish Honors Society (President), Model United Nations (Vice President 2017-2018, Secretary and Treasurer 2016-2017), Senior All State Orchestra (Principal Cellist 2018, Assistant Principal 2017), Express! this is a chamber music group going around to nursing homes/elementary schools playing, Physics Club, Varsity Cheerleading, MCYO Philharmonic (Associate Principal), Senior All County Orchestra (Principal Cellist 2015-2018), Tri-M Music Honors Society,
Job/Work Experience: Interned at a D.C. based non-profit that focused on scientific research and condensing that information into easily digestible videos published to try and enact legislative change focused around the opioid crisis. I’m also a lifeguard at a very large city pool which is really difficult and high-stress (i.e. rescue tubes on at all times, ready to jump in)
Volunteer/Community service: I have about 300 hours, mostly comprised of various music activities and my non-profit work
Summer Activities: My internship at the non-profit and lifeguarding
Ugh just idk anymore. Not the best mentality to have rolling around to regular decisions time.
No one on here can tell you why you did not get into Honors. No one on here knows. You are to be Congratulated on your Accomplishments and Your Acceptance. Read about the various Scholars Programs. Look at the Scholars only courses, in TESTUDO, that are available to you. What you actually do in College will determine your path.
@starbucksdj did u say you applied for a music minor and heard back already? A bunch of students who applied to the College Park Music school as double major or minor on this thread n others have not received their decision yet. They were told 1 to 2 weeks after others in the UMCP regular college got their decision. Which would be between today and next Friday. When did you receive your decision? Thx.
HEY so yeah I did. I received my decision yesterday at 7:45 pm and got my MD decision about 2 hours earlier. None of my friends have heard yet, though. Not sure why i heard before them.