<p>Isn't college park in southern md? i know that dc is a nice place to be though.</p>
<p>college park is in central Maryland and north of DC. Southern maryland extends to the east of DC down further South than DC. College park and PG county isn't rural but there is farm land in some areas of PG county as there is in most places. THe area from College park to DC(less than 10 miles) is pretty populated.</p>
<p>MBA - are you mixing up St Mary's College of Maryland and the University of Maryland in College Park? St Mary's is a state school in southern Maryland - and it is "just south of nowhere" - I visited and its a beautiful school - if you like the water and sailing etc - its a great place to be- but there's not much around .</p>
<p>Is there a formal overnight stay program for seniors in the fall?</p>
<p>yes, you can call the orientation office.</p>
<p>i just finished my freshman year at umd so im gonna clear up some stuff about that has been brought up in this thread...</p>
<p>banks: chevy chase is the one affiliated with the school. they are all over campus. i have bank of america, so i can still use chevy chase ATMs but they charge $2. there is full BOA banking center right next to campus though, on route 1.</p>
<p>cell phones: verizon is by far the best. i have friends with cingular, sprint-nextel, and t-mobile who cant make calls from inside the dorms or receive (which is a huge pain when you order food online and wait for the delivery guy to call). i have verizon and it works really well, its the only service from which you can make calls inside the union food court. also my phone isnt tri-mode but it still works everywhere.</p>
<p>food: blows, unhealthy, extremely difficult to avoid putting on weight unless you go to the gym 5 times a week or just have an astronomical metabolism. luckily i am moving to the commons starting in august which will give me the ability to eat whatever i please cause ill have a kitchen. which brings me to....</p>
<p>housing: freshman are pretty much shafted. there are 5-6 freshmen (out of a class of 5000) that get placed into the commons or university view, so dont count on that. otherwise youre either paying to live in a house or apt off campus (which i dont recommend cause it becomes difficult to make friends) or youll be on campus. i was in dorchester, one of the "lucky 5" - dorchester, anne arundel, queen anne's somerset, and st mary's. these are so named because they are centrally located on campus right next to the library and union, no class is more than a 5 minute walk away, and (most importantly) they all have AC. the one dorm you dont want is easton cause its way way way way way far away from everything on campus and is like a 20 minute walk to all your classes. if you get stuck with an 8am class, you are not going to enjoy waking up at 715.</p>
<p>any other questions, dont hesitate to ask.</p>
<p>scagneas -- are they actually "placing" freshmen into the view??? the view is in no way owned or affiliated with UMD, so i find it hard to believe they would put people in there rather than commons/courtyards if there was a housing shortage.</p>
<p>an addition to what scagneas said: easton is furthest away; however, denton and elkton are only 30 seconds closer. these are all in the same area, and most freshmen live there so it's not like you'll be the only one with that long walk. if you're a music major, these 3 dorms are the closest to where your classes will be (not counting CORE stuff of course) so it's a lot easier.
and i disagree on the food. i liked it. i did gain weight freshman year, but this could have been avoided or at least minimized by exercising a couple times a week and choosing healthier options (like a grilled chicken sandwich instead of fried....the fried ones are so good though!!)</p>
<p>any comments on the healthy/vegetarian place near denton? (i think it's near denton atleast... and i think it's supposed to be healthy)</p>
<p>lindz: there were a couple freshmen in fall '05 who were put into the view from the start. they had requested on-campus housing but due to shortages in the commons and courtyards they were moved to the top of the view list and lived there. so its not an "official" policy per se, but it happened to a couple. there were 3 freshmen put into the commons, i dont know of anyone in the courtyards.</p>
<p>weirddddd. i hope for their sake that they're engineering majors!!</p>
<p>kurplunk-- you're thinking of sprouts. it's in the north campus dining hall the community over from denton. they're vegan and basically they'll make you a stirfry type thing with any sorts of vegetables you want. also, a little known fact (if you aren't a vegetarian) is that at the chinese place, they'll make you a rice bowl with rice and meat and veggies. also healthy & yummy.</p>
<p>I have heard from friends who were admitted for Spring - e.g. the deal where you go to the evening school in Fall and then start in the reg undergrad program in Spring (this year's alternative to a waitlist) that they were being offerred housing in University View - so there will be a lot of freshmen there.</p>