The University of Maryland, sometimes called UMD, is a public land-grant research university located in College Park, Maryland. Maryland has great academics and is part of the Big Ten Conference. UMD has about 30,000 undergrads, 12 colleges/schools, and more than 90 majors for undergraduates. UMD has about a 40% acceptance rate, however, this can change for in-state vs. out-of-state applicants.

UMD doesn’t have traditional essays, instead, they have a set of fill-in-the-blank questions. Each prompt only gives you 300 characters to respond. It’s pretty much the length of a tweet. If you use your head, you probably can answer these questions with no problem. But we find that short answers can make many students nervous, so let’s break down what makes a good answer to these micro questions.  

To tell us more about yourself, please complete the following sentences using only the space provided (300 characters).

If I could travel anywhere, I would go to...*

There is really no wrong answer here. Maybe just try not to be basic…. Like we get it Hawaii is pretty, but think through your answer. If you can connect it to a passion of yours all the better. For example, “Eygpt since I have been learning hieroglyphics” or “La Scala, Milan because I love opera and seeing one there would be life-changing.” Etc.

The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was...*

Sometimes this question can trip students up if they feel like they haven’t done any research. You don’t need to have worked at a lab to answer this question. Your fact could come from independent research or from doing a project for school. Honestly, maybe you research all your skin care products or research facts whenever you see them online to make sure they are true. Wherever it comes from the fact should reflect an interest of yours. You don’t need to cite your sources necessarily, but make sure the fact is true.

In addition to my major, my academic interests include...*

This is a great time to show off your interests. Get specific and don’t be afraid to be quirky. Maybe you are going to major in math but love history. Don’t just say history. Call out certain periods or regions that fascinate you. You can also list a few here. It doesn’t need to be just one thing.

My favorite thing about last Wednesday was...*

The thing you choose doesn’t actually need to have happened last Wednesday, but it should feel like a daily or weekly occurrence. Don’t write about a once-in-a-lifetime thing that just so happened last Wednesday. Think of something small that you value.

Some of ours would include:

-Making the perfect cup of tea.

-Finishing a really good book.

-Helping a friend do a task that ended up being fun.

-Getting to eat breakfast with your siblings.

-Seeing a new bird while bird watching.

-Working in the garden.

It doesn’t have to be big, but it should feel like a sweet moment.

When I think of diversity, I think of..*

This is probably our least favorite one of these. We think it’s kind of unfair for a university to ask this big of a question with such a small word count. That being said, try to keep your answer on the smaller side. You can’t get to the soul of the nature of “diversity” in a sentence or two. Instead, think of a time that you experienced a diverse situation. You can talk about having potluck nights with your friends and everyone bringing a dish from their culture. Or talking with a mentor about something in your community. You could talk about sharing your own culture with someone new to it. It doesn’t have to be big.

Something you might not know about me is...*

It’s important that you don’t list any information here that the reader could know about you from elsewhere in your application. If it’s in your activities section or your transcript or even a letter from your teacher, it shouldn’t be here. This is a time to say something completely new. This means it might be a little out there, but that’s fine as long as it's appropriate (use good judgment!) Maybe you eat a handful of grapes every time you study or you make handmade birthday cards for all your friends. By this point they know a lot about you, so change it up! 

These questions can be deceptively tricky. While short character counts might seem like less work, often you will need to edit yourself down. Editing and brainstorming can take longer than you think with these short questions, so make sure you aren’t trying to squeeze this one in the night before…. No matter how short it is.

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