University of Maryland-College Park: the complete school report for parents

What does University of Maryland-College Park actually weigh in admissions?

University of Maryland-College Park rates 1 of the 18 factors "Very Important": course rigor. It does not consider 4 of them at all. Every college reports these weights in section C7 of its Common Data Set; below is University of Maryland-College Park's 2025-2026 answer, read from the grid in its own file.

What GPA do admitted students actually have?

89% of enrolled students had a 4.0 GPA or above. The average was 4.41 on a 4 scale, reported for 95% of the entering class. This is the school’s own distribution, not an estimate from its admit rate.

What is the University of Maryland-College Park waitlist really like?

University of Maryland-College Park offered a place on its waiting list to 247 applicants and 0 accepted one. None of them were admitted. A waitlist place here should be treated as a decline, not as a live option to hold out for.

Is transferring in easier than applying as a freshman?

University of Maryland-College Park admitted 53.4% of 7,653 transfer applicants, against 45.0% of first-year applicants. The two routes are similarly competitive here.

When do we apply, and does timing change the odds?

University of Maryland-College Park reports its early rounds below.

What will University of Maryland-College Park actually cost us?

Families pay an average of $15,678 a year at University of Maryland-College Park after grants and scholarships, against a published in-state tuition of $10,490. The published price is not what most families pay. The university reports meeting 73.8% of demonstrated need on average. It also gave 1,276 merit awards averaging $8,565 to first-years with no demonstrated need.

What families at each income level actually paid:

31% of University of Maryland-College Park graduates borrow, leaving with an average of $31,672 in debt, which the federal data puts at about $201 a month in repayment. University of Maryland-College Park’s net price calculator gives your own figure.

Does a degree from University of Maryland-College Park pay off?

Graduates earn a median $82,860 ten years after entering, and $67,785 at six years. 88% out-earn a typical high school graduate within six years. 79% are actively paying down their loans three years in.

Four-year net cost against that earnings premium:

A scale, not a forecast: it assumes aid and earnings hold steady.

$116,598 to $38,656, depending on the major. Median earnings five years out at University of Maryland-College Park:

College Scorecard, by field of study; highest and lowest shown.

Will my child actually graduate?

97% of first-years return for a second year. 88% within six (2019 cohort). The rate holds up across income: 80.1% of Pell-grant recipients graduate within six years against 90.1% of everyone else, a gap of 10.0 points.

How big are the classes?

45% of class sections have fewer than 20 students, while 8% have 100 or more. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1, and 83% of faculty are full-time. Both are true at once: 8% of sections seat 100 or more, and those are the introductory lectures. Accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

What is life at University of Maryland-College Park like?

31,875 undergraduates, 35.2% of first-years from out of state. 88.3% of freshmen live in university housing, falling to 39.2% across all undergraduates. Greek life is small: 2.94% of men join a fraternity and 0.147% of women a sorority. 22% of students are the first in their family to attend college, and the median family income is $90,010.

What this means for your student

• Course rigor is rated Very Important here, so the senior-year schedule should hold its AP, IB or honors depth rather than lighten.
• 89% of enrolled students are at a 4.0 GPA or above, averaging 4.41. Below that line the rest of the application has to carry real weight.
• Skip demonstrated-interest tactics here. Visits and emails are not tracked, so save that effort for schools where they count.
• Treat a waitlist place here as a decline: 0 students waited and none were admitted.
• Its highest-earning major returns $116,598 five years out against $38,656 at the other end, a gap wider than the one between most schools.
• See where your student actually stands: calculate their GPA and compare it against the distribution above.

Common questions about University of Maryland-College Park

Other schools families compare with University of Maryland-College Park

• University of Wisconsin-Madison
  Admissions report · 40.8% admit rate
• University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
  Admissions report · 78.9% admit rate
• Purdue-West Lafayette|Purdue|PU|Purdue-WL
  Admissions report · 43.4% admit rate
• USC
  Admissions report · 11.2% admit rate
• BU
  Admissions report · 12.8% admit rate
• Vanderbilt
  Admissions report · 5.4% admit rate