<p>I am currently a second-semester freshman at UMD. My major is undecided but I am waiting to apply to the Business School. I was in a Scholars program, but I dropped it. I may not have a lot of information, but I know a lot of general stuff just from being here for a semester.</p>
<p>Hello, I basically have three questions for you, for now at least.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is dorm life like? </p></li>
<li><p>What is your major/ how difficult are the classes?</p></li>
<li><p>Are you enjoying your time at UMD?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>As an introvert, I would like to have a lot of time to myself in my room. Sadly, the rooms do not lend themselves to that. The space is very tight, and I am forced to spend a lot of time right next to my roommate when I sometimes just want some space. There is only one bathroom in my hallway that everyone shares, which is disgusting.</li>
</ol>
<p>But I will say that the dorms are great for meeting people. I know many people who have made best friends with their roommates or other people living on their floor. Because the dorm is your home, you are constantly surrounded by people. In general, kids are welcoming during the first few weeks so if you want to make some new friends or be social, you can easily just walk around your hall and start up a conversation with people. Lots of people leave their doors open, and I usually waltz into other peoples’ rooms with no problem. </p>
<p>Coming in, I was expecting the dorms to suck, and they did. If you get a good group of people on your floor, that will make up for the poor living quality in the long run. </p>
<ol>
<li> I am undecided, so I took all General Education classes first semester. I cannot give you an accurate answer of how tough the classes are because I took some easy courses, but I will say that Intro to Psych was much harder than it should be for a 100 level course. I received a C+, but out of all my classes, I tried the hardest in that one. English 101, Introductory Calculus were easy A’s, and then my Scholars’ program course, Family Sciences, was another easy A. </li>
</ol>
<p>This semester I am taking Business Statistics, Intro to Accounting, Intro to Business, and 2 GenEd’s about diversity. From the first couple days, I know that Business Statistics is going to be tough because the Business school forces the average in the course to be between a 2.7 and 2.9. </p>
<p>Sorry I couldn’t help much, but what are you planning on majoring in?</p>
<ol>
<li> UMD is so huge that my experience cannot dictate how anyone else will feel about the school. Therefore, I will give a few examples of things that might mean something to you.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you are big into the social scene, UMD is certainly a great school for that. There are some very popular bars, and the fraternities throw some fun parties. Also, if you are not into joining Greek life, then if you know people in the off-campus apartments you will find parties. I personally like going out, so UMD has been pretty fun. </p>
<p>Attendance is not taken in most of the classes that I have had, so there is a big culture of skipping class. Some classes really do not need to be attended though (Intro to Calc was very easy if you did the textbook problems on your own).</p>
<p>The food sucks, but most people live off campus after freshman year, so it is not a big deal for me. Also, the north campus dorms have access to 251 north once a week, which is an all you can eat dining option. The food there is great, but the “diner” is pretty nasty all the other days. There are 3 convenience stores on campus near the dorms, which is really nice because I do not have to walk all the way to Royal Farms or 7-11. </p>
<p>It takes me 20 minutes to walk from my dorms to the Business School, and the temperature is in the single digits wind chill this week, which is depressing. During the warm weather it isn’t so bad, but right now it is a huge ordeal.</p>
<p>Because UMD is a pretty good university, there are a lot of “nerdy” kids on campus, but at the same time there are stoners, frat boys, sorority girls, athletes, hipsters etc. There is pretty much a group for any personality, so you will be able to fit in somewhere. </p>
<p>Classes are big for the majority of my classes, but I assume as I progress into my major, the size will go down. As cliche as it sounds, you really do need to seek out your resources in order to succeed because UMD will not spoon feed you. </p>
<p>Lots of random info in this post. Hope it helps though. And 50/50. If the dorms weren’t so bad I would enjoy my time. But that is just something that I personally value. A lot of people I know don’t mind the dorms at all.</p>
<p>what were your SAT scores? Mine were a little low CR- 520 M- 510</p>
<p>Just curious, why did you drop Scholars?</p>
<p>Those “nerdy” kids you mentioned – are they hardcore-studying nerds, or just the kind that are intelligent but fun?</p>
<ol>
<li>Do you know anybody that has gotten accepted with lower than 1000/1600 on the SAT? </li>
<li>What’s life like at College Park?</li>
<li>If I live off-campus freshman year, will I be sacrificing valuable social experiences? Because I get to live at the Mazza Grandmarc for free during my undergrad years.</li>
<li>Are there any places that serve cheesesteaks? I’m from Philly, so the cheesesteak is a part of everyday life here!</li>
</ol>
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<p>This has not been my experience. Almost everyone I know continued to live on campus sophomore year too, then junior year many go to Commons/Courtyards. Commons is on-campus though you don’t need a dining plan so you can get out of the food, yes. The majority of people I know or have talked to (I’m a junior) live either on-campus or in Courtyards, the ones in the off-campus apartments like The View or The Varsity are definitely in the minority.</p>
<p>I’m a premed going to Johns Hopkins (kinda hate it there… It’s also bloody expensive)</p>
<p>What advice would you give me if I said I wanted to go to umd?</p>
<p>@namesss: 690 Math, 700 Reading. I got into Scholars and the Journalism School. My HS GPS was 3.7 UW, 4.0 W</p>
<p>@maryversity: My parents made me do it first semester. I just found that I was not interested in it, and it wasn’t worth taking an extra class just for my resume. Might be a poor decision in the long run, but it isn’t such a huge part of my UMD life that I will regret leaving. Also I was in Global Public Health which I had no interest in. Business was full.</p>
<p>@rob2137: Sorry, I did not mean to be so judgmental as I may have sounded. The general (notice I did not say everyone) group of people at UMD are more dedicated to their schoolwork, and more dorky than the general group of people in high school. If you know what I mean. And I do not mean this in a negative way at all, sorry if I came off as such!</p>
<p>@FutureDoctor31:
- Not sure, but there are places out there where you can find that information.
- Very busy. Lots of stuff going on.<br>
- I thought freshman couldn’t live off campus, but if you can then I would say you are missing out on an easy way to meet new people (dorms). I do not know the nature of those apartments or how big they are, though. If you are extroverted or are very involved, meeting people should not be that hard even while living off campus.
- Not sure what a good place for that is, sorry. I could use a good cheese steak right now though :P</p>
<p>@Bornin92: I did not know that. I wouldn’t mind living on-campus again if the dorms got a little nicer, but I couldn’t do it another year when it isn’t THAT much more expensive for off-campus. </p>
<p>@thundercatsgo: I live 2 blocks from Johns’ Hopkins! Hampdenite pride.</p>
<p>I do not know what the best general advice would be after only one semester. I suppose since UMD is so big, leave early for your classes and bundle up ;)</p>
<p>Hi Praying4Luck, </p>
<p>I don’t know if you know much about the Limited Enrollment Programs, but are you allowed to eventually double-major in two LEPs? (Ex: direct admit for one LEP, and then later, apply for another LEP as your second major)</p>
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<p>I’ve heard really nice things about Oakland. Haven’t lived there myself but I imagine since it’s recently new and suite style and I’ve heard great things it must be a good place to live. I think rising sophomores have the greatest chance of getting into it.</p>
<p>My freshman daughter is applying for Oakland for next year. She has rounded up a group of friends. I think she has a good chance, due to her high number of credits.</p>