<p>Has anyone participated in the Global Communities Program. If so, can you share the pros and cons of the experience? Also, does anyone know if it is possible to switch from Global Communities to the Scholars Program?</p>
<p>My son got into clark school and this program also.
I found some information on website but still confused.
It seems like social science or politics related. They say that they welcome any major though.</p>
<p>I’m in Global Communities (current UMD student). Ask me anything. </p>
<p>Pro:
- You live in a small and very nice dorm in south campus.
- You get close (theorotically) with the small group of people who you take 2 easy boring classes (1 for each semester of the first year)
- You’re invited to various, fluff events about “celebrating diversity” such as international food night
- You get a little distinction that you were in the program and you studied abroad, etc.</p>
<p>Cons
- You’re separated from most of the freshmen who live on North campus as honors/scholars
- You’re not exactly in the brightest company
- Most invited people aren’t particularly in globalization or global issues. Just average group of people who are not even more diverse than rest of the campus.</p>
<p>It seems like I had the statistics to be offered scholars (1430/1600 SAT and 4.45 weighted GPA) but got this Global Communities Program instead. Is there anyway to switch into Scholars or was I given this program because I was passed over by Scholars? I am concerned about being away from other Clark Engineering majors since they will be in the Honors and Scholars dorms. Is this program worth doing in light of the cons that are mentioned? Are the students in Global Communities dimmer than the students in the regular dorms? I am so disappointed by this… Cries and Whispers, did you make any good friends in the program and how did you get your roommate? Do you plan to live in Dorchester another year?</p>
<p>The brochure description sounds like a good opportunity to establish good connections in the area through internships, volunteer and travel abroad semesters.
Does anybody else have any other information?</p>
<p>“Are the students in Global Communities dimmer than the students in the regular dorms? I am so disappointed by this… Cries and Whispers, did you make any good friends in the program and how did you get your roommate? Do you plan to live in Dorchester another year?”</p>
<p>Not dimmer. They’re regular students. Definitely not honors though. I’m an engineering major here, I absolutely hated that there were only few here that got in to the engineering school. Tons of engineers seem to live in honors and many in scholars, thus easier to make friends and study together. You definitely have the stats for honors/scholars, but I don’t think you can appeal it at this point. </p>
<p>You can request roommate within the GC program, but since it’s a small one, it’s rare you know the other members already. That being said I’ve made good friends since I came here, but unless you’re completely asocial, anyone would as well. I don’t know whether I’ll be staying here next year, but the GC dorms are as nice as they come for Freshmen. It’s located in the center of the campus, although most Freshmen live in North and eat at the other diner as well. </p>
<p>“Is this program worth doing in light of the cons that are mentioned?”</p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt nor does it come with a lot of work. An extra distinction on your diploma gives 1 more thing to talk about at interviews. Honestly, it is a very small part of your UMD life, if you’re an engineering student, that’s what’s going to define your identity as a student. </p>
<p>In the end, GC, honors, scholars, none of them will matter much for your academic career. Your department honors in your respective schools in your 3rd, 4th year will mean much more. You will be taking the same classes as any other engineering majors who are mostly honors/scholars. That being said, if you want to live in the honors/scholars dorms, you can simply request to be roommate with someone who’s already in the said programs.</p>
<p>I don’t know how my son ended up to be Global communities.
The thing worries me is that he has to live far from other engineering major freshmen.
