University of Maryland-Baltimore County Top Questions

My school is very diverse. There is no major stereotype of students at my school. We have every type of personality on campus ranging from geeks to jocks. When you go here, you will definitely find your niche. Most of the people who do go here are very serious students and are very driven to succeed. We also know how to have fun and balance school with a good social life.

Have YOU turned your GEEK on? When I first saw those posters all over the campus, I would snicker and keep walking. I wouldn't say that us kids at UMBC are geeks, per say. We're a very diverse group ranging from geeks to jocks to zombie vs human players to express-dressed smarties to straight up classy nerds. One thing in common at UMBC however is this: we never show our smarts in public. You will find the most annoying, childish, goofiest, silliest, un-collegelike behavior around campus sometimes. But you know what? That's okay. We all grow older, but not all of need to grow up. It's nice to let loose appropriately every once in a while... or every four hours in a day.

I must admit, at my college, University of Maryland Baltimore County, we have the stereotype of being a "nerd school" and that the current students fall under that category. They're are two types of "nerdy" students per se; you'll find the academically focused, "spend everyday in the library" kind of people who strive for above average grades because their parents push their education on them or for personal achievement. Or, (while roaming the campus ) you'll find the "gamers," who lock themselves up in their room and play countless hours of video games. These people tend to be very anti-social and even their own roommate couldn't name their favorite color. This stereotype in a way is both false and true; UMBC is an honors college and even though it may not be too difficult to get into, it's extremely hard to stay. The school has a very popular engineering program for example that requires its students to work hard. The programs ultimate goal is to weed through the slackers and people who have the high school mentality of "i don't have to study to get good grades" in order to find the students who are very committed. And yes, the school has drawn in many so-called "gamers" but if you look around, the campus is full of people who have many other interests such as sports and other varying activities.

There are two stereotypes primarily inferred about UMBC. The first is that we are a school woh very intelligent students. This stereotype is true. Just looking at the description of the average gpa and SAT score of the students hear you will see that we are the cream of the crop. However, that is not to say that we are all super nerds who don't have fun. The second stereotype is that we are a science school. While it is true that the sciences are very big here and research in those areas are key, the arts and humanities are also very important. There is always live music, concerts, plays, and art shows. As well as discussion in various humanities type topics.

There is a stereotype that kids at this school are boring. This school is very academically proud and people think because of that that nobody had any fun. Speaking from personal experience I always have a ton of work to do but if I want to try to have fun I try to hang out with friends or go check out the activities on campus. This school is not college park but if you want to find something fun to do you can always do it, and you will be getting a good education while you are at it

Majority of students who goes to UMBC are commuters from all over Maryland, or Pennsylvania, etc. The students who do live on campus usually are also from Maryland, DC, VA area, and they usually go home on the weekends. There are numerous campus events during the weekdays but not a lot of them are on the weekends. Due to the fact that most students are commuters and on-campus residents are not on-site during the weekends, it is best to have a part-time weekend jobs if you do elect to live on campus, or like everybody else, go home on the weekends, if possible. The other students who goes to UMBC are international students, and they either live at Walker Avenue Apartments and are graduate students, or they live off-campus for the most part.

Students here are definitely more study oriented than other schools and therefore may be called geeks, nerds, or workaholics. UMBC is referred to in this way because we don't have a football team and we are definitely not known as a party school. This definitely is an accurate stereotype even though you can still find a party if you looked for one! Another stereotype is that we are a commuter school. While a majority of the students live on campus, many live within a 50-60 mile radius and therefore decide to commute.

Students here are definitely more study oriented than other schools and therefore may be called geeks, nerds, or workaholics. UMBC is referred to in this way because we don't have a football team and we are definitely not known as a party school. This definitely is an accurate stereotype even though you can still find a party if you looked for one!

People say UMBC is filled with Asians, commuters, science nerds and chess players. These aren't true at all. Asians make up less than a quarter of the student body. While most of the population commutes, the resident population is growing. Our school is well known for its many science programs, but more than half of the students are not majoring in science. The chess team only has 4 people on it and most students don't play chess regularly. People also say UMBC is boring. This is kind of true. If you want to have fun, you have to find it yourself. There are school-sponsored events, but they tend to have a really low turnout for whatever reason.

The stereotype of UMBC is that it is an all Asian campus even with nicknames like U Must Be Chinese, but while there are many Asians at UMBC, there are also students of every nationality imaginable. It is one of the most diverse campuses in the country with people from all different races and cultures which makes it very interesting. It also gets the stereotype of being a nerdy campus which is not true. The people here are smart, but as the sports editor of the school newspaper, I see a lot of support for the athletics on campus and other things of that nature.