<p>I don't know exactly why I want to go there which has become kind of problem (Not that I think I will get in). But I was talking to my sister and I couldn't giver her reasons for going there other than a beautiful campus and a prestigious school. I want to be a Bio major, so if any current UMD college park students could tell me some good things about the school?</p>
<p>I’m no current student, but I can still tell you why I fell in love with UMD:</p>
<h1>1. The campus</h1>
<p>When I stepped out of the crammed van that my group was using and into the hot Maryland sun, I was mesmerized by what I saw. Among the beautiful sites I saw that day were Mckindely Library (I apologize if I spelled it wrong), the fountain, The Stamp, Byrd Stadium, the new journalism building, South Campus, the UMD flower bed, and the very first building you see next to the flower bed (I forgot its name lol). It reminded me of Penn State’s main campus, which at the time was my top choice school.</p>
<h1>2. The Location</h1>
<p>UMD has College Park, which I didn’t get to explore at all. If accepted, I will walk around and see what it has to offer. Just 9 miles down I-95 is Washington, D.C., which is an amazing city to be close to. My extended family lives in Maryland, very close to UMD actually. And finally, it isn’t that far away from Philadelphia, my current city. As a Philly native, I need my cheesesteaks (The rumor is true, we do eat a lot of cheesesteaks lol) and I need to see my Phillies play!</p>
<h1>3. The Size</h1>
<p>Size matters to me. I like very large universities, and upon hearing that there are 26,000+ students that call UMD home, I was hooked!</p>
<h1>4. The Diversity</h1>
<p>As a black male who attends a diverse high school, diversity matters to me. I love meeting people from different backgrounds than myself. It felt like a larger version of my high school when I saw the amount of racial diversity there! And the best part of it was that people of different races were hanging out with each other as opposed to sticking to a racial clique. </p>
<h1>5. The Social Life</h1>
<p>When you have what seems like a party school, a great college town like College Park, proximity to Washington, D.C., and you aren’t that far from other East Coast cities like Philadelphia and New York, the social life will be rich! I can tell that I’ll have a ton of fun at UMD! </p>
<h1>6. The Housing</h1>
<p>If accepted, a company named Campus Apartments has offered to let me live at any college campus that has Campus Apartments for free! Since UMD has the Mazza Grandmarc apartments, guess where I’ll be living! :D</p>
<p>…So this is why I love UMD. Right now, my attendance hangs with the decision of the Adcom there, and quite frankly, I don’t think I’ll get in (3.8 GPA and 920 M+CR SAT score). But if I do get in, my life will be complete! Good luck to you and I hope I was able to help you out at least a little bit even though I’m not a current student. Hopefully we can meet up at UMD one day! :D</p>
<p>haha I totally agree with you on the size, campus, and diversity. But If I get accepted, I’m afraid that I will go there for only those reasons and end up hating it otherwise. Any other opinions about the school, maybe about the academic programs from current students?</p>
<p>I am a current student studying biochemistry and there are too many things to name. Basically, I would say UMD is the most well rounded school out there. It has everything someone would look for in a school and so so much more. The people are amazing. Even people who originally did not want to come here end up saying that they are so happy they ended up here. The overall college experience at umd is what makes it so great! that is its best atribute in my opinion. Pm me if you have any specific questions about the school.</p>
<p>Can you be more specific about being a “bio major” - as in biological science, neuroscience, pre-med, bioengineering, etc?</p>
<p>If you mean bioengineering, that is in the A. James Clark School of Engineering, which I am better versed on for its attributes. However, I will answer based on an assumption of your intent being biological sciences, which falls under the department of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (CMNS for short). FYI, CMNS is looking forward to the completion of a new complex which is due to open Fall 2013 and looks very exciting
[Physical</a> Sciences Complex | College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](<a href=“http://www.cmns.umd.edu/psc]Physical”>http://www.cmns.umd.edu/psc)
You should also look at this link for current news about the department of biology
[News</a> | University of Maryland Department of Biology](<a href=“http://biology.umd.edu/news]News”>News)</p>
<p>Maryland has amazing research opportunities on campus, not to mention the proximity to NIH (National Institutes of Health), Smithsonian, and other government agencies makes impressive research and internships very accessible. </p>
<p>Academically, you will be challenged, but it’s not a cut-throat kind of environment. You’ll definitely have to work harder than you currently work in high school, but you’ll learn and adapt to new expectations. And, yes, there are some easy classes you can throw into your schedule to ease the stress. </p>
<p>What specifically are you concerned about not liking (end up hating)? The class size? Yes, the school is big and there will be some large classes for core classes in your major and gen ed requirements for the university. However, as you advance in your major, the classes get smaller. As a freshman, you absolutely can and will take smaller classes also - freshman english class size is 18 per section. As for the large classes, only the lectures are large - the discussion sections (one day a week) are much smaller, so between the discussion section, professors’ office hours, and numerous academic support systems, you will not be lost - unless you don’t make any effort.</p>
<p>All of the things Future Doc said, but I especially have loved UMD’s proximity to DC. I’ve gone with my roommate and other friends on my floor a number of times, for class assignments, and it’s a no brainer to go into the city when I have friends or family visiting! None of my other schools were as close to such a large city as UMD and I’m so happy I ended up going to UMD for that reason!</p>
<p>Can u tell ,e ,ore about your housing arrangements?</p>
<p>Beautiful campus, decent location (CP sucks for the most part but you’re near DC), very diverse in all aspects, some excellent academic programs, a good mix of social life opportunities of all types. </p>
<p>The housing isn’t really great, despite FutureDoctor’s post (it sounds like he may win some sort of contest for free housing, you’re damn right any decent housing will seem amazing when it’s free!). The dorms are decent, although they are upgrading them. The student apartments near campus are either cheap slums (Knox Towers, Knox Boxes) or expensive and poorly managed (Varsity, View, Enclave, etc). Single family homes are a crapshoot; some are great, some are bad.</p>
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<p>Umm…you mean College Park, Maryland? I think the University of Maryland is a very good university with a wide array of excellent academic opportunities, but I would never consider the town of College Park to be one of the University’s greatest assets! A liability? Sure. But never an asset.</p>
<p>College Park–at least the area near the University of Maryland–is a kind of working-class-looking town in a county that has had economic, social and political woes for generations. Nowadays, College Park does have the Green Line of the Metro, which means it has a lot more to offer than it had a generation ago.</p>
<p>Don’t misunderstand me, please. I can understand why a person would really want to go to the University of Maryland. For the last 20 years or so, the University has made huge investments of money and personnel in undergraduate education, and I think the investments have paid off pretty handsomely. My daughter didn’t want to attend a university with 26,000 undergrads, so she crossed Maryland off her list for that reason, but if she’d wanted to go to Maryland, I’d have sent her happily. But I’d have sent her despite–and not because of–the fact that it’s in College Park.</p>
<p>Apologies if I have offended non-student residents of College Park. If there’s something great about the town that I have failed to appreciate, I’d truly be truly grateful to anybody who can enlighten me.</p>
<p>i agree with you. college park is one of the main things that might steer me away from umd. i live in md, so i’ve been to cp a few times. it really isn’t a great place to be … definitely not one of the pluses of the school.</p>
<p>Rethink College Park.</p>
<p><a href=“Rethink College Park”>Rethink College Park;
<p>The new plans of College Park are really nice. An architecture professor talked about them in a lecture this year. </p>
<p>Includes a metro stop on campus. In his own words, “This project will make the campus the college town that college park refuses to be”. </p>
<p>5-10 years away though IF they can get the funding sooner rather than later.</p>