We are from California, my son was admitted and had a question about what’s near the campus? We had a VERY brief visit to UMD (several hours), loved the campus but didn’t have any time to see if there is anything around the campus in walking distance? I know there is a subway and DC isn’t too far, do most students who live on campus just stay on campus most of the time? What/where is there to go?
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You may want to ask on this thread:
@sl4122 is super helpful.
As with any big college campus, the campus becomes the town. It has little shopping areas, movie theaters, coffee shops. Plenty to do on campus (concerts, theater performances, sports, gyms, libraries) and nearby. CP is close to DC and to Baltimore to do the museums, professional sports, restaurants. It is easy to get to water for sailing, rowing, boat trips.
My daughter went to a small college in a small town. She could walk to shops and even to a golf course, but if she wanted something special, she had to make an effort to go to the mall or the beach or a specific restaurant. If she wanted ‘more’ she had to travel an hour to a city, airport, professional sports, big concert.
I know that there have been a lot of changes since my D graduated in 2018, but there are still bars, restaurants and shops along Route 1 across from the Campus.
There are also scheduled performances at the Clarice
https://theclarice.umd.edu/seasons/2022-23
And there are student entertainment events at Stamp
Students do go to DC because there is a ton of things to see and do. They may take the Metro and/or Uber/Lyft, depending on what there plans are. All of the Smithsonian Museums are free and they are well worth visiting. Lots of great restaurants, and plays. In a Biology class that my D took, the Professor required all the students to visit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and take a selfie at a particular location to prove that they went. Trips to DC are usually done on weekends as far as I know.
There are also parties on campus, many at fraternities and sororities, some in dorms or apartments.
Thank you I really appreciate the responses. Ya, it sounds like there’s plenty to do. I think he was concerned it was going be like he’s stuck on an academic cruise for 4 years and his only options were on the cruise ship (campus). I agree, that these college towns in some places might at first glance seem to offer a lot, but being away from a city can be isolating & limiting. I’d also expect that UMD has an advantage w/ internships and jobs being so close to the metro areas. thanks again.
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