Looking for info from Someone who participated in this or knows someone who did to give feedback beyond what is found on the UMD Carillon web page.
This is the first I’ve heard of this program. It looks like a great way to bond with new friends and be part of a community.
My son was in the Carillon program this year as a freshman. He didn’t really think much of the program. The biggest advantage for him was the guarantee of an air conditioned dorm since they are housed in Easton. The actual LLC events were minimal and didn’t seem any better than one would expect from any other freshman dorm experience with a quality RA. He thought the group class was fine, but it didn’t really lead to any great bonding experience with his classmates or dorm-mates.
I had high hopes for this program as a way to make this large school seem smaller with an LLC. UMD does offer numerous similar programs for this reason. I don’t think Carillon has enough of an identity or direction at this point.
@mnm111 Thanks for your feedback. Would your son choose to do it again if only for the a/c dorm? Which of the 3 classes did he take? My daughter is leaning towards iGIVE. We were hoping for a scholars program but no such luck.
My son’s friend lives on a regular floor of Easton and he said the rooms are small but maybe the program is worth it for guaranteed a/c. My daughter likes that it is relatively close to the student rec center.
He did Novel Humans.
The dorm rooms are pretty much the same size in most of the buildings in the North campus area for freshman. The AC question is one only your daughter can decide. We are from Florida and my son is definitely used to AC even if it’s only needed one or two months out of the year in UMD.
I know a little about iGIVE and can probably find out more info from my neighbor. For freshman year, my daughter lived in the iGIVE community but wasn’t in the program. Her roommate was in the program as was another friend of hers from high school. If you are in iGIVE you are required to live in the assigned dorm (it was Easton, 7th floor for my daughter) but they do also have 20-25 spots for non-community students which is nice if they meet someone else that they want to room with. I heard a lot of good things about the iGIVE program - one great benefit is that the required classes count toward the i-series requirement that all students must meet. I don’t think the classes are too difficult and they are team oriented so it’s helpful in meeting other people. With regard to the dorm, the rooms are small but having air conditioning is a huge advantage. The location is also convenient as it’s near the stadium and the rec center. I definitely think the 2 kids we know in the program would choose to do it again. In fact, the one kid is majoring in engineering and minoring in leadership and I think the course he took for iGIVE might count toward the minor (I’m not 100% sure on that…) In any case, I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any more specific questions.
Also, this was the class that the kids took in the Fall. This class double counts toward Gen Ed credits - it counts as an i-series course and a scholarship in practice course. Sometimes it’s hard to find a course that you’re interested in for i-series and every UMD student has to take 2 i-series courses so I think definitely think it’s worth doing. Plus the leadership experience with the project is good for resume.
PUAF214: Leading and Investing in Social Change: Re-defining and Experimenting with Philanthropy
Credits: 3
Defines philanthropy as an exploration of how one develops a vision of the public good and then deploys resources (including donations, volunteers, and voluntary associations) to achieve an impact.
@3KIDSLAM Wow, thanks for the great insight!