***Univ of MD College Park Class of 2022 Decisions Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
21

Decision: Accepted Honors

Planned major: Math and Business

Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 780m/730e
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/150
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 calc a/b, 4 env sci

Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): varsity athletics
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: NHS

Other
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): in state

Reflection
[ *] Strengths: academics, scores, essays
[ *] Weaknesses: most of the subjective stuff

22

Decision: Accepted + FIRE
Planned major: Computer Science
Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): Did not take
[ *] ACT: 30
[ *] SAT II: Did not send
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Computer Science, AP Calculus AB, Government, AP Studio Art, Environmental Science, Government
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCWIT National Honorable Mention 2017 & 2018, NCWIT Oregon & SW Washington Winner 2017

Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girls Who Code (Chapter founder), Girl Scouts, Interact, Youth and Government, Chicktech

[ *] Job/Work Experience: Two internships at tech companies
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Organizing mother-daughter camp for girl scouts for the past six years, robotics volunteer
[ *] Summer Activities: Internship at tech company, Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program 2016

Other
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): OR
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
[ *] Strengths: Extracurriculars, essays
[ *] Weaknesses: ACT
[ *] Why you think you were accepted: I did a lot of activities in one specific area, so I think that helped my application significantly.
[ *] Where else were you accepted: University of Portland, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hofstra

23

My DD:

Decision: Accepted Honors

Planned major: Engineering
LEP: Direct Admit

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 1490
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98, weighted 4.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): #2
AP (place score in parenthesis): 7, plus one DE, rigorous schedule

EC: Robotics, NHS, Unified Sports (with Special Ed students), Varsity Sport, Team Captain, Club Founder

White, in-state, female, middle class, rural/lower income school.

Strengths: GPA, SAT, essays

Weakness: AP scores could be higher

Also accepted at Penn State, Pitt, WVU, UMBC, UDel, George Mason. Rejected UVA oos.

24

Decision: Accepted Honors

Planned major: International Business
LEP: Direct Admit

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 1450
SAT II: did not take
ACT: 30, but did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89 – weighted: 4.61
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not provide either
AP (place score in parenthesis): French (4), NSL (3), World History (2), Lang (5), Art History (4), AB Calculus (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): school does not offer
Senior Year Course Load: AP Photo, AP Psych, AP Human Geo, AP Lit, AP Econ Micro/Macro, Hon. Spanish 4, AP BC Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Posse Scholarship nominee, Academic awards through a local Fraternity chapter

Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Poms Dance Team (Captain Jr + Snr years), Black Student Union (Secretary - 9,10,11 - Founding member), National Honor Society, Rho Kappa Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: did not include
Volunteer/Community service: Mentoring/tutoring of an elementary student through school program
Summer Activities: did not include

Other
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Mixed – Race: African-American
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Father is immigrant from Cameroon so I had to learn French at a young

Reflection
Strengths: essay!!!, gpa, leadership, recommendations
Weaknesses: some ap scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: advanced academics and versitality
Where else were you accepted: Stetson University, University of Miami, McDaniel College, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Towson University
Where were you rejected: Minerva

25

Decision: Accepted, College Park Scholars

Planned major: Government and Politics (LEP)

Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 1400
[ *] ACT: 31
[ *] SAT II: none
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.26 out of 4.5 (UW unavailable)
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A but counselor estimates top 5%
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4), English Lang. & Comp. (5)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): IB math studies SL (7), IB Diploma Candidate
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: all IB classes
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National French Exam bronze and silver awards

[ /list]
Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): concert and marching band (2 years, section leader), jazz band (4 years), pit orchestra (4 years), NHS (2 Years), French honors society (3 years, president), Model UN (3 years)
[ *] Job/Work Experience: part time job (22 hours/week, 2 years, manager); internship with local international affairs organization (2 years)
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: 100+ recorded hours
[ *] Summer Activities: prestigious summer program at St. paul’s School in concord, NH

[ /list]
Other
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NH
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: public
[ *] Ethnicity: white, Russian
[ *] Gender: Female
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none?

Reflection
[ *] Strengths: essay, recommendations, grades and rigor
[ *] Weaknesses: scores
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’ve been accepted to university of Toronto and lake forest college!

