<p>My son has heard from several different people now that the dorms at Maryland are terrible. What's wrong with them? Are there any decent dorms? Do any dorms have air-conditioning?</p>
<p>Thanks for any input!</p>
<p>Hi, ReadyToRoll! There are a few different threads about the dorms, I think, if you want more information, but generally speaking:</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say the dorms are terrible; they are pretty much stereotypical dorms, and not that bad as far as things go. Most incoming freshmen live in the three highrise communities on north campus. </p>
<p>Of those, there are only two buildings with air conditioning; both La Plata Hall (mostly sophomores, although some freshmen do get placed there) and Cumberland Hall (mainly for students in Scholars, although some non-Scholars do get placed there) are air conditioned. There have been mentions of plans to expand air conditioning to more dorms, but nothing concrete, so I wouldn’t hold my breath for it. (It’s honestly not that bad… I live in a dorm without AC, and sure, the first few weeks were a tad warm, but fans help and it’s not a big deal. Plus, the lounges have air conditioning, so that’s always a cool alternative. They really only put people specifically in the air conditioned dorms (from what I’ve heard) for documented medical reasons.</p>
<p>As far as “decent dorms” goes, it’s really not too bad. I’d highly recommend getting a carpet, because then you don’t have to consider the last time the floor was actually cleaned, but the dorms are, like I said before, fairly average. I live in one of the older highrises, and it’s not that bad. Strangely enough, there are actually somethings I’ll miss about it during winter break (although I am more excited about going home, for sure… only five days!). </p>
<p>Basically, it’s a typical dorm situation. I wouldn’t say that they are terrible. Compared to living at home, okay, yes. Compared to other schools? Not at all.</p>
<p>Dorms for incoming freshman are typical for large state school, but on the lower end in terms of universities overall! They are small, painted concrete walls, tiled floors, not in the prettiest section of campus (behind the stadium). But all freshmen tend to live together in the same buildings/communities, so the bonding experience/fun factor really outweighs the actual room. It’s worth it! However, bathrooms are nice and cleaned every day, though, and unlimited hot water (actually an improvement from living at home for most people I’d think, ahah).</p>
<p>For sophomores, the dorm choice is a lot better. You can get air-conditioned high rise dorms on North Campus, suites (South Campus has two floor apartments that are awesome!), special honors dorms, whatever! </p>
<p>For juniors, housing is also decent - if you get into on-campus housing, you of course get the pick of the best, being juniors, and if you don’t, the pseudo off campus apartment choices are fairly good (such as Commons/Courtyards). </p>
<p>Finally, they are building a new residence hall on North Campus called Oakland Hall, which will open Fall 2011. We are assuming it will house mostly sophomores. Which means any incoming students will get a chance to live in it!!! Brand new, suite-style dorms.</p>
<p>So, dorm situation, eh, normal, but looking up! Class of 2014 sophomores will have a lot of awesome things to choose from, I think, at least ;).</p>
<p>Unlimited hot water?
No one in Ellicott has taken a warm shower in weeks.</p>
<p>That’s what I’ve been hearing from the freshies these days. Something weird is going on and I don’t doubt the campus newspaper will start digging into it next semester because some flags have been raised. It was never like that when I was in the high rises two years ago; admittedly I wasn’t in Ellicott but I feel like they should all kinda work the same!</p>
<p>Check out my thread “All Dorms Information” as well!</p>
<p>Several halls have air conditioning. Your son might not get A/C the first year but there’s a better chance the second year. My son was in Wicomico the first year - rooms were very small, but it wasn’t a high-rise, so it was kind of nice that way. This year he’s in Queen Anne’s which has A/C and isn’t a high-rise, and the rooms are bigger. Next year he won’t get a dorm room at all… so he’s going to need to figure that one out.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about suites @ UMCP?
I know that the new residential halls will be “Suite” style (like UMBC). I wonder how the heating is for UMD students right now… there’s 18 inches of know outside!</p>
<p>Well there are very few UMD students left on campus. We were supposed to all be out by ten, but we’re allowed to stay until Monday now because of the storm. (I’ve been home since Thursday anyway.)</p>
<p>If you’re a freshmen, it is very unlikey==basically impossible for you to get a suite. They’re mostly filled with sophomores and occasionally those lucky juniors that get to stay on campus. It’s not a bad thing at all though because this means that you’re in a freshman dorm on the freshman side of campus where I found people are much more open to making friends and more social and inclusive. The dorms themselves arnt that bad at all, except for moving in w/ the lack of A/C. And heating normally isn’t much of a problem, except for a couple of rooms which have a bit of a draft to them but then you call 4-WORK, a department on campus, which then is very quick about fixing heating issues. I’m sure that this link has been posted numerous times on campus, but [Residence</a> Halls at a Glance](<a href=“http://resnet.umd.edu/hallsatglance/]Residence”>Halls at a Glance | Department of Resident Life | University of Maryland) is a nice little reference.</p>