University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Gessica

Although I love my school, I would say that the worst thing about my school would be the class sizes. Especially majors related in STEM fields, the aveverage class size is about 80-100. Instead of having several sections of a class at different time there is usually only one section of a specific class that everyone must attend, resulting in class sizes that can be a bit overwhelming.

Diamond

I would consider the worst thing about Maryland is the largeness of the campus. The enormous amount of students and spreading of the campus can take away from a personal feel that students might get at a smaller campus. I think that a campus this large takes away from personal connections. In order to get around the potential loneliness a student might encounter, it's important to make connections within the smaller communities. Otherwise, students might feel like they don’t belong anywhere.

Celena

The campus is huge. My lecture classes are about 300-400 students. This is the worst part about the school because I prefer a more intamiate learning environment where you can really get to know many of the people in your class. Smaller classes also make it easier to meet new people and form study groups.

Kyle

Coming from personal experience, the size of the student body can cause a bit of pain. The dorms are crowded, the classes are crowded, the Diner is always busy, and the professor will likely never know your name. This can cause a lot of issues to students who are not accustomed to living with others, being in constant communication with others, and not easily aquiring personal experience with their teacher.

Bria

The traffic!

Rachel

The large emphasis on Greek life

Marta

dots, meal plan, research professors not professor professors

Nicole

Many students don't look both ways when crossing the street or always walk into you because they are texting and walking. They often take up the entire sidewalk when walking in group and expect you to move to the sidewalk. No extra resources for language majors or minors with the exceptions of Spanish, French and sometimes Chinese. You can't study abroad your last school year (fall and spring semesters).

Thomas

Sometimes websites and departments feel very fragmented and partialized.

Brianne

There are plenty of little grievances I could raise regarding UMD: the fact that the Diners on-campus close at 8 on Fridays and Saturdays, how our left-over dining points don't roll over into the next semester- but go to waste, or how the heat has to be left on in the buildings over break (regardless of outside temperatures!). Truly, though, I love UMD and I can't complain too much. If anything, I sometimes hate the huge scale of the student body- and how on most walks to class I don't recognize a soul.

Kelly

The worst thing about the University of Maryland is that it has such a huge campus. Although I love it, the long walks to get basically anywhere on campus can become tiring throughout the semester. It is especially difficult when the majority of the classes you are enrolled in are located all the way across campus from where you live. However, there are a good majority of useful buildings located extremely close to my dorm such as the gym, dining hall, convenience store, and study areas.

Nayo

The worst part of my school would have to be the food. It's not exactly bad but it's not the best either. I've visited other schools like St. John's up in Queens, New York where the food was amazing. Aside from that, the food selection is limited so it gets repetitive and questionable (meaning-what is that?) at times, but not the worst I've ever had. I'm still alive and healthy so that's all that matters.

Elena

The lack of resources. Counselors are hard to reach and the financial aid center is not helpful at all.

Danielle

The worst thing about my school is that when it rains there are huge puddles everywhere.

Kimberly

The worst thing about UMD for me is the dining plan. As a student with food allergies, I find it extremely difficult to have a satisfying diet while at school. There is not a lot of diversity in the food that the dining halls offer, which forces me to constantly be eating the same things which is frustrating. This situation could be improved a great deal if there were more food options available and if things were switched up more often to give more variety.

Caleb

The worst thing about my school to me, is the racial cliques, it seems as people of the same race seem to gravitate towards each other without allowing to make new friends with someone of a different ethnicity

Mauricio

The distance between buildings can make it hard to get to classes on time

Breanne

The worst thing about UMD is the dorms. Very few of the freshman dorms have air conditioning. Also, they are very small. I am currently in a quad, and it is a very tight squeeze. It is hard to perform well when you are not in a comfortable living space. During my fall semester, I had many sleepless nights because of my living conditions. Believe it or not, sleep is crucial in college because without it, it is very hard to concentrate. I have learned this the hard way.

Hawa

The long walks to class but it is good excerise.

Allison

The school is huge, so walking from class to class during the winter time is torture. Walking from class to class on a sunny fall or spring afternoon is very enjoyable though.

Nathan

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.

Mary

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

Crista

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.

Evan

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.

Asad

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.

andrew

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.

Xiao

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.

Emily

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.

Jaclyn

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.

Jing

Some buildings are old and some are brand new.

Lisa

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.

Amber

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.

Jasmine

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.

Jonah

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.

Gerson

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.

Caroline

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.

Alysha

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.

David

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.

Samantha

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

Paul

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.

Samantha

Crime, campus and off-campus crime is not managed well.

Rebekah

The customer service at the dining facilities and food court is poor. It is rude to assume that just because we are college kids, we don't care about customer service. The opposite is true.

Rebecca

There is not a lot of support for students who live off-campus and commute.

Esther

The teachers. I have had, perhaps, bad luck with teachers. Usually, every semester half of my teachers are terrible, as in they dont know how to teach, they don't have an organized plan for the semester, and they are not engaging at all. I have reported many teachers to the heads of their department, he has been helpful most of the time. I just don't understand how so many terrible teachers get 10 yeared at this school, it is beyond me.

Jaclyn

The huge lecture halls for gen ed classes.

Safiyah

I really can't think of anything bad about the University of Maryland. University of Maryland has given me so many oppurtuines in my field of interest. I am very fortunate to be a student here.

Brian

A combination of the dining hall services (which have improved since I have moved off-campus) and the relatively mediocre quality of the downtown area. The downtown isn't what one would call classy, but this is to be expected in a college town. The nice thing is that both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore are easily accessible to those who prefer to spend their time in larger cities.

Janae

The worst thing abot my school is the class size in some of the lecture halls. This prevents the professor from truly knowing his/her students.

Veronica

There are a lot of people you run into that you know from high school or who you have seen around. This is because it is a state school.

Vanamala

The area it is in; the area has a high crime rate.