University of Maryland-Baltimore County Top Questions

Students in dorms generally leave their doors open, fostering some interaction. However, athletics are not highly popular, but guest speakers and theatre events are pretty populated. Sororities and fraternitites exist on campus, and I am actually a member of one, but they are not very important on campus, I didn't really know anything about Greek life until my sophomore year, when I had to go looking into it on my own. Off campus, you can go to the Inner Harbor or a few malls that are near campus. There is a ton of things within 20 or 30 minutes of campus to do. People who go to UMBC generally do not party a ton, but if you are looking for it, you can find it, but it will not be super wild and crazy.

The doors in some of the nicer dorm halls close automatically, and "tampering" with the mechanism that causes this is forbidden, even if you could fix it in all of five seconds. The utility floor of Erickson Hall, 1 West, has only four suites, making for antisocial neighbors. Met more friends in classes than in my dorm hall, also became close friends with roommates. Parties take place every weekend, at least, but they are hard to find at times, especially if your floor is antisocial. There is no "Greek Row" or anything comparable. Fraternities/sororities are tolerated by the administration at best. The Game Room is also an interesting place to meet people, if you are not interested in alcohol or other substances.

Who would have guessed that UMBC would have such a great year. As always we are undefeated in football (since there is no team) but we were honestly, champs in both lacrosse and basketball. The Commons is nice. There is always something going on between Quadmania, art shows, speaker series and guest lecturers, Flat Tuesdays for drinks, pool and gaming tournaments...

I have no idea what clubs are the most popular. I personally am involved with Orthodox Christian Fellowship (a religious group), Rock for Life (a political advocacy group), and the Shakespeare Reading and Performing Group. To my knowledge most students leave their doors open. The sports events are not terribly popular. My closest friends are the people who live on my floor. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm mostly likely talking with friends online or in my common room. I have no idea how often people party because I'm not a partier. Fraternities and sororities are not terribly important because their housing is all off campus- they sit together at lunch and usually have some sort of fundraiser going on. On a Saturday night you can go watch a movie in one of the lecture halls, play pool or something in the game room, of attend a club event. Off campus you can visit Baltimore or other nearby cities/towns for food, entertainment, or shopping.

The only activity that I know that everyone respect and enjoy is quadmania.

Greek life is there, but minor. There are not any frat houses, but they do hold some of the apartments for their own benefit. There is not much to do on a week night, and most students go home or out on the weekend. Intense parties or like activities are away for the inner campus. In apartments or more distance houses, or out in some clubs and bars in the city. Baltimore is a great, real city to head to for a good time. D.C. can also offer some nice shows in a few of it's venues. The Ottobar is the number one spot for late light shows and partying. But there are a number of other spots, or you could head to the mall, or just hang out down down with some friends. There have been no notable guest speakers this year. There have been a few theater productions put on that didn't interest me very much. There are weekly movies that come out a few weeks before the DVD release of such titles. The dating scene is kind of tight, you have to have some luck, still when you consider the medium population there are a number of couples to be seen around. Most students in my dorm keep their doors shut, but the newer, larger dorms seem much more friendly and I'm moving to one of those next year. I am proud to say that the Anime society of UMBC is technically the number one student group. It is also the largest anime club in Maryland! The UAS is also the only organization I currently belong to. Attendance is around 15 to 30. Meetings are from 6pm to 11 pm each friday night. After, the meeting anyone can join the core members to go out to Applebees or some other restaurant for an after party. There is a pizza or ice cream social at the start of each semester, free ice cream, free games, and an anime movie. There is a BBQ at the end of the year. Also, each semester there is a 24 hour anime Marathon! In the hall outside the theater/lecture hall there are video games, a lan party and other activates such as the juggling and DDR club. Peak attendance this semester was 125, total attendance was 150. I met most of my friends through the club.

I'm actually the current president for the Asian Student Connection. This year, we've done a date auction, brought a comedian (Eliot Chang) to campus, planned and executed a large cultural show that had a turnout of around 300 people, and are doing a field day for our ethnic clubs on campus to participate in. To be honest, it is much easier to meet people if you actually live on campus as opposed to commuting. But a little time and effort, and friendliness, goes a long way. I probably know more people on campus than most dormers do. I do know that doors in dorms are usually open (at reasonable times of course) and everyone's welcoming. If I'm awake on 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably studying, to be honest. That or "studying" meaning goofing off and trying to study but not succeeding very well. People party often enough on campus, you just have to know people who know people who know people haha Fraternities and sororities are not as well-known on campus but they are such an integral part of our community. They do a lot of things around campus as well as philanthropic efforts as well! I actually went to a Jimmy Eat World/Paramore concert in DC thanks to an invitation from my Big Sister of my sorority. I also did the Walk to Cure Diabetes as a philanthropy for my sorority (we raised $386 total).

Lots of greek life and things to join.

There are all sorts of social groups at UMBC. If you want strict academics with no socialization, you can find it here. If you want to party every night of the week, you can do that too. There are a lot of worlds in this campus, and if you can't find one to fit you then you can build one. There are a lot of people who crave excitement and socialization but who simply don't know where to find it here.

pretty boring and undertoned....and they don't seem to be very involved.