University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

My classmates in engineering were very competetive when it came to projects, but tight groups were formed early so everyone was able to succeed.

Engaged, helpful, friendly people that enjoy their university and their peers

Most are very friendly ,supportive and considerate, when it comes to school work.

In the bio dept, students are cut-throat to get ahead. Compete.

My classmates fall into just about every category I can think of.

i go to school with about 35,000 people so its hard to give a genreal discription of my classmates but we tend to all have the same attitude towards the learning material in a specific class. for examle if i hate it, that means most other people do as well.

My classmates are for the most part friendly with a good attitude and fun to hang around with, although I think some of the in-state kids have a more negative attitude, probably because this school was less likely to be their first choice.

Well-rounded, diverse, involved and academic individuals.

The students here are academically driven to be sure, but they are also very caught up with the party aspect of this school, there will be at least three people that are still hungover from the night before in a given class room of about 40 students. There seems to be a very collective atmosphere but it's not exactly a school of boys in sweater vests, girls in plaid skirts, rather there are plenty of baseballs caps and Ugg Boots.

Most people are pretty friendly but there always exceptions.

Family.

Diverse, but overall preppy.

My classmates are varied.

My classmates in college are no different than in high school, everyone still hangs out in groups and if you aren't in one you are alone most of the time.

active in class

Cool kids, usually pretty friendly and pretty much always willing to help if you ask (and sometimes you don't have to ask).

Witty, self-engaging in the material, and people can to to each other for help.

All of my classmates are very divers with different interest and expectations out of collge.

Diverse, outgoing college students who like to party but know when it's time to crack down on homework.

Ordinary students who want ordinary lives and see college as a tool to a better career.

Diverse, fun, and smart people.

Cut throat. Class competition for grades is high.

My classmates are at times helpful and the ones I confide in are most definitely there to give a helping hand every step of the way.

My classmates are welcoming, active, talkative, engaging, and helpful. I have made many friends of classmates who are older and more experienced. They share their experiences and always are available for study groups.

My classmates mostly seem to be on the same intelligence level as I am.

I went to a small homogeneous school growing up, so really appreciated the diversity at the University of Maryland - diversity at multiple levels - racial, ethnic, socioeconomic. State-wise though, lots of people from Maryland and New Jersey - especially if you're from Maryland, be prepared to run into random folks from different phases of your life. The student body is overall pretty apathetic - but dig a little deeper and you find active pockets of all sorts.

The political affiliations of the student body probably balance out somewhere just left of center, but not far. Because of the size, the student body is totally balkanized. Once I found my group of intellectuals, writers, artists, feminists, and queers, I delightedly self-segregated as well. It's a survival mechanism and a recipe for happiness in the impersonal city that is the UMD College Park campus. The campus is extremely diverse in every way except geographically: socioeconomically, racially, and religiously. Some of this diversity is visible and some is hidden. The diversity, unfortunately, is not coupled with a general sense of political and social awareness/activism. Students who'd likely feel out of place until struggling a bit to find their niche are humanities-oriented intellectuals and people who aren't interested in college sports and frat parties. After a while, though, they'll find their people. Whether they find their classes is a harder question.

UMD is too large to categorize--any type of person in all the above categories (religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, race, etc) can be found in large numbers at UMD. I also have a very skewed perspective on this since I was a physics major in the Gemstone program--meaning most students I interacted with were extremely intelligent, and most were middle/upper-middle class (although definitely not wealthy).

It's a state school, so obviously you have a lot of MD kids. But, there is a substantial population of students from the North-East (NY,NJ,CT,PA) and a rapidly growing population of students from the Mid-West and Atlanta areas. Whatever demographic you'd gravitate toward individually, there probably exists a strong cohort/community of that group at UMD. As a Jewish student, that aspect of community was central to me and I couldn't be happier with the UMD Jewish environment.

There is a place for everyone at Maryland. With such a large campus, it's easy to find people that you relate to. Class is really casual but it depends on the person, it ranges from pajamas to really stylish and well dressed, but no one cares what you're wearing either way. Some students are extremely politically aware but a great deal of students are really apathetic, which is unfortunate being so close to DC. I would say that most students are center/left,

I don't think anyone would feel out of place at UMD. There's always a group or club for each race, religion, etc. Most students wear sweats to class, we're too tired to look good. The campus is really diverse and a lot of people interact with each other because they have common interests or they share the same class.

