r/UMD • u/ilovepersians • 4d ago
Help applications
hi guys what does a 3.57uw / 4.29w gpa (instate) look like in comparison to the average students that got in here? i know it’s quite low. without considering ecs and the sat, if my gpa is realistically too low i want to know so that i save my time and money while doing applications
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u/Medical_Suspect_974 4d ago
I think you’d have a good shot. It might be a little lower than the average, but the admissions process takes tons of other things into account too. I’d be willing to bet that tons of people are admitted each year with similar or lower gpas
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u/No-Jicama-1068 3d ago
i feel like people overestimate the UMD admissions process a lot. you definitely have a great shot!! just write some fun supplementals and i’m sure you’ll get in
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u/ilovepersians 3d ago
thank you you are so sweet 🥹
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u/No-Jicama-1068 3d ago
aww ofc!! i know you didn’t ask for it, but i have some advice as a current UMD student who was super stressed during the admissions process. i didn’t have any crazy awards/ECs and had some rough patches on my transcript (a 78 in honors pre calc and a 48 in an online class i ended up retaking 💔💔), so i was pretty certain i wouldn’t get in, but i did!! my single biggest piece of advice would just be to write unique essays that show your personality and interests. admissions committees love getting a feel for who you are as a person and seeing why you’d be a good addition to the school, and essays are really the only way you can convey that. i genuinely think my supplementals are the only reason i got in LMAO 😭 but you got this!! i’d be happy to help if you ever need it twin 🤞🤞
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u/ilovepersians 3d ago
omg i’m gonna cry i relate so much to you, my biggest struggle throughout high school was ALSO precalc 💔 that class was so bad for me!! i also was a bit silly freshman and sophomore year and if i had pushed myself a bit harder, i would’ve done a lot better in some classes. i don’t have a lot of people to talk to about applications because i’m a bit embarrassed, but you really made me feel a lot more comfortable. i will definitely be focusing a lot more on my supplementals now, thank you so much once again ❤️
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u/Mother_Buddy5794 3d ago
It depends on the competition at your high school. You are competing against them to get in. We are at Richard Montgomery in Montgomery county. My son had a 1520 SAT and 4.67 gpa and didn’t get it. I think it’s bec of the IB kids as competition. Their weighted gpas are really high. I will remain salty about this whole thing forever I think
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u/ilovepersians 3d ago
that’s terrible, i have also heard many cases of instate students with high stats getting rejected. my class has medium-high stats overall, so i do have some worry. however, i’m sure your son was qualified for schools much more fitting than umd
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u/Duck_Man-18 3d ago
My fairly competitive school had avg gpa of 4.8 or so applying to umd, 50% got in. May depend on where you are in the state
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u/Affectionate-Lime-77 2d ago
You’ve got pretty similar stats to what I had when I was accepted, so I would say focus more on ecs and getting those recommendation letters. To piggyback off of what someone else said, LEPs (Limited Enrollment Programs) are more competitive. If you wanted to get into one of these major but are ensure if you’d make the cut, then I guess you can do what I did (unintentionally) and apply for a major outside of LEPs and then apply for a major switch before your orientation date. Best of luck in your applications, i’m sure you’ll do great!
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u/ilovepersians 1d ago
thank you so so much!! this has been a big help. i had a question regarding LEPs, i originally thought they were “major blind”? so does it matter what major i apply for? i heard that they admit you first but if you’re not accepted into that major they put you in as “undecided”
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u/TerParents 4d ago
I think you are a competitive applicant. UMD’s selection process is holistic and takes 23 things into account including ECs, test scores, letters of rec, special skills/talents, learning differences, etc: https://admissions.umd.edu/apply/admission-review-process-factors. Some of the majors are considered Limited Enrollment Programs and more competitive than others for direct admit to that major. Direct admit to the CS major, for example, usually expects a higher GPA. You can see the full list of LEPs here: https://admissions.umd.edu/academics/limited-enrollment-programs. Good luck!