26

Decision: Accepted

Planned major: Journalism

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): N/A
ACT: 31 C; 33 SS
SAT II: submitted US history and English lit: 680 on both
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 uw; 4.3 w
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (4); Eng. Lang&Comp (5); APUSH (5); AP Gov/Pol (not taken yet)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): English HL; Vis Arts HL; ESS SL (no scores to report yet)
Senior Year Course Load: IB English HL2; Precalculus; Religion; IB ESS SL; AP Gov/Pol; Advanced Journalism H; IB VisArts HL2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Art Honor Society (VP); NCL Communications (VP); JSA; Cross country (JV); Track & Field (V); Link Crew (Senior Leader); Student Ambassador; School newspaper (Staff Writer)
Job/Work Experience: 10 hours per week @ local sports field
Volunteer/Community service: National Charity League + Christian Service (200+ hours total)
Summer Activities: Volunteering; seasonal job; journalism program (MediaNOW)

Other

State (if domestic applicant): California
School type: Private Catholic high school
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): LGBTQ+; first generation American (Dad’s side)

Reflection
Strengths: ACT; letters of rec; service involvement; diversity of interests; essays
Weaknesses: GPA; transferred schools in my junior year; didn’t take many challenging classes until senior year; a few Cs along the way
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Ohio State, University of Oregon; Indiana University at Bloomington; Arizona State; Penn State; University of South Carolina; DePaul University

General Comments: Good luck to all of you!!! <3

27

Decision: Accepted Honors

Planned major: Biological Sciences (preferred: Bio Sci: Microbiology, but my admission letter says Bio Sci: General Biology). May try to double major Bio + Comp Sci

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 1590
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 34/512
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology (5), AP Chemistry (5), AP Physics I (5), AP Stats (5), AP Lang (5), AP Lit (5), AP World (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov & Politics, AP Micro/macro Econ, AP CSP, Adv Research & Internship
Major Awards: National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: French Club (Vice President), Orchestra (1st/2nd Chair), Model UN, Engineering Club, Color Guard, Yearbook
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at a nursing home, 160+ hours
Summer Activities: Bio@Tech, biology summer camp

Other
State: Georgia
School Type: Public, magnet
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks: None

Reflection
Strengths: GPA and test scores, course load.
Weaknesses: I really felt like my personal statement was weak. Leadership/extracurricular was a bit lacking as well (most things I did for only one year, although to be fair, I moved after sophomore year).
Why you think you were accepted: Test scores & GPA.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UGA and Univ. Oklahoma. Deferred GA tech.

General Comments: I’ve been checking my inbox for an email from UMD for days. Just now realized that decisions had already been released and I just didn’t see the email.

28

Accepted Honors, Finance in the Smith School of Business

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1520 (Math 800, Reading 720, Essay 19)
ACT (breakdown):
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score): World History 760, Math II 720
Unweighted/Weighted GPA:4.00, 4.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/301
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): 5 on US Gov, Calc, Comparative Gov, Pysch, English 4 on WHAP
Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
Number of other ED applicants in your school: 5 that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with distinction, a lot of music awards for oboe and piano, NHD 2nd place, Scholar Athlete many times, some french award

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Varsity Field Hockey, Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track, Mock Trial (Team Captain), a lot of service clubs, literally every single honor society, all-state band and orchestra, math team, science olympiad, student government executive board
Job/Work Experience: Interned at Georgetown
Volunteer/Community Service: various community initiatives
Summer Experience: worked
Teacher Recommendation #1: idk
Teacher Recommendation #2: idk
Counselor Rec: generic idk
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: I thought it went super well

CommonApp Essay:wrote about cooking with my mom

Other:

U.S. State/Territory or Country: east coast
School Type: smallish public
Ethnicity: asian lmao
Gender: female
Income Bracket Range: less than 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): nope

Reflection
Strengths: well rounded
Weaknesses: too well rounded
Were else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Deferred UPenn and uchicago. accepted UVA and UNC

Other Factors:

29

Decision: Accepted
CS Major

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 1390
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Published IOS Apps, 600+ hours community servicr
Job/Work Experience: Website Developer, Subway

State (if domestic applicant): Washington

30

Decision : Accepted (Honors college)
Major :CS
SAT 1:1590
SAT subject :Bio(800),PHY(800),Math(800)
IB diploma candidate…Math HL,Further Math HL,Physics HL, History HL, English SL, Spanish SL
AP (self study) Bio 5, Calc AB 5, Comp sci 5
ECs… FBLA ,Quiz bowl, Robotics, App developer, AIME qualifier, USACO gold level (some national awards)
Work experience …intern at a tech start up, Many volunteer hrs teaching ,mentoring helping run workshops and competitions for robotics .Summer library volunteer.
Out of state student.