I don't think any kind of student would feel out of place at UMD. There are many different clubs and organizations around causes of all kinds, and it's easy to find your own niche in this gigantic school. The hardest adjustment I think for new students is if they come into the university as a commuter. One of the greatest things about starting out at this school is living on campus and fully experiencing everything it has to offer. Student attire to classes is typically sweatshirts and jeans and t-shirts, nothing too fancy normally. Occasionally a lot of people will be dressed up for career days. The dining hall is a ridiculous example of how students interact on campus; it's quite large and typically groups of 1-8 people sit with people they know. I typically just take my food to go and don't eat in the dining hall itself. Most UMD students are from Maryland, being as the University is the flagship university of the state. Other states well represented are New Jersey and New York. I'm not sure about the financial backgrounds of students here. I know I personally come from a family where my sister and I were eligible for free and reduced meals in high school, and I've never felt threatened by others of higher economic status. A good bit of students are politically active, but there are efforts to create a higher amount of political awareness on campus. Voter registration drives happen often. From what I've heard, the campus is predominantly left, with a good bit of center, and a small passion sect of the right. The College Democrats and College Republicans support political involvement of all kinds, and work together to discuss issues in a civil, democratic manner. I know a lot of engineers and students in the business school, and many of them talk about how much money they'll earn one day. Personally, a lot of the people in other majors I know are really passionate about what they are studying and are really more interested in learning the most they can so they can be ready for the job market and so they are best equipped to do what they want to do in life.

I haven't had any negative experiences with any groups on campus. I think a student that is extremely shy would feel out of place because there are so many people to meet and make friends with. People wear anything from military uniforms to sweatpants. I don't eat at the dining hall so I wouldn't know. I would say middle class would be the average. I would say that a fair number of students are politically aware/active. Barack Obama came to speak at the Comcast Center the day before the Maryland primaries and there were so many people that I had to stand outside in the freezing cold for an hour to get inside. I don't know the political views of most of the students. I have not heard of students talking about how much they'll earn one day.

1. I am a part of a Christian group on campus and have had positive expereinces with other ministry groups on campus. I firmly believe that all groups deserve the right to meet and empower themselves and have had no conflicts with other groups, even if some groups I personally do not agree with (whether it be in principles, politics, whatever). 2. Students who make no effort to do anything would feel out of place. Because the school is so large, if you do not take initiative, nothing will ever be given to you. 3. Jeans, t-shirt. Some people (usually freshmen) take extra effort to look nice, but as they get older it eventually gets to sweats and flip flops. 4. I'd like to say yes, but from what I have seen, students definitely tend to stick to their own race. 5. Athlete table, People coming from or to the same class, people from the same dining hall, and/or various tables according to race. 6. Most are from MD or NJ 7. Most seem middle class 8. Not so active, but definitely not ignorant. 9. Predominantly left, as is MD as a state. 10. Business students do at least. Other majors I cannot say.

The Maryland campus is diverse. On any given walk to class, you'll see people of different races, religions, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, etc. I don't think any kind of student would feel left out because there seems to be social sects for everyone. That being said, the group themselves don't really interact too much outside of class. They probably do more than a typical ivy league school or something, but the interactions between groups could increase. Most students wear sweats to class and are from the state of Maryland. Although there are a lot of students from the New York/New Jersey area as well. For in-state kids, the financial backgrounds all vary, though I would say most are middle class. The out-of-state kids tend to be more affluent, though it all depends on scholarships, aid and whatever else. Most students are predominantly left leaning in their politics and there is always some kind of rally going on on the Mall.

There is a lot of diversity at UMD. Most are from Maryland or the neighboring states.

You'll be fine. Students interact but not a ton of diversity. Leftist mostly i think.

Most Maryland students are in-state students. You have a lot of people from Jersey and New York as well. There are large numbers of blacks and Jews. But you see more out-of-state students who come to be a part of certain academic programs. The Greeks stick together. You can spot one from a mile away. The guys wear polo shirts and khaki pants, the girls wear large sunglasses and ugg boots. It can get annoying if you're not one of them. Politically passionate people can be found ready to lobby in DC, but you also have people who don't care. For the most part, the campus is fairly liberal. However, there's a group for everyone, political or not.

UMD is so big and incredibly diverse, I'm not sure anyone would feel left out as a whole. Of course, I'm sure they'd encounter people that made them feel unwelcome, but that's just part of the diversity. Jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, sweat pants, pajama pants (blech), mostly just casual stuff, but people still usually look pretty good. There are lots of groups made up of the same type of people, but organizations and clubs and the like are usually pretty diverse. Most UMD students are from MD, NJ, NY/Long Island.