Baltimore, Md. – The 2003 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College” guide has named theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) as one of the hottestcolleges in the U.S. UMBC is listed alongside such institutions as theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Boston College and the Universityof California at Santa Barbara. UMBC is also listed in Kaplan's guide to the 345 Most Interesting Colleges.

Thetwelve schools were selected based on strong academic programs, affordableprices, community involvement and great locations. “With a tough economy, thehottest schools may well be the best bargains – those offering excellentacademics at more affordable prices. That's why our list for 2002-2003 isdominated by some of the country's top public universities…” UMBC is, by far,the youngest institution in the group, whose average year of founding was 1865(UMBC was founded in 1966).

This year's “hot schools” are:
- University of Maryland, BaltimoreCounty
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Arizona State University
- University of Washington at Seattle
- University of California at Santa Barbara
- Boston College
- Davidson College
- George Washington University
- Kenyon College
- Macalester College
- McGill University
- Pepperdine University

UMBC's incoming freshman class of more than 1,200 is certainly is hot, with an averageSAT score of nearly 1220. The average student in the Honors College has an SATscore of 1400 and a high school GPA of 4.2. Top students in the sciences, arts,humanities and public affairs will take advantage of UMBC's signature ScholarsPrograms – Meyerhoff, Linehan Artist, Humanities, CWIT (Center for Women andInformation Technology), and Public Affairs.

About UMBC

UMBC is a medium-sized,selective, public research university situated on 500 acres between Baltimoreand Washington, DC. UMBC has an enrollment of more than 11,000 students inundergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences andengineering. A campus community rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, UMBCpromotes cutting-edge research and creative activity. The campus is home to thenationally-known Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, the Shriver Center, and a numberof major research centers. UMBC is a member of the University System of Marylandand is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and SecondarySchools. For additional information about UMBC, please visitwww.umbc.edu