Traveling Admissions Counselors

As the summer chugs along here at UMBC we spend a lot of time welcoming new students to the campus.  Orientation is a great time for the Admissions staff to meet all the students we have been working with, but also a fun time for new students to meet their classmates.  The admissions world is never stagnate though, and as we welcome the class of 2013 to UMBC we have already begun to think about the students of next Fall.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  The new incoming students have already applied, visited the campus and now they are signing up for classes.  They don’t need the Admissions Office anymore!  Don’t fret though, we’re not sad, we are actually excited for our new students and looking forward to meeting many more during the Fall.  The Counselors have even started planning out where they will be visiting students during the Fall.  Unfortunately we can’t be everywhere but that is why you are always welcome to visit UMBC.  If we are in your area come out and say “Hi!,” it is always appreciated.  Below is a listing of areas where the counseling staff will be visiting high schools and attending college fairs.

Josh: Virginia and North Carolina

Laura: Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Western Maryland, Eastern Shore of MD, Southern Maryland (Laura is basically our traveling Super Woman)

Ryan: New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Kelly: Transfer Advising Days (MD)

We will also have UMBC staff visiting students throughout Maryland and Washington, DC.

Hope to see you this Fall!

 

Summer Preview Day I is Friday!

So the Fourth of July has passed, which means summer is in full swing.  For many rising high school seniors across the country,  it also means it’s time to nail down some college visit plans to get that list of possible schools nailed down!  Hence, UMBC is providing the first of two summer visit days this Friday, July 10.  Join us for a Summer Preview Day and “preview” everything UMBC has to offer. 

Of course, we will have the standard campus tours led by current students.  We will also offer prospective freshmen and their families the chance to sit in on sessions about everything from academic resources to student life.  Faculty and students from departments across campus will be on hand to answer your questions about specific majors, as well.

Summer Preview Days are great for high school juniors who are beginning their college searches, as well.  They provide a great introduction to our campus! 

You can register online for this Friday’s Summer Preview Day or for the next SPD on August 3.  Alternatively, you may call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to sign up.  That numer is 410/455-2292.  Happy summer and we will see you on campus soon!

 

Living in a Res. Hall

Yesterday we welcomed more incoming freshmen students during yet another fantastic Orientation program.  During the afternoon portion of the Family Orientation program we had a session where the families of the students were able to talk to a group of current UMBC students and ask them just what it was like to be at UMBC.  The session went really well but one question that came up that seems to make new students a little anxious is “What will it be like to live in the dorms?”  There are a lot of changes that occur for students as they head off to college but living with a stranger can be one of the biggest adjustments.  I hope to calm your nerves a little by letting you know that from my personal experience it is not really that bad.  Sure, not everyone will be best friends with their roommate but if you sit down and work out some general rules to respect each other then things usually go pretty smoothly.

When you move into your new home for the next academic year it is important to think about what to bring-what you really need and what you can do without.  The UMBC residence halls are larger than your average dorm room but you will be sharing that space so you may need to leave a few things at home (see example).  I recommend checking out the following link from the Residential Life website of what things you can bring and what is not allowed.

We look forward to seeing more of you as we continue Orientation throughout the summer.  Pretty soon you will all be back for Welcome Week and then starting into the semester.  Have a great summer!

 

Orientation!

Ah, the sight of UMBC’s campus at 6:30 a.m…peaceful and serene.  Not even the squirrels are up this early.  UMBC Admissions staff are up though, ready to greet hundreds of eager, fresh UMBC faces as they trek onto campus for their first official experience as Retrievers! 

Yes, that’s right…Orientation season has officially begun.  Today we welcomed the first group of newly admitted students for Orientation Course Selection Day.  I mentioned Orientation  in one of my last blogs, but if you don’t recall, this is the day when new students come to campus to learn about UMBC’s policies and resources, meet with advisors, and register for fall classes!  Of course, they also come to meet fellow newbies and OPA’s (Orientation Peer Advisors).  It’s a full day, but we find that after it’s all over, new students tend to feel relieved knowing what their schedules for fall will entail, knowing a little more about the campus (where things are, where to go for what, etc.), and perhaps most importantly, knowing a few fellow students and some faculty and staff to turn to with questions or to just say hi to next time they’re on campus.

Whether you’re joining us as a Retriever this fall or are thinking about donning the UMBC black and gold some time in the future,  you may want to read up about Orientation and see what awaits our new students!

 

UMBC All Over the World

Today we are fortunate enough to have a guest blog from our International Counselor, Michelle Massey.  Enjoy!

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Hello, My name is Michelle Massey and I am an admissions counselor here at UMBC.  I specialize in working with international students, and thought you might be interested to know a little more about our international student population here at UMBC.

You probably have already heard that we were recently ranked as the second most diverse University in the US, but I thought I would share where our international students have applied from this year.  So far, applicants come from China, Indonesia, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Uganda, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Nepal, Jamaica, Russia, Sweden, Cameroon, Georgia, Egypt, Estonia, Poland, the West Indies, Albania,  Italy, Peru, El Salvador, Brazil,  Slovakia, Iran, New Zealand, and more!

