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"Inside admissions at U. Maryland"

Camden, thanks for the article. The article left out UCLA, whose acceptance rate was 16% this past year. Also, UC Santa Barbara 32% and UC San Diego 34% should have been mentioned in the article as well for most selective state schools.
 
Camden, thanks for the article. The article left out UCLA, whose acceptance rate was 16% this past year. Also, UC Santa Barbara 32% and UC San Diego 34% should have been mentioned in the article as well for most selective state schools.

You're right, but remember the story is from the Washington Post, which doesn't take as much of a national perspective as it should.
 
You're right, but remember the story is from the Washington Post, which doesn't take as much of a national perspective as it should.
True, although they did add UC Berkeley and I do consider them a national newspaper. Regardless, it was a good article and I know that the UC schools have been taking a much more holistic approach as well.
 
True, although they did add UC Berkeley and I do consider them a national newspaper. Regardless, it was a good article and I know that the UC schools have been taking a much more holistic approach as well.

When you have as many applications from top-tier applicants as the UC schools do, you almost have to take a holistic approach, or else tiny and insignificant statistical differences will determine who you admit.
 
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I don't know to what extent RU does it this way; I understand it does for students who are right on the line line between "admit" and "deny," but I don't know if it does for all applicants.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...term=.a9804d08443f&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1


Rutgers does take a very holistic approach. The essay on our application is a major factor in determining who is accepted and who is not.

I read this earlier today in my research, it's an interesting article for sure. This type of admissions has its origin in Columbia's response to Jewish applicants in the 1910s.

http://250.browndailyherald.com/how-1920s-anti-semitism-inspired-the-modern-day-admission-system/
 
Rutgers does take a very holistic approach. The essay on our application is a major factor in determining who is accepted and who is not.

I read this earlier today in my research, it's an interesting article for sure. This type of admissions has its origin in Columbia's response to Jewish applicants in the 1910s.

http://250.browndailyherald.com/how-1920s-anti-semitism-inspired-the-modern-day-admission-system/

I hope what you say about a wholistic approach is true. Admissions used to claim it did this, but it in fact relied almost entirely on test scores and GPA except in very border-line situations.. Maybe it is now a reality.
 
When I applied it was thought that RU- and Maryland- big state schools- did not really look at the essays and just looked at SAT and GPA.

For law school some schools did not even require an essay- it was ALL LSAT and GPA.
 
BTW, how is UConn in the same breath as UF, nevermind Michigan or UVA, in terms of selectiveness? Why do they get so many applicants? I know there is a compact in New England where surrounding states get lower tuition- so are there just a lot of applicants? Otherwise Storrs never seems to rank with other college towns, is in the middle of nowhere, and the school academically does not seem near level with the others. And recently other than WBB is irrelevant in sports.

Maryland- can't see choosing it over RU for someone from NJ, but I get the attraction of being close to DC but still having a flagship type experience.
 
When I applied it was thought that RU- and Maryland- big state schools- did not really look at the essays and just looked at SAT and GPA.

For law school some schools did not even require an essay- it was ALL LSAT and GPA.

Some law schools continue to look at more than LSAT/ and GPA only for minority and first-in-the-family-to-go-to-college applicants. We once admitted a student who had severe mental problems because apparently no one looked at his essay. He said, "I applied to 120 schools, and you were the only school to admit me!"
 
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BTW, how is UConn in the same breath as UF, nevermind Michigan or UVA, in terms of selectiveness? Why do they get so many applicants? I know there is a compact in New England where surrounding states get lower tuition- so are there just a lot of applicants? Otherwise Storrs never seems to rank with other college towns, is in the middle of nowhere, and the school academically does not seem near level with the others. And recently other than WBB is irrelevant in sports.

Maryland- can't see choosing it over RU for someone from NJ, but I get the attraction of being close to DC but still having a flagship type experience.

I remember from 50 years ago a kid in my high school class in Queens being determined to go to UConn. I never did understand why, but of course that was a long time ago. I know the law school is pretty good.

U. Md. is in College Park, which I remember from 35 years ago as totally mediocre. But since then BART has come to College Park, and that's good for everyone at U. Md. Still, I don't see much reason for picking U. Md. over Rutgers for a New Jersey resident student.
 
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Some law schools continue to look at more than LSAT/ and GPA only for minority and first-in-the-family-to-go-to-college applicants. We once admitted a student who had severe mental problems because apparently no one looked at his essay. He said, "I applied to 120 schools, and you were the only school to admit me!"

LOL that is a great story, I hope he and more importantly everyone else at the school made it through OK!
 
@RU MAN, my guess is WaPo mistakenly utilized the term flagship as if there can only be one institution per state identified as a flagship, such is the case in Maryland with UMCP. In the case of California, WaPo decided to go with Berkeley even if multiple UC campuses might be considered as such.
 
BTW, how is UConn in the same breath as UF, nevermind Michigan or UVA, in terms of selectiveness? Why do they get so many applicants? I know there is a compact in New England where surrounding states get lower tuition- so are there just a lot of applicants? Otherwise Storrs never seems to rank with other college towns, is in the middle of nowhere, and the school academically does not seem near level with the others. And recently other than WBB is irrelevant in sports.

Maryland- can't see choosing it over RU for someone from NJ, but I get the attraction of being close to DC but still having a flagship type experience.

