<p>is umd a commuter school? do lots of kids leave durirng the weekends? also how is Cp. i loved the campus but i feel weary about the town. part of me is like well ill be in campus all the time so i really dont need that amazing college town and i can always go to dc once in awhile. so is the town really bad or its okay</p>
<p>I wonder what is bringing these questions about the area surrounding the U of MD? I have seen a couple other similar comments.</p>
<p>I am a parent of a rising hs senior. We have lived in the Maryland suburbs of the DC area for 8 years, so we are quite familiar with most communities in the DC area. I am a small business owner and have several clients in the College Park area, so I am there frequentlly. I see nothing wrong with College Park. My son and I just visited the campus this week. </p>
<p>What is it in particular you question about the the area? </p>
<p>I thought the campus itself looked a little unkept compared to others that we have visited, but as far as the surrounding community, it doesn't seem to be a negative to me. But, perhaps I am overlooking something that is important to you.</p>
<p>~gnusasaurus</p>
<p>There are thousands of kids who live on campus. I cant recall the exact figure..I think its like 14,000..so I dont think thats exactly a commuter school. Sure some kids will drive there but with 13,999 other kids living there I think that you will have company if you elect to go there and live on campus.
As far as the college town..its not the greatest but its not bad. I mean there are little restaurants and a few stores..its fine. My D. goes into town once a week or so with friends for dinner and has no complaints. No its not say the town of Williamsburg which a student from William and Mary would go too which is drop dead lovely. But its a college town..with the metro a short distance my D. and her friends go into DC for fun also. She LOVES UMDCP!</p>
<p>YES, UMD is a commuter school. Approx. 24000 undergrads and only 8300 live on campus. >15k commute.
so yes, it's a commuter campus and there's tons of off campus housing in the dc-bmore corridor. many stay at home to save money. others live in apartments right off campus.
anything is better than on campus housing. they also have a commuter association</p>
<p>Ok I looked up the figure and was confusing the 14,000 with another stat.
It says what tabmasterflash says that there are 22,733 undergrads and 39% live on campus (2004 US News and World Report). Also 9% in frats and 10% in sororities. And of course lots of apts. near the campus.
My D. lives on campus and I just asked her and she said it does not feel like a commuter school to her ..most of the kids she has classes with live on campus. BUT there are sure to be many who dont.
Sorry for my error.</p>
<p>gnu i am talking about Cp is a negative. lots of people say are askign about crime and son on but im asking something else. i know CP is a goo dplace but i was wondering how nice it really is. i mean i have friends who go to ann arbor and austin and so on and their towns are so nice. and i hear Cp is a small town with not alot around. so i wanted to know how it is, is it like a small town or kind of a small town city type. i hear it is very small and jsut wanted to know. the campus itself in my eyes is the best.</p>
<p>the reason why crime is a little higher and it doesnt feel as much of a college town as other towns is because of its proximity to D.C. Spillover of crime D.C is prominent which is what brings CP down. Go down Route 1 a few miles and you'll be in D.C. There's a campus community watch program run by students that patrols the campus and surrrounding student neighborhoods. </p>
<p>I've personally never had a problem and no ones I know has had any either. Most of these occur when there's a fight between two parties. So my advice- don't get into fights and walk with a partner in the wee hours of the night.</p>
<p>There is a lot around UMD but you have to have transportation to get there which is a hop and a jump to metro. Buses also come to the campus. The main strip though has restaurants and a book store etc and provides a different settng than the campus. Now depending on where you live on campus it can be a hike! My D. had like a 25 minute walk from her dorm to get there.
Crime stats are very similar between UMD and UNC and William and Mary. I compared them. UMD does have a higher amount of petty theft. But they are also larger, closer to the city etc than the other two colleges.
I would never advise anyone to walk at night alone. My D. always had a few friends walk her back to her dorm. Next year her dorm is closer to her friends.</p>
<p>There are enough kids at UMD that you do not get a commuter school feel as you would at a smaller school with those ratios. Most flagship unis have a community life that is definitely commuter school.</p>
<p>Coastingblue,</p>
<p>I don't think the University of Maryland is the place you want to go if you are looking for a college town you would put on a postcard. There are many other places that have more attractive surroundings, more vibrant communities, etc.</p>
<p>U of MD is one of the colleges we are looking at for my son. I don't think its location is a negative to us, but it is certainly not an attractive area as compared to some other colleges.</p>
<p>We have been to other campuses that are far more attractive (Univrsity of Miami - Wow!), and colleges that are in nicer areas, but our main focus is academic, career enhancement and value. We are trying to determine where my son can get the best edcucation with the most employment opportunites after college at the best net price.</p>
<p>Hey Jamimom..can you PM me?</p>
<p>CP is just a couple of blocks really - Takoma Park is nice (also small) and nearby) But the BIG ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM is, of course WASHINGTON DC - which is a phenomenal college town with thousands and thousands of students = Georgetown, Catholic, GWU, AU, etc. etc. To tell you the truth, as a local, I've always considered MD to be more or less in DC, even though "College Park" is the name of the town.</p>
<p>You could spend all weekend, every weekend, for four years in DC and not exhaust the music (all genres), theatre (over 60 theatres) festivals, museums, free events, monuments, bike trails, zoo, restaurants, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>Don't worry, mate! You will not be bored unless you are excessively passive. Take the metro or make friends with someone who has a car. With a car, you can go hiking in the mountains, sailing on the Bay, or up to the Inner Harbor (thousands and thosands more college students in the Baltimore area).</p>
<p>Let me add that we visited William and Mary and the town is drop dead picture perfect lovely. But my D. said she thought she would get bored there real fast. I mean after you visit the historic sites and walk through the town..what do you do the next weekend? And the next?
With UMDCP you hop a bus and you are minutes from all sorts of activities.</p>
<p>ya im really happy wiht my choice going to umd. when i visited it this summer i fell in love with it. i stayed in dc and loved it. before this trip i though dc was lonly the govenrmnet buildings and so on. but wow dc is nice with huge buildings and lot sof things to do. then the campus made me love umd even more. before the trip i knew i wanted to go to umd even though i knew little about it. and after that trip i fell in love and was actually a bad thing, because durring the application process all i was thinking about was umd and luckly i got in.</p>
<p>was wondering how far is dc from metro from college park and driving wise?</p>
<p>i took the metro from GWU's campus to college park earlir this year. I had to take 2 trains and it took about an hour, but thats ok because DC trains are so much cleaner than NYC trains (no rats no garbage...)</p>