umd is a fantastic but underrated school. not many people know about it outside of minnesota and wisconsin, and even fewer consider it during their college search, but it is a wonderful school nonetheless. it has miles of trails, a great city down the hill, awesome sports, good people, and best of all it is cheap.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
like any other school, you need to get involved right away. there's bulldog welcome week where freshmen come in a few days early to learn the grounds, find people to start out the year with, and just in general get to know the school, which is nice. but definitely do stuff outside of class and outside your dorm room right away-it makes all the difference because that's the time you find your niche of people you want to be with. there's a lot of scrambling around during the first few weeks of people switching friend groups, dropping and picking up new activities they like. it's best to do that in the beginning of the year than to try to fit in later when everyone else has already settled.
first 6 weeks.
stay. here.
the people who go home every other weekend the first 6 weeks end up going home for good at the end of the semester. it's because stuff happen over the weekends, people bond, and you come back an outsider. you end going here just to study and then only look forward to going home again. don't do it.
also, don't drink to much. you'll be tempted to go to parties during the week sometimes(school gets to be a bit much and you just want to let go a little) but don't do it. you run too much of a risk of making yourself miserable during class the next day or sleeping through it entirely. wednesdays are the day here people usually go to weekday parties. thursdays are the lowest attendance days. there's drinking no matter what college you go to, but it's up to you if and when you want to do, how you want to do it(be smart, don't get a minor), and where and with who you want to do it too.
it's easy to find people who don't drink, who drink on occasion, and who drink all the time. it's just up to you which of those people you personally want to be.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
there are easy classes, there are hard classes. most every teacher is fair in their grading, so studying consistently and well will get you a good grade.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
if you want a good dorm room, apply for housing early. first chance you get. i got stuck in lake superior hall. avoid doing so. it's a fine place, no major problems with appliances, we just got wifi this year, free cable, free fridge(very rare for schools to give you free cable or a free fridge) and the bathrooms are nice. but it's very hard to get to know people on your floor because the hallways are so small and the rooms are so far apart. definitely go for griggs if you get the chance.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
dc food. yum.
not really.
but dorm food will always be cheap and full of carbs no matter where you go.
there is one dining center here. the meal plan varies from 1,600 to 2,000 a year here, depending on whether or not you got the 1 meal a day, 2, or 3. but again, that's actually cheaper than most schools. it's hard to eat healthy here because the only healthy thing to eat is salad. but they do have good stuff available. if you get bored of what they have here, just get creative-there's usually enough raw ingredients in the salad and sandwich bars to make yourself something new.
hamburgers, salad bar, sandwich bar, cereal bar, and ice cream are available everyday.
the hours are bad though, especially on saturdays and sundays. it's also easy to miss meals during the week because of class/sports.
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
drink.
just kidding.
go outside.
there are ski hills. everywhere.
abandoned ski jumps to climb on(dangerously fun).
trails. miles and miles of trails.
clubs for everything possible. dancing, bad movie night, chem, anthro, club sports, more dancing, actual sports, pretty much everything imaginable.
downtown.
mall.
rose garden.
sneak into the abandoned armory.
sneak onto the roof.
graffiti graveyard.
just lots of quirky fun things to do.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
you will never get anything more out of college for so little money. to be quite honest, the only difference between this college and a more expensive college is the food and the resources that school has to get famous people to come and give lectures. and even then we get some of those.
2 dollar taxi service, free buses with a u card.
free food from clubs(just have to read posters to know where to go- you don't even have to commit to the club, you just have to show and mooch)
free wifi, 24 hour lab, great library, free movies on occasion(popcorn and drinks included), and camping trips, hiking trips, skiing trips, how-to-drink-your-own-pee type seminars are constantly available here for really cheap.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
outdoorsy adventurey students.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
umd is a fantastic but underrated school. not many people know about it outside of minnesota and wisconsin, and even fewer consider it during their college search, but it is a wonderful school nonetheless. it has miles of trails, a great city down the hill, awesome sports, good people, and best of all it is cheap.
like any other school, you need to get involved right away. there's bulldog welcome week where freshmen come in a few days early to learn the grounds, find people to start out the year with, and just in general get to know the school, which is nice. but definitely do stuff outside of class and outside your dorm room right away-it makes all the difference because that's the time you find your niche of people you want to be with. there's a lot of scrambling around during the first few weeks of people switching friend groups, dropping and picking up new activities they like. it's best to do that in the beginning of the year than to try to fit in later when everyone else has already settled. first 6 weeks. stay. here. the people who go home every other weekend the first 6 weeks end up going home for good at the end of the semester. it's because stuff happen over the weekends, people bond, and you come back an outsider. you end going here just to study and then only look forward to going home again. don't do it. also, don't drink to much. you'll be tempted to go to parties during the week sometimes(school gets to be a bit much and you just want to let go a little) but don't do it. you run too much of a risk of making yourself miserable during class the next day or sleeping through it entirely. wednesdays are the day here people usually go to weekday parties. thursdays are the lowest attendance days. there's drinking no matter what college you go to, but it's up to you if and when you want to do, how you want to do it(be smart, don't get a minor), and where and with who you want to do it too. it's easy to find people who don't drink, who drink on occasion, and who drink all the time. it's just up to you which of those people you personally want to be.
there are easy classes, there are hard classes. most every teacher is fair in their grading, so studying consistently and well will get you a good grade.
if you want a good dorm room, apply for housing early. first chance you get. i got stuck in lake superior hall. avoid doing so. it's a fine place, no major problems with appliances, we just got wifi this year, free cable, free fridge(very rare for schools to give you free cable or a free fridge) and the bathrooms are nice. but it's very hard to get to know people on your floor because the hallways are so small and the rooms are so far apart. definitely go for griggs if you get the chance.
dc food. yum. not really. but dorm food will always be cheap and full of carbs no matter where you go. there is one dining center here. the meal plan varies from 1,600 to 2,000 a year here, depending on whether or not you got the 1 meal a day, 2, or 3. but again, that's actually cheaper than most schools. it's hard to eat healthy here because the only healthy thing to eat is salad. but they do have good stuff available. if you get bored of what they have here, just get creative-there's usually enough raw ingredients in the salad and sandwich bars to make yourself something new. hamburgers, salad bar, sandwich bar, cereal bar, and ice cream are available everyday. the hours are bad though, especially on saturdays and sundays. it's also easy to miss meals during the week because of class/sports.
drink. just kidding. go outside. there are ski hills. everywhere. abandoned ski jumps to climb on(dangerously fun). trails. miles and miles of trails. clubs for everything possible. dancing, bad movie night, chem, anthro, club sports, more dancing, actual sports, pretty much everything imaginable. downtown. mall. rose garden. sneak into the abandoned armory. sneak onto the roof. graffiti graveyard. just lots of quirky fun things to do.
you will never get anything more out of college for so little money. to be quite honest, the only difference between this college and a more expensive college is the food and the resources that school has to get famous people to come and give lectures. and even then we get some of those. 2 dollar taxi service, free buses with a u card. free food from clubs(just have to read posters to know where to go- you don't even have to commit to the club, you just have to show and mooch) free wifi, 24 hour lab, great library, free movies on occasion(popcorn and drinks included), and camping trips, hiking trips, skiing trips, how-to-drink-your-own-pee type seminars are constantly available here for really cheap.
outdoorsy adventurey students.
haven't gotten raped yet.