<p>I am a sophomore looking to move out of the dorms into an apartment. I have been looking at many options: Commons, Courtyards, and The View. (I eliminated The Varsity because it's insanely expensive by my standards.)</p>
<p>I have read quite a few negative reviews about all three of the above listed locations, with the most negative reviews being reserved for The View and a few for Courtyards. Commons seems the best option compared to the other two choices. At the same time, I spend most of my day in the engineering and math part of campus, which is far from Courtyards and Commons both. </p>
<p>Could anyone give me some perspective on off-campus living choices for an undergraduate?</p>
<p>I am just curious, if the varsity apartments weren’t so expensive would you consider living there? The varsity apartments seem much nicer than any other options in the area. Is there something wrong with the varsity besides the price, like damaged units, or rude staff?</p>
<p>Look at the Mazza Grandmarc apartments. I’m not a current student at UMD (And I doubt that I will be accepted 
), but I visited them this summer before my UMD tour, and they were so luxurious that it made me move UMD to the top of my college list (Since I will be living there for free all 4 years if accepted into UMD :D)!</p>
<p>Is there a particular reason why you want off-campus housing? There is apartment-style living available for upperclassmen…Since you mentioned you are primarily in engineering/math area, have you considered Leonardtown? Yea, it’s across route 1, but still more convenient to engineering area than the Commons. I lived in New Leonardtown (which is clearly not so new now, given how long ago I graduated, ha ha) and I really liked it there. The advantage of on-campus apartment living is that you don’t have to take a full-year lease. So, something else to consider…</p>
<p>Yes, I did consider the Varsity. They are indeed very nice. Noise at night was also a concern, though.</p>
<p>MGM also seems a bit expensive, but I’ll check it out.</p>
<p>Well my main goal was to get a decent kitchen. I was considering Leonardtown, but I’ve just never been able to find good pictures of the apartments. I’ll probably try and find somebody who lives there to show me around.</p>
<p>Not sure how helpful this is…
[Department</a> of Resident Life: Fall Move-In - Typical Room Layouts](<a href=“http://www.resnet.umd.edu/movein/room/]Department”>http://www.resnet.umd.edu/movein/room/)</p>
<p>It really doesn’t show it well, so if you can get a friend to show you around, all the better. I remember having 2 single rooms, 2 doubles, a shared bathroom with 2 showers, and shared living room/kitchen. This diagram doesn’t show it, but I remember the kitchen being open to the living room…actually had pass-thru counter to kitchen table area even though the diagram shows it as a solid wall. I remember it was fine with a couple people cooking in the kitchen - not big, but can fit two people in width between counter tops. It wasn’t huge, but it worked well enough. Remember, not everyone is on the same schedule and you’re not all cooking at the same time.</p>