I applied to RU, UF, UCONN, UNC, Maryland, and Delaware but was always going to RU - got in second week of high school and “signed” before even hearing back or getting out all the other apps. All but UConn were considered “cooler” by my graduating class (including me - but I was hooked with athletics). The only school I considered was Udel because they weren’t D1. If I had to do it all over again I would have gone to Rutgers but as a blank slate non RU sport fan I think the order by the common applicant would be UF UNC Maryland Delaware RU UConn. But from a pure academic, campus life, and value proposition the reality is probably UF UNC RU Maryland UDel UConn.
 
as a blank slate non RU sport fan I think the order by the common applicant would be UF UNC Maryland Delaware RU UConn. But from a pure academic, campus life, and value proposition the reality is probably UF UNC RU Maryland UDel UConn

I would think under both criteria (desirability by common applicant and academic/campus life/value), UNC > UF at the top of both of those lists.
 
Left out PSU by mistake.

More of a mixed bag for me personally...not in any particular order...Rutgers, RPI, Rice, MIT, PSU, Princeton. Also considered but never ultimately applied to Lehigh, Stevens, Michigan, NJIT, Cal-Berkeley, Northwestern. Had to somewhat arbitrarily cut the list in half to be able to afford the application fees and minimize the essay writing.

Of the 12 on that combined list, I only had a chance to go visit the four schools located in NJ. There was never a consideration by my parents to take me out of school (if a weekday was needed) to visit colleges during high school, nor to go on a 'trip' to visit those that required multi-hour drives or flying.

No regrets though, and probably wouldn't change a thing. Wanted a large school experience after the suffocatingly small, Group 1 northern NJ HS. Glad I turned down about 50% scholarship money at RPI as I heard Troy, NY was very dull. Found out I got an all-tuition scholarship to Rutgers which helped seal the deal. Probably worked out that I never got off the waitlist at Rice over the summer. PSU was a fallback, like Rutgers, but between the two there was never a chance I would pay more to go to equivalent out-of-state public so I turned down PSU as well. MIT and Princeton were my reaches and wasn't surprised to get denied at both.
 
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Not sure what you mean by BART coming to CP. Did you mean the Metro instead?... whereas BART to Berkeley?

You're right -- I had Bart in my head for some reason. Yes, Metro is in College Park. BART has been in Berkeley since the system first started up in the early 1970s., with one station in pretty easy walking distance of the campus (if you don't mind walking uphill from the station to the campus.)
 
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@RU MAN, my guess is WaPo mistakenly utilized the term flagship as if there can only be one institution per state identified as a flagship, such is the case in Maryland with UMCP. In the case of California, WaPo decided to go with Berkeley even if multiple UC campuses might be considered as such.
You're probably right.
 
I applied to RU, UF, UCONN, UNC, Maryland, and Delaware but was always going to RU - got in second week of high school and “signed” before even hearing back or getting out all the other apps. All but UConn were considered “cooler” by my graduating class (including me - but I was hooked with athletics). The only school I considered was Udel because they weren’t D1. If I had to do it all over again I would have gone to Rutgers but as a blank slate non RU sport fan I think the order by the common applicant would be UF UNC Maryland Delaware RU UConn. But from a pure academic, campus life, and value proposition the reality is probably UF UNC RU Maryland UDel UConn.

UNC to me is the only one that would really turn a head more than RU academically. TCNJ and Pitt were the only other public schools I applied to- and Pitt was only because it had a combined BA/JD. MD/UDel & the Cult were too popular in my HS and being a contrarian no way I was going for that- plus financially it did not make sense for me.
 
Rutgers does take a very holistic approach. The essay on our application is a major factor in determining who is accepted and who is not.
Interesting to hear that and wonder if it helped my son...

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/t...-when-the-weeks-building-will-be-done.136849/

He’s not the writer like his younger brother but his essay for the Rutgers application on character and perseverance was (and this ain’t dear ole’ Dad talkin’ - lol) pretty damn good.
 
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Interesting to hear that and wonder if it helped my son...

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/t...-when-the-weeks-building-will-be-done.136849/

He’s not the writer like his younger brother but his essay for the Rutgers application on character and perseverance was (and this ain’t dear ole’ Dad talkin’ - lol) pretty damn good.
I think it was for my niece. She just got accepted. She has a learning disability and still managed to have an unweighted 3.4 GPA and 1270 on her SAT's. I understand from my sister her essay was very compelling. She was just accepted.
 
I think it was for my niece. She just got accepted. She has a learning disability and still managed to have an unweighted 3.4 GPA and 1270 on her SAT's. I understand from my sister her essay was very compelling. She was just accepted.
Well then let me be the first to say to you and your niece...

tenor.gif
 
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BART has been in Berkeley since the system first started up in the early 1970s., with one station in pretty easy walking distance of the campus (if you don't mind walking uphill from the station to the campus.)

I know that uphill walk quite well. Had a couple evening classes at Berkeley in late 90s when I was living and working in SF, and took BART over to the East Bay.
 
I think it was for my niece. She just got accepted. She has a learning disability and still managed to have an unweighted 3.4 GPA and 1270 on her SAT's. I understand from my sister her essay was very compelling. She was just accepted.

Congratulations to her! Make sure she reaches out to the Rutgers Office of Disability Services, they're a big help!
 
I know that uphill walk quite well. Had a couple evening classes at Berkeley in late 90s when I was living and working in SF, and took BART over to the East Bay.

On the one hand, the campus is only a block away. On the other hand, that side of the campus contains relatively few classroom buildings so you keep having to walk. One year I had an apartment just west of Grove Street (what I think is now called MLK drive) and I got a lot of experience doing the walk through downtown Berkeley and then to the campus.
 
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