It worked out well in the end but most decisions hadn’t yet come when UMD EA decision came so the immediate reaction was if the in-state “safety” school is a challenge what could possibly lie ahead for the target and reach schools. Also yield protection at UMD had never entered my mind at the time.
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Just to clarify, you can also be invited to honors/scholars AND receive a scholarship. Didn’t want folks reading your message to think that wasn’t possible.
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Thanks, yes. My daughter received both.
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Proactive PSA re: Spring Admits:
I strongly encourage any applicants who are disappointed to receive a Spring admission decision tomorrow (assuming they come out) to take a breath, let the disappointment wash over you but then deeply consider the Freshman Connection program that allows you to matriculate on campus in the Fall.
The concensus from my daughter and her friends is that there is no stigma whatsoever associated with being in Freshman Connection and being in Freshman Connection is not even something you will necessarily know about other students. The primary difference for a Freshman Connection student is that they take classes later in the day (3 pm - 9 pm on Mon-Thurs, 8 a - 4 pm Fri) during their initial fall semester. This constraint only applies to their initial fall semester.
A friend’s daughter was in Freshman Connection this past fall and is absolutely loving her experience. Based on my daughter’s perspective, I had no reservations about encouraging my friend and her daughter to consider this program. If I felt students in this program were treated like second class citizens I would not have encouraged her daughter to go to UMD.
Here is a link to more information about the program. Program Overview | Office of Extended Studies
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A few general (lengthy) observations/thoughts coming from a parent with two kids that went thru the UMD admissions process and are currently attending or graduated from UMD-
Over 56,000 students applied last fall and we can only assume for now the number will be higher this year. I’m pretty sure the admissions staff is woefully underfunded and understaffed for this amount of applications. Every year there is a large handful of students who don’t get a decision immediately on Friday evening because the admissions office claims not all of the application info was received on time-even with the portal showing otherwise. Be prepared to be persistent contacting admissions if this unfortunately happens- they won’t be easy to contact. My biggest concern last year was not as much getting in, but having some screw up with the application.
UMD makes a big deal about the holistic admissions process- 26 factors in all! I’m quite confident that the large majority of applicants never have much more than their grades and test scores reviewed. We spent a lot of time on the short questions. I’m sure they were never looked at- maybe for the Living Learning Programs (LLP) and Limited Enrollment Programs (LEP) but definitely not for the University wide admissions. Probably only the most borderline students get a more thorough review. Just too many students and too few admissions staff.
Be prepared for a lot of Computer Science applicants-probably well over 50% of those who applied and are accepted- to be admitted to the University but not directly into the Computer science Program- Letters and Sciences instead. The good news is the process to get into the program is not competitive-receive the required grades in three specified courses and a 2.7 GPA overall and your in. Generally if you can’t complete these requirements then you would probably have trouble if you were directly admitted into the CS program- and the requirements are almost the same for those directly admitted into CS.
The Computer Science LEP is a fairly new LEP and makes absolutely no sense to me since there are way too many students who don’t get directly into the program who obviously would be very successful in the program based on their admissions stats/background. But I will cut short this rant for another post.
Better to be prepared to have a 4.0 gpa or very close to get into Honors-they pretty much say this in their admissions seminars. A 3.85 gpa and very high test score probably won’t cut it. Remember these LLP’s (like most schools overall) are trying to build a well balanced group for their program- so if you are part of an underrepresented group and or major, you will have a better chance getting into Honors. The Honors and Scholars programs could probably fill the bulk of their slots with high stat CS majors but obviously prefer not to.
A lot of CS majors will end up in Carillon Communities LLP- it was quite amazing last year how many accepted CS/L&S majors were asking what this LLP is all about. Remember this major holds well over 3000 students, and over 1000 students were taking the intro CMSC course last semester. The good news is this LLP is actually a solid low commitment program that guarantees an AC dorm. I’ve heard more students than not over the last few years complain about aspects of Honors and especially Scholars-not as many complaints about Carillon since it’s a smaller program and only a one year commitment. To me, the biggest advantage of an LLP is the guarantee of a specific, usually AC dorm, for freshman year. Also starting off being be part of a smaller, more cohesive program within the larger university. This is much more important than the specific LLP and it’s perceived stature.
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This is spot on. Really hoped UMD admission process would improve since first daughter applied 6 years ago. It’s a crap shoot. She got Freshman Connection (total shock and first intro to this messy process) and here I am, waiting for #3 admission but this time to CS program.
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Does anyone else think the UMD Portal is archaic and could use a facelift (especially compared to other schools)? It’ll be interesting to see how they report Admission status in there.
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Its particularly funny/interesting considering the school’s strength in CS. Sophomore project!!
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yeah, wondering if it’ll just appear as a popup or show an extra button or something? does anyone remember what it looks like from previous years?
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It appears in the same way the other drop down buttons/ links appear, except I believe it says Decision.
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Yes the portal is pretty bad, and definitely needs a facelift.
But to be clear: the professors and students in the CS department do not build or support software systems for the university’s offices. Like other schools, the UMD admissions office uses 3rd party software to run its portal.
Like with most other schools, there will be a link to the decision letter.
Drop down? No drop downs on my daughter’s TAP. Link to view details (in a box) and Checklist: with link to view checklist. I’m guessing decision will show up as link under checklist
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Can we expect decisions tonight?
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There will be a link to the decision letter.
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My friend just called office of admissions and they said decisions come out 2/1 before 8:30am. Did anyone else hear this?
unlucky… thought was today 
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did not hear this from anyone else but thanks for posting! was hoping it would be today
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Most likely coming out this evening.
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Are they just saying by Feb 1 by 8:30 am? That’s what their website says as well and it has been the last Friday of Jan for the past few years.
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Is anyone else getting an error when they try to log in?