It’s almost time to submit the housing deposit for the 2016-2017 year, anyone have any suggestions towards the best/nicest halls to live in?
@brooke4998 - I assume you’re asking about the dorms for incoming freshman. There is no deposit required, but there is a housing form to fill after after decisions are released at the end of January. I would guess that the best dorms are Oakland and Prince Frederick, but Freshman don’t really get to pick their dorms.
Here is a thread from last may that has more info
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18452381/#Comment_18452381
You can request a roomate, but can’t pick a dorm as a freshman, unless you get into a program that happens to all reside in a particular dorm. Note, it’s a good idea to comp,eye your housing form ASAP if it’s a likely choice for you. Good luck!
While it is true that freshman have never had a “say” in housing unless they are invited to living/learning community that is housed in a particular dorm, the introduction of differentiated housing rates may change things a bit. I don’t know when they will implement the differentiated fee structure at Maryland (it was only just proposed for last year), but I do have a child at another university where differentiated fees for housing has been in place for many years. The way it works there is, of course, housing selection times are based on number of credits, with priority is given to eligible students with the most credits. Incoming freshman don’t get to pick their dorms but they do get to pick the price level they are willing to pay for housing. So, if they choose level four, and there is an opening in a level four housing option (suites, singles), then there is potential for a freshman to be placed in a more prime housing situation. Personally, I went with the most affordable housing possible for freshman year because there is so much else going on.
So, in general, as an incoming freshman, I would worry less about the type/quality of housing as compared to the issue of housing with students in the same year. I think it’s better for freshmen to be housed with other freshmen and maybe some sophomores than for freshmen to be housed with juniors/seniors.
The “best” housing depends on personal preference and one factor to consider is your major. As an example, if you are an engineering student, most of your classes will be concentrated in the area of campus closest to the Cambridge Quad (high rise dorms designated for scholars). My son is an engineer and while the high rise dorms are not beautiful, the location couldn’t be beat…he got to sleep in more because he didn’t have far to go to class. After he moved to the other side of campus, even though his living situation (apartment) is awesome, he ended up bringing a bike to campus because it really did make that big a difference.
Another factor is that as a freshman, you really do want to be on a meal plan because you just don’t want to have to deal with cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, going off campus to shop/buy the food, cleaning up dishes, etc. A meal plan is mandatory for traditional dorms but not in housing with a kitchen.
Actually the differentiated housing rates have already been implemented. My son signed up for dorms at the deadline and got a very old dorm. But at least they discounted the rates significantly for being in a dorm without A/C and being so small that bunk beds are mandatory. See http://reslife.umd.edu/housing/housingfees/
Ah, that is good to know. Ugh about the size of the room…hopefully, the convenient location of the older dorms helps compensate a little…?