“… The university has been able to add an additional 350 spaces on the campus this summer by converting dormitory lounges into rooms and adding another student to double and triple rooms.” …
Cozy.
Maryland is not the only school mentioned in the article, so the problem is not unique to this school. If you are posting for informational purposes, why didn’t you post this article on Towson’s forum? (I am aware Morgan State does not have a forum to post on).I’m not sure what point you are making with your comment, “cozy.”
Purdue did the same thing. They underestimated yield. My daughter is in a quad that was intended to be a triple. She loves her new roommates and they are making the space work. Not the end of the world.
Too bad, they just put almost $200M last year to convert the cole field house to the indoor practice facility for the football team, which is now in deep, deep trouble. Maybe convert the indoor practice facility back to freshmen dorm is what the university really needs.
Not surprising given how popular UMD has gotten. According to Naviance at our MD public HS, the number of students who enroll at UMD has increased dramatically each year. It sounds like they did the best they could given the increasing enrollment.
Would someone be willing to summarize this article. I can get a little bit of info from the title but since I am not a baltimore sun subscriber, I can’t read the article. As a prospective student applying to UMDCP this year, I would not like to be assigned to an overcrowded dorm room or one without a lounge. Is this a common occurrence? Was this a one time thing due to over enrollement or does this happen regularly? TIA
The article basically says this is second year in a row that the yield was higher than expected. Yield is the number of people that accept admission. It’s a numbers game of chance - for example (and in no way is this example meant to be accurate in proportion but merely a clarification of the term “yield”), say 200 people apply. If they give 100 offers of admission, they would expect only 50 to accept/attend Maryland, and 50 to accept admission at other schools they applied to. However, instead of only 50 people accepting, they got 75. If they got 60, they could still accommodate everyone as planned, but because they got 75, they had to come up with a temporary solution to the housing needs.
So, the article is reporting higher than expected yield and how Maryland had to come up with a creative solution for housing. Maryland is not the only school in the article that had to do this to keep their promise of housing for all incoming freshman that accept it by the deadline. The only schools mentioned are Maryland schools, because it is a local paper. However, converting doubles into triples or lounges into triples is not unique to the University of Maryland, nor to many other schools facing the same situation. What the article fails to address is that there is construction/renovation of some older dorms, which means they are currently not available, but will be in the future. Here’s the link for info on the renovations http://reslife.umd.edu/hsp/sites/ and if you look here, you will see what they have in mind http://reslife.umd.edu/hsp/transforming/ and on this page http://reslife.umd.edu/hsp/goals/# you will see they specifically cite a reduction in triple and quad housing as a goal.
No, it does NOT happen regularly! If it happens one year, it’s a fluke, if it happens again (as it did this year), it may be the beginning of a pattern that I would think (PERSONAL GUESS ONLY, NOT FACT!!!) MAY start to affect the number of admissions they offer. Maryland’s popularity is continuing to grow. It’s a great school (and yes, as both an alum and mother of a two-time alum - son did undergrad and grad school there- I am a bit biased!)
Honestly, I wouldn’t let it dissuade you from applying as I am sure they will address this. Be sure to apply by November 1 priority deadline for best shot at admission and to be eligible for special programs/merit scholarships. Best of luck in the college search/admissions process!
The last 2 pages of the following thread identify other over-enrolled Colleges.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2008200-overenrolled-colleges-p10.html
I think it more of an unpredictable occurrence. than a common one. There is no easy way to guarantee that any college you decide to attend will not have an over-enrollment issue.
Something I want to add on to what SoofDad said is that if you do end up wanting to go to UMD, submit your housing agreement ASAP just so that you don’t risk the chances of getting placed in flex housing or on the waitlist (if there’s another housing crisis next year). Most people (like 99% of them) who submit the housing agreement the earliest don’t get placed in flex housing!