What is Freshmen Connection & How to Navigate it.

Our Freshmen Connection Bible Study!

So, You Got Into UMD… Sort Of. Let’s Talk Freshmen Connection.

It’s January. You’ve been waiting for the decision letter from University of Maryland to come, with eagerness for your future. Will you get in? Will you get accepted into one of the Scholars or Honors Programs? There’s so many decisions in a single letter that determined whether you will be a Terp or not. Finally, it arrives. You open it, and the first word catches your eye: “Congratulations!” Relief floods in, but as you keep reading, that excitement shifts a little. You’ve been “admitted into the Spring semester.”

If you’re anything like me, this might feel confusing at first. You had the grades, the essay, the test scores—you were ready to join the rest of the class in the fall. So what gives? If you did further research, you might have heard about a program known as Freshmen Connection for spring admittees. So what exactly is Freshmen Connection?

In this post, we’re going to unpack exactly what Freshmen Connection (FC) is and what the pros and cons of it are.

What Is Freshmen Connection?

Freshmen Connection is a program for students who were admitted for the spring semester to be a student in the fall semester. In other words, it lets you start taking classes in the fall instead of starting in the spring semester.

The main difference? Your classes are in the evening between 3–9 p.m. Monday through Thursday while Friday classes are in the morning. Typically, these are the less popular time slots for classes. But aside from that, you're just like any other student: you’ll have a student ID, have the opportunity to live in the dorms, eat at the dining halls, and have access to everything UMD has to offer.

How Do You Join?

To get into Freshmen Connection, you can visit UMD’s website and apply. Luckily, it’s a pretty straight-forward and easy process!

The Pros and Cons of Freshmen Connection

As someone who has gone through Freshmen Connection myself and has led a Bible study for Freshmen Connection students for over 4 years, here’s my best take on the pros and cons of Freshmen Connection—based on my own opinions and the experiences of other students I’ve interacted with.

Pros:

• You get to sleep in.
  If you’re not a morning person, this is a game-changer. FC students usually have their mornings free to sleep, study, or just chill.

• You’re still a full-fledged Terp.
  You can live in the dorms, eat in the dining halls, join clubs—you're a UMD student like anyone else.

• You build your own schedule.

• Unlike traditional orientation where an advisor helps pick classes for you on the spot, FC students get to register online. That means time to research professors, read reviews, and craft a schedule that actually works for you.

• Smaller class sizes.
  Most FC classes cap around 30 students. That means more one-on-one time with professors. These professors usually volunteer to teach FC students and are typically super supportive.

• It’s just one semester.
  After that, you transition seamlessly into the regular spring semester with everyone else.

Cons:

• It can feel isolating.
  Because your classes are in the evening, you might miss out on club meetings and social events that happen then. As a result, it can be hard to find your community and truly feel connected. A lot of FC students say this is one of the hardest parts. If you are a christian (or non christian) FC student, OneU offers a Freshmen Connection Bible Study to help students get connected and find friends.

• You wait around on your first day.
  While everyone else is heading to class in the morning, you're stuck waiting for your schedule to start later in the day. It can feel a little offbeat at first.

• Sometimes you get TA’s as professors.
  This isn’t necessarily bad—it really depends on the TA. Some grade and teach better than others — it definitely can be a hit or miss. Just something to be aware of.

• You get admitted into Letters and Sciences
  This isn’t horrible, either, but makes it so that you have to get certain gpa requirements to get admitted into your desired major if its a LEP

• You won’t get University-based Scholarships
  If you are looking for financial aid in the form of scholarships from colleges, this might be unideal for you.

Final Thoughts

While there are some downsides to consider, I believe that the pros to being in Freshmen Connection outweigh the costs. University of Maryland is a great school to be a part of where you definitely make a big school small. I would just be intentional to seek out community and get invested where you can. While it may seem ideal at first, I am glad that I went with Freshmen Connection.