It was great to get back on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, alma mater of Jim Henson. In fact, Kermit the Frog was created here! There are 31,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students here, and the location is ideal: suburban campus with great access to DC. The subway can get you there in an hour, but it’s only a 20-minute car ride. So access to internships, culture, history, and more is excellent! There’s also a purple line coming to campus which will bring students to Bethesda, where the NIH is located.

I enjoyed a deep dive into academics and the admissions process during this visit. It’s important to understand that, upon applying, all students are first considered for admission to the university and are then considered for the major. There are a number of limited enrollment programs: Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Criminology & Criminal Justice, Engineering, Immersive Media Design, Psychology, and Neuroscience. If students are not admitted to their major, they only need to meet the gateway requirements to be accepted into that major later, with the exception of Business and Computer science, which are competitive even after meeting those requirements.

Here are some nuggets about other programs: The Journalism program is excellent, and the review process is major blind: if you get into UMD, you’re into Journalism. No need to have been editor of your school paper. Also, Communications is within Arts and Sciences, and is theory-based, while the Journalism major leans into application.

Within the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences is a small program but there are 7 micro-weather stations on campus. The Geology major offers a 6-week summer field camp, and the Astronomy department has an observatory – and its own faculty and department independent the physics department. Chemistry and Biochem share a new building, and the Neuroscience program is only 4 years old and is an interdisciplinary major with the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The Math department offers both Statistics and Applied Math tracks.

The School of Engineering offers 12 majors, and there’s a wind tunnel as well as aerospace and fire protection labs on campus. Additionally, there’s a lot of academic support for engineering students; they’re invested in student success. Make note of this; it doesn’t happen everywhere!

There are plenty of other schools and colleges – too many programs to mention here. Regarding admission: it’s competitive! The average GPA of admitted students is 4.5. They’re looking for mostly A’s in a very challenging curriculum. The University of Maryland checks a lot of boxes for a lot of students which is why applications are surging. Meeting the early action deadline is crucial for many programs, merit scholarship consideration, and acceptance into various Living and Learning Communities!

 The University of Maryland, the flagship state university in College Park, is a very beautiful campus and an impressive academic institution with 30,000 undergraduates. It's increasingly difficult to gain admission, especially for the strong programs in computer science, engineering, journalism and business. Criminology and criminal justice are also very strong here. Plan on having top rigor and grades if you want to be a competitive applicant.

Like most medium to large state universities, the University of Maryland attracts all kinds of students so almost anybody can find their people here. Greek life isn't a huge deal, with less than 20% of students participating. I really love that Washington, DC is a half hour away by metro, which is fabulous for internships and just getting off campus and having some fun. In fact, you can see the Washington Monument from the top of Maryland Stadium.

Students apply directly into the major of their choice when applying to the university, and some popular programs have specific gateway requirements and have limited space, and are therefore much more competitive. These programs include Computer Science, Communications, Psychology, Business, Criminology, and numerous science programs. Make no mistake, the University of Maryland is getting harder and harder to get into every year, especially for out of state students.