Is UMBC really that bad?

<p>Yeah, now that you're reading my thread...I can explain the title. UMBC is actually an excellent school apperently according to many rankings and reviews. Let me specify what sense I mean "bad" in. I've been reading every review I could possibly find about UMBC, and everything seems perfect EXCEPT the fact that they apperently have "no social life". I've read things about people saying that your social life depends on the people you hang out with, etc, but that there aren't very many parties.</p>

<p>I know that college is about "earning a degree", but isn't it also the place to do everything you've ever possibly wanted so by the time you graduate you will be satisfied and never think "oh i wish i did that when i was younger"?</p>

<p>Could anyone give me a breakdown of the UMBC social life? Is it really "that boring"?</p>

<p>The son of our next door neighbor is starting his third year at UMBC. He has been very happy there. I asked him once about life at UMBC on the weekends because so many students commute. He said: “Half of the students go home, the other half end up in my dorm room.”</p>

<p>What you get out of your college experience is mostly up to you, as is what you get out of the rest of your life. If you think that you must use up the majority of your lifetime adventure quota before you graduate college, you have a very limited imagination about the possibilities after graduation!</p>

<p>My daughter is a freshman there. She estimates that about 40% of the students living on campus go home for the weekend (including her roommate). My daughter chooses to remain on campus. She has found several groups of students who also stay there on the weekends that she enjoys hanging out with. My daughter does not drink, take drugs, or go to crazy parties. She is not into the sports or Greek scene. She feels that this college is a perfect fit for her. It really depends on what you are looking for.</p>

<p>UMBC will be featured on 60 Minutes on November 13. It will focus on the university’s culture of innovation and achievement, especially for students studying science, technology, engineering and math. UMBC is the #1 Up and Coming University for the third year in a row. US News also ranks UMBC **fourth on the list of top national universities “where the faculty has an unusual commitment to undergraduate teaching.” **UMBC is tied with Yale and ranks just ahead of Brown and Stanford.</p>

<p>Is Hrbowski still the Presidenet of UMBC? I understand that he is the force behind the drive for excellence in science at UMBC.</p>

<p>Yes, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski is still the President. He’s been there since 1992. He has received numerous accolades, including the “Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award” in October. He is absolutely amazing!</p>