What is the point of filling out a college application? If you have already finished your college application or are still working on them for that matter, you may have already asked yourself this question before whether it was out of reflection, curiosity, or just sheer frustration. We ask each applicant to fill out an application because we want to get to know you and get a sense of how you may thrive personally and academically at UMBC. We don’t get time to sit down and talk to each applicant one on one so we ask you to give us a variety of information to try and gain a sense of who you are. As you complete your applications, ask yourself this question: Does this information reflect who I am? Just as a student, or as a student and a person?

Writing a personal statement can be a tough thing to do for some students. Up until this point in life, most applicants have only written academic papers. All throughout high school you have been asked to analyze works of fiction, economic trends, historical events, etc. but likely no one has sat you down and asked you to write by yourself. Given that the goal is to give admissions counselors a sense of who you are, be authentic and genuine. Write about things that are significant to you.

Another crucial aspect is to show that you are interested and a good fit for the school that your are applying to. As previously stated, you should have specific reasons why you are excited about applying to UMBC… convey that in your supplemental documents. Even if you have yet to visit a college, you can find out ALL that you need to know through researching the college’s website, admissions blogs, and publication.

Five years ago when I was applying to college, I heard my admissions counselor talk about an application being like a museum. You get to curate the museum to show us all of the awesome things about yourself. If you wanted someone to get to know you by walking through the museum, what important things would you show them? Lots of times, people are uncomfortable talking about themselves. The personal statement is not about bragging, but rather showing UMBC admissions counselors who you are as a person. It’s okay to show us your accomplishments, but more importantly, why do they matter to you? UMBC admissions counselors are not looking for one specific thing, or one specific type of person. My favorite thing about working at UMBC is the DIVERSITY! I get the opportunity to work with many different types of students who are unique in their own way.

With our Early Action (December 1) deadline having passed, hopefully those applicants can relax and await their admission decision.

Kind regards from your most awesome admissions counselor,

Jason

On Friday, November 21, UMBC hosted its inaugural Research Forum, the first event in a new, semi-annual series to bring together researchers and scientists from across UMBC and partner institutions to establish collaborations around common research themes. The first event was titled, “The Nexus of Social Sciences and Human Health Research,” and it was sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research. The forum aimed to advance intra-campus and inter-campus collaborations in the social and health sciences and to initiate conversations about the role of social sciences in basic and translational research.

Dr. William Riley, the Acting Director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), presented the event’s keynote address [PDF]. Dr. Riley discussed how researchers are now faced with a data-rich environment to enhance their work when conducting investigations, including advances with item response theory, computer adaptive testing, and other sensor technologies which generate reports in real-time.

Researchers from UMBC and UMB participated in a panel discussion that focused on developing meaningful links across disciplines. John Schumacher, an associate professor of sociology, discussed strategies for seeking research partners and establishing leaders and milestones to advance interdisciplinary research projects. Fadia Shaya, a professor of pharmaceutical health services research at UMB, discussed how developing peer support and establishing social networks can lead to improved outcomes. UMBC professors Shari Waldstein (psychology) and Brian Cullum (chemistry and biochemistry), shared their insights on strategies for collaboration across disciplines, including building on pilot data and prior research to advance projects. Lee Boot, associate director of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center, discussed how discipline silos no longer exist and how collaboration is needed to solve problems.

Future Research Forums will focus on high-performance computation and environmental sciences and remote sensing. For more information, visit research.umbc.edu.

Photo Credit: Marlayna Demond