• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Campus life / University of Maryland On Campus Living

University of Maryland On Campus Living

September 14, 2014 //  by Lyla Lawless

FacebookTweet

Join the Community

Living Learning Programs

(Honors Humanities students at the original center of campus. According to legend, any student who steps on the center of the circle will fail to graduate on time. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Lee)

 
Maryland creates community through an extensive living-learning program system. Admissions offers many freshmen spots in the seven Honors College programs, 12 College Park Scholars programs and other initiatives. Members of these communities live in the same building or floor together and take program-specific classes. Senior mechanical engineering major Micaela Larson, who participated in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation honors program, said, “I loved meeting and living with these wacky, wild, lovable geniuses and it was the highlight of my experience at UMD.”

Freshmen who did not participate in living-learning can apply in future semesters to programs such as the Language House or the Jiménez-Porter Writer’s House.

Greek Life

(Photo courtesy of Alpha Omega Pi)

Maryland’s 56 fraternities and sororities maintain an established but not overwhelming presence on campus. There are plenty of traditional Greek organizations, but students can also take advantage of a number of service, cultural and academic fraternities. They’re active around campus and are easy to spot thanks to their omnipresent recruitment shirts and letter bags. Members are especially spirited during Homecoming and Greek Week, which boasts hilarious skits and Olympic challenges. You'll find recruitment flyers to be common in public bathrooms during rush season. It’s easy to go Greek, but not necessary to a thriving social life.

 

Where We Live

Freshmen

(Oakland Hall; photo courtesy of wdgarch.com)

Most freshmen live in the North Campus eight-story high rises, which are three clusters ("communities") of nondescript brick rectangles packed with cinderblock double rooms. Still, recent years brought air conditioning to most halls, and the location is prime for music students, gym fanatics and anyone with a love for all-you-can-eat diner 251 North (that is, everyone at Maryland).

Freshmen also might find themselves in South Campus’s hot and cramped older halls, such as Wicomico, Worcester or Dorchester. Fortunately, South Campus includes much friendlier on-campus suites and apartments in its impeccably landscaped South Hill community. Unfortunately, getting into the kitchen-equipped apartments requires some housing lottery hijinks. Only folks with connections to rising seniors should attempt it.

 

Everyone Else

Sophomores with decent housing lottery numbers may bid for the recently built, LEED-certified Oakland Hall suites in Denton Community. If this fails, and you instead score a south-facing room in Ellicott Hall, brace yourself. The marching band practices at Byrd Stadium start very, very early on Saturday mornings.

(Harford Hall, a suites-only residence hall on South Hill. Photo courtesy of resnet.umd.edu)

Most upperclassmen opt for the better furnished and comparably priced South Campus Commons (which are designated “off-campus” but, geographically, are mixed in with South Hill residence halls) or Courtyards (located squarely off-campus). Axelrod, a former Courtyards resident, said, “The apartments are much nicer than those in Commons, and that pool is a godsend during finals season and summer.” Both are offered only to incoming juniors. The View and Varsity present similar options, at higher rent, to any student. For those with sticker shock, off-campus houses rent for hundreds of dollars cheaper. With these, you may need to invest in a car or bike. 

(South Campus Commons; photo courtesy of bkma.com)

 

The Vibe

Where to Hang Out

Where to Study

Where to Eat On Campus

Death to the Dining Hall

Caffeine Fix

Goodbye Freshman 15

We're Going Streaking Through the Quad

Annual Bashes

Getting Outside the College Bubble

FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Campus life Life Maryland

About Lyla Lawless

Lyla Lawless

You May Also Like

ucla royce

10 Resources All Student Artists at UCLA Should Know About

10 Virtual Ways to Make Friends in College Without Joining Greek Life

The Ultimate Guide to the Sorority President Life at St. John’s University

Dismantling the System: Diversifying Your Narrative at a PWI

10 Ways UC Irvine Students Cope with Senioritis (Covid-19 Edition)

Interview with St. John’s University SGI President Roger Guevara

The Happiest Campus: A Student’s Guide to Auburn University 

Top 21 Things to Do Prior to Graduating St. John’s University

10 St. John’s University Finals Activities to Help You De-Stress

10 Easy Ways to Make Sure Your Spring Semester Doesn’t Suck

A Gator’s Bucket-List: 21 Things to Do Before Graduating From UF

the receptionist

A Conversation with the Receptionist

best classes

10 Best Classes You Need to Take at Drake University

St Salvators Quad image

My Hate/Love Relationship With My Joint Degree Program

College students walking

Becoming a Chameleon at Other College Campuses

And Suddenly, I Found Myself Living With a Stranger

Top 10 Safest Colleges and Campuses in the United States

CampusLife_sm

CM’s Top 10 Schools Doing Residential Life Right

colleges for future philanthropists

Live to Give: Top 10 Colleges for Future Philanthropists

Top 10 COVID-19 Safe Activities to Do Near Fresno, California

One Girl and a Whole World: What I Learned from My International Friends

fog

10 Reasons Why Bennington College Is the Quirkiest College

crim dell bridge

10 Signs That You’re a True TWAMP: Typical William & Mary Person

10 Tech Gifts to Make Zoom University That Much Easier

Previous Post: « The Dreaded 8 a.m.: A Survival Guide
Next Post: Tips to Tackling Apartment Anxiety and Achieving Adulthood »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

dancing dreams
63

Saying Goodbye to My Dreams of Dancing

50

Stargazing in the Sand: My Trip to Terlingua, Texas

42

How My Childhood Bully Followed Me to College

9

Top 10 Covid-19 Safe Spots to Explore Near UCLA

Brass-colored 21 foil balloons inside a room.
8

10 Spots to Celebrate Your 21st Birthday Near UCLA

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.