Internal Transfer Students

How do I apply as an internal transfer applicant?

An internal transfer student is defined as a current University of Maryland, College Park student whose major is not currently one of the eight offered by the Smith School of Business. If you plan to declare a business major as a double major/degree, you are still considered an internal transfer student.

To apply for admission consideration, students will need to do the following:

• Visit the Limited Enrollment Fact Sheet for the Smith School of Business to understand the application requirements.
• Access the Internal Business Application online.
• Submit an application after ensuring all gateway coursework has been completed or is in the process of being completed (check with your advisor to be certain you have fulfilled the gateway courses)
• Respond to the essay/personal statement — Why do you wish to be a student at the Robert H. Smith School of Business?
• Submit up to three letters of recommendation from current/previous professors, employers, internship coordinators, etc.

What do I need to know BEFORE applying?

All gateway requirements must be met before the application deadline or in progress at the time of application. All previous transcripts and AP/IB scores must be sent to the University of Maryland, College Park and posted to your student account. You can see if transcripts are posted by checking your unofficial transcript.

How many chances do I have to apply?

Transfer students have one opportunity to apply to the Smith School of Business using the Internal Limited Enrollment Program application. This application can be found at lep.umd.edu.

Am I guaranteed admission if I meet the requirements?

Completing the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission into the Smith School. Each semester the Smith School receives more qualified applicants than we have space to accommodate, therefore, unfortunately not every qualified applicant is admitted.

Admission to the Smith School is highly competitive and based on a holistic process. We are searching for a diverse, engaged, and academically talented pool of students. Academic records, co-curricular involvement, leadership experience, and honors and awards will be considered in the admission decision. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a resume and letter detailing their accomplishments and experience with their applications.

We encourage you to meet with your current academic advisor to review your schedule and ensure you meet the academic qualifications for your Smith application.

Students seeking transfer admission should refer to the Limited Enrollment Program Fact Sheet for specific admissions requirements and prerequisites.

How many students apply?

The number of applicants varies from semester to semester and year to year. On average, each semester we receive approximately 250 transfer applications that qualify for review.

How many students are admitted?

The number of students admitted varies from semester to semester. Our admit rate is based on the number of students that the Smith School of Business can accommodate in the fall and spring semesters and the competitiveness of the applicant pool.

How do I know what my GPA is?

The cumulative GPA is calculated based on all undergraduate college coursework. The coursework would include college courses completed at UMD as well as any college coursework completed at other institutions.

What is the average GPA of an admitted student?

The average GPA of an admitted student over the past few semesters has been at least a cumulative 3.6 GPA. As a reminder, we do follow a holistic admissions process, and academic performance is only one aspect of the review.

What are the factors that are used to determine admissibility?

The business transfer admissions review committee reviews all of the applications that meet the minimum criteria for consideration (see lep.umd.edu for the criteria). The committee employs a holistic review to determine the most competitive applicants for admission. The committee is searching for a diverse, engaged, and academically talented pool of students. Academic records, co-curricular involvement, leadership experience, and honors and awards are considered in the admission decision. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a resume and letter detailing their accomplishments and experience with their applications. Special attention is paid to a student’s academic performance in the Gateway courses and the student’s overall academic record. The committee also reviews the personal essay/statement and letters of recommendation (maximum of 3).

Can I improve my chances for admission if I apply in a particular semester and/or do not have any gateway courses in progress at the time of my application?

The competitiveness of the admission process depends on the number of Smith School applicants, the quality of these applicants, and the number of transfer spots available in a given year. Because the quality and size of the applicant pool vary from semester to semester, there is no way to determine whether there is a better time to apply for admission to the Smith School.

Will indicating a specific major impact my admissibility to the Smith School of Business? Are different majors limited to a certain number of students?

Your application and subsequent application review are for the Smith School of Business, and not for specific majors. While you are asked for your intended major in the application process, it will not impact your admission decision. Once admitted, you can declare and/or switch majors following Smith's policies.

Will I be able to apply to business honors and/or Smith fellows programs for my first semester at Smith?

All Smith undergraduate fellows programs are restricted to business majors. As a prospective student, you may access the Smith website to submit your application online. Your acceptance would be provisional, based upon the final admission decision. For more information and to apply, please visit our fellows program website.

How will I be notified of my admission decision?

You will be notified via email from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions regarding the decision. The email will be sent from lep@umd.edu to your official UMD email address (terpmail), so please make sure to be on the lookout for this email.

When will I be notified of my admission decision?

There are two notification periods for the Smith School each semester:

1. If you have completed all of the gateway requirements at the time the application was submitted, you will receive an admission decision two to three weeks after the application deadline.
2. If you have at least one gateway requirement in progress at the time of the application deadline (this includes any gateway courses, earning 45 credits, or any other eligibility criteria), you will be notified two to three weeks after final grades are posted for the semester that you applied.

What are the possible admission decisions?

There are only two outcomes: admitted or denied.

Admitted Students – If you are admitted to the School of Business, the instructions for changing your major will be outlined in your admission email.
Denied Students – If you are not offered admission to the School of Business, you will have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Associate Dean of Business. However, since you were expected to present everything of significance in your initial admission application and it was thoroughly reviewed by the admissions committee, you should only submit an appeal if there is new and compelling information that was not included with the original application. When you appeal, you are seeking an exception, and although exceptions are rare, your appeal will be given every consideration possible. The instructions for how to appeal will be outlined in your email. If you do not comply with the instructions, your appeal will not be taken into consideration.

How do I learn more about the Smith School of Business and the application process?

Prospective students interested in learning more about Smith opportunities and the application process are highly encouraged to register for and attend a Smith transfer information session. For information specifically regarding the application process, we encourage you to review the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website.

What is the program at Shady Grove?

The Smith School offers the upper-division portions of three majors — accounting, marketing, and management — through the Universities at Shady Grove, located in Montgomery County. The Smith School program at Shady Grove is taught by the same corps of faculty, consists of the same coursework, and has the same entrance requirements as those offered at UMCP. Admission is competitive at both locations, due to capacity limitations. All students who wish to apply for admission to the Shady Grove campus may contact Luke Glasgow, director, at 301-738-6079 or lglasgow@rhsmith.umd.edu for additional information. You can also visit our Smith at Shady Grove page for more information.