The University of Maryland - College Park

“Get a medium to high SAT score, take someNov 30 2009Biology
Get a medium to high SAT score, take some AP classes/credits and/or SATII tests. Make sure you have some extracurricular activities and outside intrests. They are looking for a well rounded student that excells in all areas.
SAT: 1300 Female

“Get a decent GPA (around 3Jun 21 2008Communications
Get a decent GPA (around 3.6), take challenging courses and have plenty of ECs to show off. Helps if you do sports.
ACT: 31 SAT: 2100 Female

“Frankly, I didn't really do anything particularly astounding toJan 19 2005PreMed and Medical
Frankly, I didn't really do anything particularly astounding to get in. Do well in some AP classes, get at least an 1100-1300 on your SATs, extracurriculars, good GPA, et cetera. Being well rounded in different areas of your life is definitely a more valuable characteristic than exceling in just one aspect.
Female

“Getting in? It's mostly the basics that you needJan 07 2004Political Science
Getting in? It's mostly the basics that you need for any school, except the GPAs and SAT scores of incoming students and the number of applications to the university are rising, rapidly. At the LOWEST end, without expecting to get any special programs, scholarships, etc. you should have a 3.5 and above unweighted GPA, and a 3.9 and above weighted. Make sure you have plenty of APs, honors classes and extracurriculars (but honestly, the extracurriculars don't count for all that much.) As for SATs, nobody entered this year's freshman class with below a 1200, and even then the people who did enter with a 1200 must have had pretty spectacular GPAs or extracurriculars. To be on the safe side, again for just getting in, get a 1250. A bare minimum of 1300 is required for any special programs. Good luck.
SAT: 1350 Male

“First, academicsJan 03 2004Computer Science
First, academics. You should probably have a 3.5-3.7 to even attempt entry, and if you've taken AP or IB, that's excellent. 5 AP courses gave me a senior weighted GPA of 4.71, which was more than enough to cement my entry *while lacking* in other departments. More on that later. So good academics alone will probably carry you. However, if you're riding the line between "pass" and "failure" in terms of academic requirements, I've also seen a great deal of students get in as a result of their activities, personal achievements, *race*, and so forth. Being a white, middle-class male, I really can't talk, but it's been my experience that being non-majority in almost any way *will* assist your entry. And finally, don't forget recommendations and your essay. These are important. Very, very important. Butter up a few teachers, and get a glowing appraisal. Do a little community service, and then write about it. Trust me. You do not have to work hard here, but do enough that you have some sort of pretense or context in which to write your essay. Email me and I'll be glad to critique your essay - I don't mind helping :) (try , rather than my other email.) Perhaps the largest piece of advice I could give is: *be upbeat*. Do *not* harp on your problems. Focus on the good in everything and do your best to ignore the bad. You are a spin doctor. Make the truth dance to your will, but *do not ever lie*. There is a difference between selective emphasis and blatant falsity. Anyhow. Being able to construct eloquent prose helps. In general, UMCP students do not have to excel in all of these things. A good 50% of the students that apply get accepted, although only 40% of those that get accepted choose to go. If you are decent in all respects or very good in one, you are almost guaranteed success. I don't know... it worked for me :) Good luck!
SAT: 1490 Male