31

Finally heard back a week later!!
Decision: Accepted FC
Major: Education
SAT: 1140 (super low, i know)
ACT: 22 (tests were most definitely my weaknesses)
UW GPA: 3.88
Rank: N/A, our school does not do it
AP: AP Lit, AP Psych
Extracurriculars: President of the school, musical, play, stage crew, choir, club head, community service, campy counselor, yearbook, peer tutor, peer mentor, tour guide, and more
In-state
School-type: Private
gender: female
essay: about my mom (she passed away from breast cancer over the summer), i compared my chipped tooth to the fact that I was missing a part of me (my mother) and spoke of how i persevered and went back to being a camp counselor the next week
Other colleges I have heard from: Salisbury (accepted), Towson (accepted), Indiana (accepted), Delaware (accepted), Penn state (accepted)
Cannot wait to be attending UMD!!! GO TERPS!!!

32

I studied in an Indian curriculum school and my grades are pretty good if not the best, grade 9 -9.8/10 CGPA, grade 10 - 10/10 CGPA and grade 11- 89.9 % (its freaking tough) and grade 12 predicted score given by school - 96.4%(IDK how). SAT 1440 750-M, 690-R; and ACT -32 with a superscore of 33(if it helps) Toefl -110. I have had around 350 hours of volunteer service and I guess my essay is alright, not the best but pretty good. I have done 1 internship in Robotics and CS(my intended major so I hope it helps) and a summer Program at Boston in Robotics and involved in a lot of cricket and basketball 9 through 12. Also I have Subject tests : 800 on math 2, Chem and Phy.

I live in Bahrain so sports opportunities are minute, although I was in the reserves team for Bahrain National cricket team and went to Malaysia for the ACC U-16 cricket cup and also inter-school cricket events and am active in basketball in my school although we have no proper tournaments or organization.

I wish to pursue Robotics and have made that clear in my essay and tried to show my love for it and why I am interested in it. I have strong Recs and I love going to MUNs, I have been to 13 MUNs including one inside UNHQ in New York where I won a verbal mention and have won over 5 wards. My activity essay is based on MUN conferences. I dont really aim for Scholarship, tution should be fine.

I took the ACER examination for Science and Maths(not soooo prestigious) and got 100 percentile internationally and high distinction in maths. I also was a part of a cricket tour to India under CFI( cricket federation of India).

I am part of a global community at Young Scientist’s Journal (www.ysjounal.com) and am an editor and have edited over 15 articles based on Science. I am also part of a community called Young Coders who are working on making a website.

I wish to major in CE or CS and am an international student living in Bahrain. What are my chances?

33

This may be off topic, but how many who have posted extremely impressive stats are actually planning on attending Maryland, if they get into an IVY, MIT, Northwestern, Duke etc? Will winning a Bannaker award make the difference? My daughter was also accepted into the honors college. She is a magnet STEM student with 3.98 GPA /W4.81. 1550 SAT (not super scored). She will graduate with 14 APs, (4&5s). She has done selective summer internships at UMD’s IBBR and at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station, volunteered during the school year at a local hospital. Played Varsity sports, National honors society, robotic club etc. She will not know until April 1 if she is accepted into her most selective schools. All schools she has heard from to date (other than UMD) have offered generous merit aid. I honestly don’t know what her decision will be, even if she gets a Bannaker or a similar merit award from College Park (We are in state). Whether that will seal the deal for her. I would be interested in hearing from others who will likely have the choice to go to their most selective school, whether a Bannaker award will get them to turn down a Yale or Duke for UMD?

