‘Flabbergasted!’ #NowATerp Tour Surprises 4 UMD Applicants

Forget tentatively clicking “open” on an official-looking email. For four students, the news that they’d been accepted to the University of Maryland next fall arrived directly at their front door, complete with a marching band, Testudo, a UMD-emblazoned bus and a bright red, hand-delivered envelope.

On a chilly January morning, snow still on the ground, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management Shannon Gundy, along with other representatives of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, headed to Frederick, Clarksburg, Hyattsville and Baltimore as part of the annual #NowATerp tour. (Parents were tipped off in advance to ensure their students were home.)

“We are looking for students that are whole people,” said Gundy. “We are looking for students that are interesting, that are engaged in their communities, and students that we think are going to bring those things back to the University of Maryland.”

See the reactions from Alexa, Courtney, Alejandro and Justin, and their thrilled families, plus an impromptu drum solo.