University of Maryland, College Park FAQs
Directly coming to the point to questions faced by all the people getting admit from UMD or people applying to UMD. And especially from the ones at Smith school. Several people have messaged me, which gave me the idea of listing down all the questions that I faced at my time and some that people asked me. Here we go:
1. How easy/tough is it to get an on-campus job?
- On-campus job is somewhat challenging due to huge competition. So I suggest you look for it in all the places and show your interest. And sooner, the better, as the on-campus jobs are first come, first serve types. So start looking for them as soon as you are in the US and apply.
2. Is work experience needed for admission?
- No, that would not be necessary. But if you have some, then it would be even better as that would help you in getting good on-campus jobs like GA, RA, TA, etc. But I personally did not have work experience. And so it’s not compulsory for admission if you meet the other eligibility criteria for UMD.
3. For scholarships, are we supposed to apply somewhere separately? And for GA TA RA, can we apply to these positions before flying to the US?
- For scholarships, you should mention your achievements and why you deserve a scholarship in your SOP. And before mentioning that, do have a look at the UMD website for the scholarships offered and check if you clear the criteria for that. For GA, several people have received it with their admission, and you can also check out the UMD website for open roles, but for RA and TA, you have to be here and give interviews. As GA goes to people who have experience.
4. What’s the per month expenditure, and how do you manage it (internships/ TA/ loan, etc)?
- Per month expenditure would be about $700-$1500 as it varies from person to person. But for me, it was between $500-$700. Then I worked on campus for my 2nd and 3rd semester in a book store and business school as an IT Help Student, respectively. So the rent and basic expenses would be covered by that. Regarding loans, that one can start repaying with their summer internship or full-time job.
5. Is there a list of companies to which one should apply for summer internships or full-time jobs?
- What you can do to start is look for internship/full-time positions on LinkedIn, and the positions try to add filters based on experience, location preference, if any, and check for other filters. Then further step that you can follow is to try reaching out to UMCP alumni in those companies for referral purposes (you won’t get 100% success in replies, but some of them would be happy to refer you). And that’s how you can get ahead in the application game. 1 application through referral is better than 5–7 applications without a referral. And while all of this is going on, keep polishing your resume. And try to make it better with each application.
6. How does the exam pattern for Smith school look like? Is it theoretical or practical-based?
- It will be theoretical for business subjects and practical for subjects like database management and python. And in them also, there will be some theoretical questions. 90% of the exams will be from the materials covered in class and the remaining from books and everything. I focused on the 90%, and the rest you will be able to figure out based on that. But I would suggest always trying to participate in class discussions during business courses. As that’s an important part and covers several topics which might be asked in quizzes or exams as well.
And I will keep on updating this list as and when needed :)
