All students invited to ILS have until May 1 to accept or decline your UMD offer, which includes your ILS invitation. There is not a separate process; by accepting Maryland and submitting your deposit you also secure your spot in the ILS program

The next step is to apply for on-campus housing through the Department of Resident Life by the May 1 deadline. All first-year ILS students must live on campus in LaPlata Hall in our designated spaces for our community. Students who miss the housing deadline will no longer be able to participate in ILS.

All incoming University of Maryland first-year students are required to attend a New Student Orientation program during the summer, prior to the start of the fall semester. There are typically three orientation programs reserved specifically for Honors College students, and we strongly encourage you to attend one of those if possible because you will have the opportunity to meet other incoming ILSers and the ILS program staff.

Incoming first semester ILS students must complete either BSCI170/171 or HLSC280.

To be able to register for HLSC280, you need to be able to transfer in credit for the first two semesters of college biology (BSCI 160/161 and BSCI 170/171). AP Biology scores of 4 or 5 are the most common way our students earn this credit, and other options include HL IB Biology scores of 6 or 7 and community college or other college transfer credit determined to be equivalent by the transfer office.

If you have received credit for freshman biology through either of the mechanisms above, you will register for HLSC280 during your first semester. If you have not, you will register for BSCI170/171 and will complete HLSC280 in a later semester.

To transfer in this coursework:

1. If you were planning to, but have not yet taken your AP or IB HL Biology exam, please take your exam. Afterwards, have the AP Board or IB coordinator send your scores to UMD so they can be evaluated as transfer credit.

2. If you are currently taking a college course, which is the equivalent of BSCI 170/171, then please finish your course and have your transcripts sent to UMD for transfer evaluation.

3. If you have already taken your AP, IB or college course, please have your scores or transcripts sent to UMD for evaluation. We don’t automatically get a copy of your scores, so you will need to tell the college board or IB coordinator to send them.

If you had already completed and reported the equivalent credit by the time you applied to Maryland, you do not need to take further action regarding your scores as they were reported when you applied. To confirm if the University has received your scores or transcripts, you can email the Registrar’s Office directly (registrar-help@umd.edu)