My son is not even interested in that kind of issues :-(</p>
<p>CriesandWhispers are you saying that it is possible to get into Honors or Scholars dorms in freshman year by rooming with someone in those programs or are you just talking about subsequent years? Also, did you find it necessary to get into a study group for Calculus 3 and Intro. to Engineering Design? It seems like a lot of the more difficult engineering classes requiring study groups are not until sophomore year (assuming AP credit for two physics classes). What is your experience with the necessity of study groups for engineering? Also, did any of the people in Global Communities leave the program (and dorm) after the first semester?</p>
<p>Another question, for CriesandWhispers since he is in Global Communities and Clark. Would you recommend giving up Global Communities program and living in Easton with the Flexus Engineering program? Did you ever use the tutoring for questions in the Easton dorm and, if so, was it helpful?</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am currently a freshman in the Global Communities program. I would like to start by saying that while what CriesandWhispers has to say is partially true, people like him/her are among the minority of students at the dorm. There are always some bitter students every year who don’t like the atmosphere of the program and choose to bash it online. If you enjoy meeting new people, and having a close-knit group of friends while being part of a campus with 35,000+ students, Global Communities is for you. I can honestly say that joining the program was the best decision I made since starting college.</p>
<p>First off, the program IS worth doing. Just the location of the dorm alone sets it apart. I don’t know about about you, but I would rather walk 5 minutes to class rather than 15 minutes if I lived on North Campus. Dorchester Hall is 1 minute away from McKeldin Library, and at most 10-12 minutes away to the Engineering building. Global Communities has a diverse group of people living in Dorchester Hall. I am personally a Computer Science major, which involves taking the same math classes as engineers. There is a lot of collaboration between people at the dorm. Last semester, everyone in MATH140(Calc 1 for Engineers) studied and did their calc homework together. If you have any trouble with classes and need tutoring, there are free student tutors that live in Anne Arundel Hall, right next to Dorchester. In addition, there is a Math Success program located a few nights a week in Oakland Hall.The bottom line is, if you make the initiative to get help, there will be someone there to provide you with assistance. As for Honors classes, I have found that regular classes are challenging enough, especially if you plan on majoring in engineering/computers/bio etc. Honors kids also tend to be a little weird sometimes. </p>
<p>While Global Communities may not be the most interesting class, it offers a unique perspective of global issues facing us as a population, while guaranteeing an easy A. The workload for the class is extremely low, at most one or two papers per semester. Even if global issues don’t interest you that much, the fact remains that Global Communities will be the easiest gen-ed credits you will ever take. The best part about the dorm is how close the community is. Excluding people like CriesandWhispers, everyone is sociable with each other. Trust me, it is a nice feeling going to college and already knowing a bunch of people. Go to any dorm on North Campus, chances are people won’t even know who lives at the other end of the hall. In Dorchester Hall, you know everyone. Every time I go to the diner or class, I see at least one person that I know from Dorchester. Plus Dorchester Hall has air conditioning, something you will be so thankful of during the first couple weeks of school, when temperatures can be 90+ with no AC. Trust me, I hung out with one of my friends from high school who lives in Elkton(North Campus), and it was really miserable in there. It was like living in a sauna. Living on a campus as huge as UMD is, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to stand out and be different than the rest of the freshman population. Living in Dorchester doesn’t exclude you from the freshman college experience, if anything it enhances it. </p>
<p>If you haven’t come and visited Dorchester Hall yet, I urge you to come and take a look. While I was also unsure of it at first, after seeing the dorm, a potential room and meeting a few current students, I was hooked. The opportunities and amount of fun you will have here at Dorchester are endless. Join the program, you won’t regret it!</p>
<p>PS: If anyone has any specific questions they would like answered, feel free to send me a message! :)</p>
<p>@mhyoon and jchamberlain909</p>
<p>It seems your concerns are specific to engineering students, so might I suggest attending a great program for accepted students that details the engineering curriculum and gives you a great opportunity to get both staff and several current engineering students’ opinions on your questions…</p>
<p>[Preview</a> Program Registration and Information | A. James Clark School of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.eng.umd.edu/prospective/preview]Preview”>Preview Program Registration | A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland)</p>
<p>There are only two options, so sign up ASAP for whichever one is better for you, March 7th or March 24th.</p>
<p>As a freshman, I just wish someone would have told me the truth about Global Communities before I accepted the invitation. </p>
<p>The social life aspect is great, but honestly I don’t find it much different than anywhere else. I know people from high school who feel closer to their floormates than I do, and people who don’t know anyone on their floor. The name Global Communities is misleading because the program is comprised mostly of middle class kids from Maryland and New Jersey. There really aren’t very many international students, or at least not any more than any other dorm on campus. </p>
<p>As far as location is concerned: it’s great for classes, but not for much else. The diner is a pretty far walk when the wind is whipping and it’s 25 degrees out, and by the time you even reach the gym, you’ve done your cardio for the day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great at times socially, but not anything you won’t find anywhere else. </p>
<p>As far as the class goes, it’s a total joke. At this point, many people have already dropped out of the program and only about a third of those remaining go to lecture. While still not a lot of work, the assignments they do give are nothing more than busy work. They tell you the class is about globalization, but they leave out the part about it solely being about food. There are so many more interesting global topics that could be discussed, but for some reason we’re still hung up on food. </p>
<p>Global Communities isn’t terrible, but I really don’t think I’d do it again if given the option. Obviously, it’s different for everyone, but I just thought I’d post from my perspective.</p>