Applying to UMD - Spring 2021

The UM Transfer Priority Deadline for Spring 2021, August 1^st, is a few weeks away… students may be asking you questions about applying to the University of Maryland, College Park.  Are you ready?  Try this quiz, the answers are in the attached Applying to UM MC Advising Page.  Please look it over!

Applying to UM Quiz

1.      The UM Transfer Application using the Coalition Platform can be confusing to many MC students and MC counselors who are trying to help them.

       True

       False

2.      UM will only accept International Evaluations from two specific companies (ECE or Josef Silny), so MC students who used AACRAO or WES are out of luck and must pay again to use one of these two companies. 
True 
False

3.      If we meet with new students who tell us their goal is to go to either U of Maryland College Park or UMB School of Nursing, and they have international credits to be evaluated, we should probably steer them to ECE (Education Credential Evaluators) instead of WES which MC will also accept:

True

False

[The MC Credit for Prior Learning page makes this somewhat clear – scroll to Transfer Credit from Non-US Colleges and Universities] https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/academics/credit-for-prior-learning/index.html  But also note that UMGC uses WES, not ECE, so it’s important to check if a student is specific about a transfer destination when they first enter MC!

Now back to UM Admissions!

4.      Students whose native language is not English can demonstrate their English Language Proficiency to UM with 55 credits completed at MC including ENGL 101 & 102 or 103 rather than having a full Associates degree finished:

True

False

And NEW, UM recently replied to a student applying by this August 1 who has less than 55 credits completed that if she asks an MC Adviser to confirm that she will be graduating this Fall 2020, that will be sufficient for English Proficiency.  See sample letter at the end of this quiz, direct e-mails to Jennifer Pham in UM Transfer Admissions.

5.      Another method of showing English Language proficency to UM is to present a high school transcript showing four years at a U.S. high school without English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.

True

False

6.       Students who are in MTAP who apply to transfer by March 1^st or by August 1^st for a non-LEP major while they are finishing their 30 credits in Spring or Fall are still guaranteed admission to UM as long as they send a transcript at the end of the semester to show they have met all the requirements (30 credits/GPA 3.0/ENGL 102 or 103 and a College Math finished)

FALSE!  Students who meet all MTAP criteria showing as completed on a transcript by a Priority Deadline of March 1 or August 1 qualify for MTAP; but if they are finishing requirements at the time that they apply, they are not guaranteed admission – if transfer spaces are still available at the end of the semester, then they will be considered, but if all transfer spaces are filled before the end of the semester, it would be possible that they would not be admitted.  Typically those MTAP students do get admitted but it is not assured.

7.       Students who have an overall GPA from all colleges attended of between a 2.0 and 2.99 can be admitted to UM to a non-LEP major if they have an AA, AS or AAT degree finished, but the timing is tricky, because the AA, AS or AAT degree must be finished and showing as completed on the transcript at the time that they apply by a Priority Deadline of March 1 or August 1, it cannot be “in progress”.

True

False

8.       These LEP majors at the Main Campus are not strict LEP-majors at Shady Grove, so a little wiggle room MIGHT be available in terms of GPA/Gateway Courses completed/repeated depending on the applicant pool.  Majors:  Business BMGT, Biological Science, Communication, Criminal Justice. 

True

False

9.       UM prefers that transfer students finish an AA or AS degree so that they will have fewer additional Gen Ed courses to take at UM after transfer.  But if a student needs to transfer before finishing a degree, they can at least finish the MC Gen Ed Program and request the General Education Program Completed note on their transcript which UM will use to check off that the MC Gen Ed Program was finished for the same purpose.

True

False

10.  These are two new UM majors at Shady Grove:  B.S. in Biocomputational Engineering and B.S. in Embedded Systems and Internet of Things

True

False

All of the answers above are TRUE except #6 (MTAP).  For answers to these and other important UM Admissions Questions, please look over the attached page, and feel free to give it to students who ask you questions about their applications.  But when in doubt, tell the student to ask UM Transfer Admissions directly!

Anne Schleicher, Part-Time Counselor

Montgomery College Online Advising Services

SAMPLE LETTER TO VERIFY GRADUATION for a student who has been asked about English Proficiency – use Print Screen of SHADEGR page.

jhp@umd.edu  Jennifer Pham

Hello Jennifer,

I am working with Montgomery College student Ima Student, DOB 4-6-1999, who is in the process of applying for transfer admission to UM for Spring 2021.  Ms. Student has been asked for verification that she will be graduating from Montgomery College to demonstrate her English proficiency; here is information from MC’s Student Information System (BANNER) that verifies that she will meet all of the requirements for graduation from Montgomery College upon completion of her classes this Fall 2020.  In the record below, you can see that her Graduation Status is marked “Pending” for 12/20/2020.

Thank you for your help in processing her application! 

Anne Schleicher, Counselor (Part-time)
Montgomery College Online Advising Services

Include Print Screen of SHADEGR page -