Now keep in mind, these are only our students who have student visas.  Many of our students come on different visa types, or as citizens with heritage from outside the US.  There are many layers to the diversity at UMBC, and here we are looking only at the element of diversity that addresses ethnic heritage and geographic origin!

Did you know that some students come to the US just to study, without their families?  They apply for student visas—a visa is like a permit to enter the US, and there are many different types of visas for different reasons someone might want to come here.  In the case of our students, in order to get their student visa, they need to prove that their English is strong enough and their grades are good enough to attend the University and that they have therefore been admitted to a University in the US; that they have enough funding to cover their educational and living expenses for one year; and they also have to prove that they plan to return home after they have completed their education.  And you thought the college admissions process was difficult from inside the US…

However, as you can see many do what is required and join us each semester at UMBC, contributing to the wonderfully rich diversity on campus and taking full advantage of everything UMBC has to offer!  We look forward to welcoming our incoming international students this summer, and hope that all of you new incoming students, international or otherwise, will take time to get to know as many people as you can on our campus and enjoy friendships with roots all over the world!

 

Transfer Applications for Fall 2009

The deadline for transfer students recently passed (May 31) but the Admissions Office is still accepting applications on a space available basis.  Check out Kelly’s post on the Transfer blog for details.

In other news, I will be away from the office for the next couple of weeks enjoying a little vacation time.  Don’t fret however, Laura and Ryan will still be going strong here at the Counselors’ blog.  Have a great weekend!

 

All Right, One More Post About Graduation…

Looking to pursue an M.D. at Johns Hopkins or a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at Princeton ?  Care to intern with the U.S. Department of State or perhaps work at the U.S. embassy in Beijing?  Maybe instead you’d prefer to be employed as a Video Game Developer and Artist for Benxing Entertainment?  All these plans sounded good to some of our recent graduates.  Perhaps similar plans are in your future if you graduate from UMBC! 

I promised recently that we would update our readers on the plans of our recent grads.  Part of UMBC’s website is actually devoted to doing just that.  Check out the UMBC Class of 2009 “What are you doing after graduation?” site.  You can read about the students pursuing the graduate programs and careers noted above, plus read about the exciting plans of many others.  The truly impressive thing is that this site only offers a snapshot of the myriad jobs and graduate programs our 1,050 undergraduates are planning to tackle after receiving their Bachelor’s degrees a couple weeks ago.  This knowledge should come as no surprise to those familiar with UMBC.  After all, undergraduates who spend their years at UMBC traveling to Rome to study ancient architecture or simultaneously playing Division I tennis and conducting research in Information Systems certainly do not plan to end their ambitious educations with the receipt of their diplomas.  For them, UMBC was only the beginning…

 

2009 Graduation: Looking Ahead

Commencement speaker Thomas Friedman encouraged the 2009 graduates of UMBC to continue thinking laterally.  The Pulitzer Prize winner and foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times offered up a stereotypical knock on the liberal arts degree.  With few jobs available and so many graduates, who gets the job?  According to Friedman, UMBC graduates are well-equipped to enter the job market.  To create a niche in this economic environment requires the will and imagination to think laterally, something UMBC students do every day.

Class of 2009

Friedman sites Michelangelo as one extraordinary example of a man whose life was defined by his interdisciplinary and artful endeavors.  Problems are solved and conflicts often averted when research in any discipline is paired with the artistic, philosophical, or scientific.  According to Friedman, it’s the intertwining of knowledge that yields imaginative and lasting  solutions.  It’s no coincidence that UMBC students get jobs when they graduate (if they don’t go directly to graduate school).

Interdisciplinary study is a given at UMBC, but it’s often a lasting challenge for incoming students.  We already have hundreds of students who will begin the trek in the Fall of 2009.  Who’s next?

Class of 2014 - To Be Determined

 

Undergraduate Admissions Office Closed

The UMBC Undergraduate Admissions Office will be closed on Friday, May 22 and Monday, May 25.  We will reopen on Tuesday, May 26 and look forward to returning your messages.

Have a great weekend!

 

Commencement

The UMBC Office of Undergraduate Admissions would like to congratulate all the spring 2009 graduates!  Today, May 20th, the ceremony for the Graduate School Commencement will take place here on campus.  Tomorrow undergradutes receiving Bachelor’s degrees will toss their caps at the 1st Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore.   This year’s undergraduate Commencement address will be given by author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.  Mr. Friedman and Dr. Shirly Tilghman, President of Princeton University, will both receive honorary degrees from UMBC tomorrow.  Mr. Friedman is the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and is the author of a number of globally recognized books that detail everything from globalization to political activism to his experiences reporting in the Middle East.   Dr. Tilghman is a recognized scholar in molecular biology and is Princeton’s first female president.  

Many of us in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will assist with the undergraduate Commencement Ceremony tomorrow.  We’re especially looking forward to giving unabashed “woot woots” to the graduates who worked with us in our office over the past four years!  I should note that a special “woot woot” will be delivered today for one of our directors who is receiving a graduate degree, as well! 

Keep your eyes on the blog for coverage of undergraduate Commencement.  We will also be sure to boast about the plans of our graduates in a future post.