34

From what I can tell, following this forum for tha past 5 years. UMD usually has a yield of 33% or so. I personally know a student who passed on a Full B/K scholarship to attend Columbia.

35

@159314w Don’t want to just assert that my stats are “extremely impressive,” but I’ll provide them and my answer to your question… GPA is 4.0 UW / 4.5 W, rank 32/512. 7 APs so far (all 5s), 6 more to go. 1590 SAT, superscored. National merit semifinalist. A few clubs, none for more than a year (moved halfway through high school). Also at a magnet STEM school; also got into honors.

I actually didn’t apply to any schools that didn’t have undergraduate microbiology programs, so no ivies, no Duke, etc. UMD is absolutely my first choice, but whether I go will depend on getting Banneker, since I can’t really afford the out of state tuition otherwise (and have other very affordable options in state/due to national merit). The LLPs were a big draw for me, as was the research focus, since I want to be a scientist.

Honestly, for your daughter, I would take into account what she wants to do for a career, and what her school plans are. If she’s going to med/grad school, she doesn’t necessarily need to go to Harvard for undergrad–she just needs to go somewhere she can do undergraduate research while keeping up with her coursework. If she’s planning for her bachelor’s to be her highest level of education, then going to Harvard or Yale as an undergrad might benefit her more. But the other thing you have to consider is cost–can you afford to send her to an ivy, especially for undergrad? Will she be eligible for financial aid? She probably won’t get merit money to Yale. Is the student loan debt worth the prestige? Something you’ll have to consider. Look at the strengths and weaknesses of programs at different schools she’s applying to, as well… certain schools might be great overall but it really matters more if they’re great in the specific program your daughter enrolls in.

Ultimately, of course, it’s up to her, and I’m sure there will be a lot of things she weighs when deciding where she wants to go to school. Good luck :slight_smile:

36

@159314w If you are asking if HYP/MIT caliber students (actually admitted, not just stats in range) actually choose Maryland over those “top name” schools because of B/K awards, the answer is yes.

If you are asking if students that are offered full B/K awards turn it down to attend HYP/MIT schools, the answer is also yes.

FWIW, I think EllaPhage’s assessment of benefit is spot on…

37

@159314w I know a Maryland resident kid who, YEARS ago, tried to leverage his B/K full-ride offer and try to get something out of Penn State - the most they’d give him was in-state tuition. In the end, he turned down the B/K full ride to UMd to attend Penn State at in-state tuition. It just depends on where a kid will be happy, fulfilled, and feel like they are getting the education they want.

38

lol figured i should post one since ive read these types of threads before…
Decision: Accepted Honors

Planned major: Computer Engineering
LEP: Direct Admit

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown out of 1600): 1560
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 760 Biology E
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/300
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on 8 exams and a 4 on Physics … taking four more this year
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit semifinalist

Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (historian), Key Club (treasurer), Environmental Club (secretary), Math Honor Society
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[li] Volunteer/Community service: I volunteer at the local hospital and most of my clubs are service clubs[/li]
Other
[] State (if domestic applicant): in state
[] School Type: public (in a stem magnet program)
[] Ethnicity: asian
[] Gender: male
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none? tried to make my essay and short answers a little unique though[/li]
Reflection
[] Strengths: test scores, gpa, i have some research experience
[] Weaknesses: essay was probably not good, teacher recs were probably just ok
[*] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my academics

39

Decision- Accepted dIrect admit to SMITH
SAT- 1380
UW GPA 3.96 WGPA- 4.4
9 AP’s
White Male
Great Recommendations and great essay
In state

40

@maryversity @EllaPhage @159314w Now that the dust has settled this is exactly the dilemma that my S is stuck with. Accepted UMD-Scholars; VT-Honors College; RPI-Medalist; and Cornell…all in the engineering schools. COA at UMD would be $22k/yr; Cornell $72k/yr and then VT and RPI in between. All great and unique choices so a good problem to have. Grad school probable at some point. Recognizing that your choice of college is with you the rest of your life, do we do the practical thing and go with UMD where most of his HS friends will attend or go with the prestigious Ivy route? I think we will keep an open mind and see where it leads us during all the visits; perhaps it will one will become the clear choice. This is not an easy process to say the least.