What are my realistic chances of getting into University of Maryland? (UMD - College Park)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

As a senior planning to apply to UMD - College Park this fall, I’m excited, but at the same time very nervous. This is my top choice because when I visited I really enjoyed their campus and what they have to offer, and statistically they are a very good school. Based on my high school this is a reach school as I have a 3.26 GP (weighted), but have taken difficult classes since freshman year and have continued to rise throughout the years. This will sound dumb, but I didn’t take school seriously or know what a GPA was so if I was serious as I was during my junior year I would’ve had a better chance and that is something I regret. Obviously there is much more I can tell you, so if there is something I didn’t include please ask ahead!

-3.26 GPA
-1070 SAT (1600 range, 500 Reading, 570 Math, super score)
-Treasurer of the French Honor Society
-JV/Varsity Tennis player
-10+ years playing the violin
-Work as a Stock Associate at Abercrombie and Kids
-Social media member for a charity as my community service called Orphan Aid Project
-out of state (NJ)
-involved with and engineering club (TSA) and chess.
-web designer (Learning Java, know a decent amount of HTML and CSS)
-etc.

This year I’m taking
-AP AB Calculus, Bio, World History, Computer Science, French
-Honors English

Past courses (“Advanced”)
-AP Physics, Pre-calc (as a junior, etc. for every year below), Biology H, French H II, III, IV

I plan to apply for Computer Science at UMD. There are many other factors that reach students have to potentially get in such as being out of state (I had a friend last year who had lower stats than I did, but got into University of Indiana - a decent school, and he went for Computer Science), writing a very nice essay (which I have changed, revised and believe it is good and avoid cliches that deans don’t want to “read” about) and rigor of classes you have taken. I used some sites the gauge my chances, one gave me a 33% chance of getting in with just raw numbers so my chances should technically increase with extra activities. Another site said that around 81-82 students at UMD have my GPA level for that incoming class.

Thanks, if you have any questions - post below!

2

I am also a senior applying for University of Maryland College Park. And like you, UMD-CP is my top choice for college. I want to major in aerospace engineering and go into the aerospace industry, and possibly become an air crash investigation specialist.

Looking at your academics, your weighted GPA of 3.2 is quite low as 3.2 is usually a decent Unweighted GPA. My UW GPA is 3.2 and Weighted is 3.6. For College Park, 1070 won’t make the cut out of 1600. My CR + Math is close to yours so we’re on the same level for SAT scores. I’m taking that ACT, so hopefully I won’t have to send my SAT scores to most of my colleges as I am confident that I will do great on the ACT. Your extracurriculars, sports, and work experience seem to be a great addition as they show your uniqueness.

I visited UMD-CP over the summer and also had a representative visit my HS (I’m in State for MD). He said that comp sci is one of the most competitive majors to get into along with the Business school. So, I wish you all the luck for your college applications! And, don’t stress out…I’m stressing out to, but you got to stay positive!

3

What was the site that showed you that 81-82 students have the same GPA level for you, thanks.

4

Your GPA and SAT scores are unfortunately quite low. Note that CP is among very top CS schools in the nation and is well recognized as a great CS school across the world. Unless you have great hooks, have written an impressive essay, and have gotten solid recommendation letters in regards to your CS skills, you won’t have much chance.

5

Just realized that this was a post from 2015, lol.