University of Maryland-College Park

Gaining admission to the University of Maryland-College Park remains moderately competitive as the institution maintains a steady national profile. In the 2027 US News National University rankings, Maryland placed 49th, continuing its position inside the top fifty. For the fall 2025 admissions cycle, the university posted an acceptance rate of 44.8%, which was higher than 53% of its 30 peer public research universities. At the same time, the school recorded a yield rate of 21.6%, meaning that just over one in five admitted applicants decided to enroll. This yield rate is higher than 43% of peer institutions, indicating that while Maryland attracts strong interest nationwide, it must admit a relatively broad applicant pool to meet its enrollment targets. For prospective applicants, this combination of an admit rate near forty-five percent and a moderate yield means that well-prepared candidates have a realistic path to admission, even as the flagship remains selective overall.

Undergraduate applicants seeking admission to the University of Maryland-College Park face rigorous academic expectations, particularly across quantitative coursework. For the enrolled class of 2025, the university reported a median SAT score of 1465, reflecting a highly qualified enrolled class. While test submission has become less prevalent over the past decade, standardized scores and secondary school grades remain pivotal indicators during holistic evaluation. For international candidates, unofficial applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway provide additional practical reference. In these unofficial cases, admitted international students achieved a median unweighted GPA of 3.7 alongside a median SAT score of 1320. Prospective students aiming for Maryland should strive to build a strong high school academic record, focusing on challenging coursework in core subjects to align with these admission benchmarks.

Academic degree conferrals at the University of Maryland-College Park show a strong concentration in technological and scientific disciplines, where the university also earns its most prominent national reputations. In 2025, the top three bachelor's majors accounted for 29.6% of all undergraduate degrees awarded. Computer Science led all undergraduate fields with 1,178 bachelor's graduates, followed by Information Science/Studies and General Biology. This undergraduate concentration aligns directly with the university's programmatic standing: in the 2027 US News rankings, Maryland's undergraduate cybersecurity program achieved a national rank of 8th. Early-career financial returns are particularly strong in these high-volume technical areas. According to 2023 earnings data, median pay one year after graduation reached $104,712 for Computer Science bachelor's recipients and $94,957 for Computer Engineering graduates. At the graduate level, the university also maintains elite academic programs, including a number 1 ranking in Student Counseling and Personnel Services in the 2026 US News rankings.

With 41,725 total students enrolled in 2025, the University of Maryland-College Park maintains a large student body characterized by distinct demographic patterns across its academic divisions. Undergraduates comprise the majority of the campus community, divided among first-year freshmen, continuing students, and transfer entrants. Asian students represent a substantial share of the undergraduate student body, making up 23.9% of the incoming freshman class and continuing as a prominent presence across upper-division classes. International representation differs noticeably between undergraduate and graduate divisions. Among incoming first-year undergraduates, international students constituted 3.3% of the class. In sharp contrast, international scholars form the single largest demographic group in the graduate division, accounting for 35.4% of all enrolled graduate students. This distribution creates an undergraduate community that is predominantly domestic, while advanced graduate degree programs draw heavily from international scholars.

The student body at the University of Maryland-College Park displays a clear generational division between undergraduate and graduate divisions. Among the university's undergraduates in 2025, students aged 20 to 21 formed the largest single group at 44.8%, followed by those aged 18 to 19 at 33.8%. This concentration shows that undergraduate life is anchored by traditional college-age students progressing directly from secondary school. In contrast, the graduate student population reflects a more mature demographic. In 2025, students aged 25 to 29 represented the largest graduate segment at 38.9%, accompanied by sizable cohorts in their early twenties and thirties.

International student presence at the University of Maryland-College Park differs substantially between degree levels. In 2025, international undergraduates represented 3.7% of the undergraduate population. At the graduate level, however, international scholars made up 35.4% of total graduate enrollment. This divergence is equally visible across degree conferrals. In 2025, international students earned a modest share of undergraduate degrees, concentrating primarily in technical fields like Computer Science. In contrast, international master's graduates predominated across specialized STEM disciplines, earning 81.3% of degrees conferred in Information Technology and 76.8% in General Engineering. For international applicants, these patterns demonstrate that while undergraduate admissions prioritize domestic students, Maryland's graduate engineering and computing programs serve as major destinations for international scholars.

Applicants considering the University of Maryland-College Park can explore several other prominent universities located close by in the surrounding region. Situated 6 kilometers from College Park, Howard University ranked 73rd among National Universities in the 2027 US News rankings. Within the District of Columbia, George Washington University is located 8.3 kilometers away and held the 59th position nationally, while Georgetown University sits 8.8 kilometers away with a rank of 23rd. Further north in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University is located 29.2 kilometers from campus and placed 9th among National Universities. These neighboring institutions provide families with diverse academic alternatives within short traveling distances from College Park.

Campus safety statistics at the University of Maryland-College Park reflect patterns typical of a large public university near a major urban center. Under Forward Pathway's calculation, the weighted crime rate per 1,000 students was 10.2 in 2025, in which disciplinary referrals count with a lower weight. Across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, campus incident records were dominated by property offenses and university disciplinary actions. Specifically, the campus recorded 481 motor vehicle thefts and 395 disciplinary referrals for liquor violations over those years. Other safety reports during this timeframe included smaller counts of residence hall fires, stalking, and drug referrals. For prospective families evaluating campus security, the primary safety concerns documented on campus center on vehicle-related property crimes rather than violent incidents.