<p>My D had a question-- can FC students attend football games and can they sit in the student sections at the stadium?</p>
<p>Yes. They are UMd students in every way, right and priviledge. Tickets to football and Bball games are free for students. They only thing they can’t do is play Varsity athletics.</p>
<p>Thejim, I think it is great that your DD got over that 1 semester issue. College is a lot longer than those 15 weeks before they get to move into dorms. Kids fail out many times because they just hate the school, and that is usually not based on the courses, but their life outside of the classroom. UMD has that classic campus feel, including frat row, and 2 or 3 blocks filled with different restaurants aimed towards the college student. For some it is the make or break decision of matriculating.</p>
<p>For other FC students, I know that our DS was friends with several of them in his freshman yr, even though he was in the scholars program. He met them at football games, frat parties, dorm parties, or through friends. If the student is social, they will not feel like they are any different. I think alot has to play into this scenario because of the housing shortage, many students live off campus, but on the bus route and that creates a larger social network.</p>
<p>Bulletandpima
thank you for your positive words about FC. UMD was my D first choice until she got accepted into spring semester and she was very upset and confused. Thanks to people like you who encouraged me to do more research about FC and different housing situations my D and I have found that spring semester acceptance is a small wrinkle in the situation and we are now excited about the opportunity.</p>
<p>I think your comment around college being “more than 15 weeks” is perfect. There is so much learning that takes place beyond the classroom, especially the first semester, and before se knows it, she’ll be registering for Spring semester classes. My daughter is VERY social and has really embraced the opportunity. Finding roommates was 100% doing (frightening :), but it’ is like anything–if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way to make it work, and she really wanted UMd. While FC is not ideal, she has done a 180 from the first impression of a Spring 2011 admission. She’ll be off-campus in the 2nd semester, yet (hopefully) be mainstreamed into the regular class sessions. Many things can happen, but she still wants to experience the on-campus housing aspect and will probably plan to do the on-campus suite housing her sophomore year.</p>
<p>We’d love to have the option of FC-deferring starting until JAn means the chance to grow up a little more, maybe get a job and save some $ or do an internship or travel. You are not a second class citizen; you just are being lined up for the spots which open up after some realize they can’t handle school or UMD or …fill in the blank. Don’t look at it as a bad thing. Take advantage of it.</p>
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<p>Sorry, but that made me laugh. I only laughed because the suites are very hard to come by, if anything she should be happy to get Old/New Leonardtown at best. Everyone wants a suite and thinks they have a chance, but realistically they have a better chance of pulling an A in Econ if they only showed up for mid-term and finals. </p>
<p>The huge problem with UMD is housing, it has been this way for yrs. The way you get up the list is based on a point system, and part of that system is being a current housing resident and the amount of credits you have. Our DS had a very low lottery number, mainly due to the fact that as a freshman he had 39 credits (19 fall, 20 spring) , and still the best he could pull was New Leonardtown for his sophomore yr.</p>
<p>Sorry if that busted anyone’s bubble, but IMHO it is better to hope for the best, but expect the worst.</p>
<p>Maybe the new dorms being built will ease some of that?</p>
<p>We could hope, but I think that the demand will still far outweigh the supply.</p>
<p>Yeah I think students who get into the housing they want (suites/etc.) are the exception, not the norm.</p>
<p>I was in a freshman high rise my first year. Tiny cell dorm.</p>
<p>My housing number going into the second year was bad - I would have had to stay in the freshman dorm. Thankfully, my roommate had a better number and agreed to live with me in Hagerstown/La Plata (still high rises with tiny cell dorms, but at least sophomore-oriented and one has air conditioning!). </p>
<p>Then, going into my third year, I was shut out of on-campus housing entirely. Nobody could pull me in because I didn’t even get approved to live on campus.</p>
<p>Then, I applied for the Commons/Courtyards lottery.</p>
<p>Again, my number was so low I was not given a space in even Commons/Courtyards.</p>
<p>So, I moved into a privately-rented house off campus with my friends.</p>
<p>I DO think the construction of the new dorm will ease that somewhat. Oakland Hall will be in an inconvenient location relative to other on-campus housing but, being new, it will be a fantastic place to live.</p>
<p>But hoping for a suite is just that…hoping. Many of us who started on campus never even got close to that option. I have friends that live in suites and am very jealous of them haha. Mostly those are taken up by athletes but of course some people get through ;). They are of course the most popular option!</p>
<p>That said, it’s not unlikely that freshmen connection students will get a spot in one of the high-rises. That’s probably more what you’re looking at realistically. I met a lot of Spring admits in Hagerstown my sophomore year (sophomore cell high rise, no air conditioning, but on campus!).</p>
<p>Man-you guys are really killing my buzz 
I’ll make sure my D thinks there is hope! Thanks for moderating the expectations.</p>
<p>Off topic, but how many will the new dorm house? 1000 or so? I don’t know the number, but I am curious. I think the only thing it will do is allow more kids the ability to get in the commons…trickle up theory.</p>
<p>Our DS will be renting a house with friends next yr, and we are lucky it actually will save a ton of money.</p>
<p>Thejim,
Don’t worry about it, your DD is guaranteed freshman housing, and the majority of sophs get housing too, most of the time not where they want, but it is still on campus. It is when they are jrs that they are in trouble.</p>
<p>Oakland Hall will house 700+ students. See the following link:
[Oakland</a> Hall and Denton Community Renovations](<a href=“http://www.resnet.umd.edu/oaklandhall/oakland/]Oakland”>http://www.resnet.umd.edu/oaklandhall/oakland/)</p>
<p>700 that is nothing!</p>
<p>700 is fairly significant actually.</p>
<p>I don’t remember but my lottery number for Commons was lower than that, and it was “borderline” and enough to place me out.</p>
<p>So it seems like 700 could actually double the OPEN space available for students wanting to stay on campus.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s “nothing” when you look at the trend…every year, a higher and higher percentage of students want on-campus housing. So if they increase housing to meet the current need, next year the need is bound to be higher.</p>
<p>Did you guys sign up for FC yet? How did you know what courses to pick??</p>
<p>Has anybody taken the math placement test yet? I’m having trouble getting my results. Its been almost 48 hours since I posted the tests and I’m not seeing the grades anywhere. Can anyone describe their situation.</p>
<p>Yeah, I took it. You won’t get your results until orientation.</p>
<p>Did anyone sign up for BSCI 105??</p>
<p>Well,
how do we register for classes if we don’t know what math class to sign up for?</p>
<p>i went into orientation not knowing what classes to sign up for at all. you will be fine. that is, if you get an advisor that cares about you. lol</p>