University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

I feel that the school places too much emphasis on the science and math courses, which sort of trickles down into the general mindset of students that only those courses are important. Many students do not regard the liberal arts courses with the same respect that they would the science and math courses.

A reputation of a "party school" attracts some unmotivated people to an otherwise hard working and driven group of students.

The worst thing about University of Maryland in my opinion is the lack of community development geared towards transfer students, especially commuters. Transfer students are huge assets to the school in that they bring outside perspective and new ideas that have been cultured in a diverse range of academic and professional experiences. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy way for transfer students to know their options or to meet others in similar situations. Unless the transfer student is particularly extroverted and charasmatic, it is way too easy for him or her to become estranged from one's own college community.

The worst thing would be campus housing. First of all, there aren't enough dorms to guarantee housing for more than two years. Second, the dorms are very outdated. Before Oakland Hall opened in 2011, the newest residence halls were the ones opened in 1982. Not all of the dorms are air-conditioned, which made fall move-in very uncomfortable. Also, my eight-story dorm had two laundry rooms, each with only four washers and four dryers. Lastly, there are only two dining halls on campus, which can make grabbing a bite to eat inconvenient due to the long walk.

On campus, there is a large difference between how many black students there are to how many non-blacks. It is definitely a bit of a culture shock for black students. It is not as many of them, so it will take some getting used to, especially if you hail from a predominantly black community, such as SouthEast Washington, DC, where i'm from.

The lack of career direction and job oppurtunities while pursuing a degree. It would be nice for more guidance, and a better understanding of the job market, especially for younger students to prepare them for graduation. 4 years go by fast and it is hard for an 18-19 year old kid to choose a career path with so little real world experience.

The worse thing about my school is course study material is very challenging. Perticular for my major study, I we have too much homework to deal with, instead of having enough time to study for the material. It would be great if the amount of time spend on homework could balance with amount of study time.

Off campus housing cost! Because of the number of students, most people can not stay on campus past their sophomore year. Landlords in the area are aware of this and therefore charge a great deal to rent within the campus' vicinity.

Why is this such a negative scholarship? The worst thing about my school would be that its hard to meet new people after the first few weeks of school. Once people find their cliques, they are done trying new things.

Some buildings are old and some are brand new.

The worst thing about the University of Maryland College Park is the parking. There are few places where students are allowed to park, and those places are generally very far from where you live. Parking permits are also very expensive, as are tickets for parking where you are not supposed to park.

The worst thing about UMCP would probably have to be the diner food. Not only is the selection of the food sub-par, but the food itself is rarely good and healthy options are difficult to find. The salad bar is great, but even grilled chicken or other normally healthy options are drenched in oil and grease. If the diner food were improved, UMCP would be a perfect school in my mind.

I think there could be more opportunities for financial aid for current students. They have scholarships for prospective students and transfer students and returning students but barely any scholarships for current students. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA in college for the past five semesters and I feel like that is not recognized. Maryland could give more financial aid and scholarships.

The University of Maryland runs the same risk as any other large, top-flight public research institution- while its copious resources allow students to take advantage of amazing research and internship opportunities, they also have to deal with an administration working with almost 30,000 other students. This means that some student problems will get lost in a deluge of administrative red tape. However, if one is persistant in working with staff to solve an issue, that issue will undoubtedly be solved, even though it may take more effort than it would at a smaller school.

Worst thing about my school is having so many amazing and intelligent students around. Does that make it bad? Absolutely no, but rather it’s beneficial because you have so many students to spend some time, and become good friends. They make college life so much fun, and you know you always have someone to talk whenever you’re seeking companion.

The worse thing about UMD was campus the availability of campus housing for students. You were only guaranteed housing for the first two years and there was not many who lived on campus after those two years unless they lived in expensive upperclassman housing or were RAs on campus. I was an RA my 3rd and 4th year.

The worst thing about the University of Maryland is definitely its size. It truly is a huge campus. Campus is not set up a specific way. There are dorms right next to classes and classes right next to the dining halls. There is no structure, so it is a hike to every class. Since I commute, I can vouge for saying that the campus is actually pretty steep. There is always hills. University of Maryland has really good programs, but they definitely make you work for it by the hike you have to take everyday at school.

The worst thing about this school is the amount of drinking done by the students. It looks like half of the people I see on the bus at night lack the ability to walk on their own.

The housing tends to be split between athletes and non-athletes, but that is imprving.

The worst thing about my school is perhaps that the surrounding county it is located in has a moderately high degrees of crime. During late night time the main campus and dormitories can be unsafe to anyone including residential students. However there is high degree of security that protects students, so crime is always minimized. While I consider this to be the worst aspect about my school it is also quite benign in the big picture since crime is lower in College Park than in other universities.