University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

You have to get lost before you can be found.

You have to get lost before you can be found.

I wish I knew that it is ok not to understand everything you are learning in class. A lot of other students in the class also have the same questions as you so you shouldn't feel dumb when you ask a question in class. Going to college is about learning so you shouldn't expect to understand everything right away, it takes time and practice.

I wish I already knew what exactly I wanted to do in my career, it would have saved me a lot of years and I would have started preparing earlier.

I wish I had known to keep an open mind. Living only fifteen minutes away from campus, I was not as excited as some of the other students going out of state to go to college. However, I have learned that at UMD, college is like its bubble and hub. Futhermore, because I dorm, I do not feel that I am close to home at all. I also wish I had taken a risk and tried to room random. I stuck to a lot of my high school friends while others were meeting new people.

There is a large emphasis on Greek life, the club swim team is not very serious, getting on-campus housing is extremely hard, there are not many off-campus housing options, parking is a nightmare

I wish I paid closer attention to the timeline for completing my masters degree. After obtaining my undergraduate degree I pursued the masters degree with the same university. I was two classes shy of graduation when I went through a divorce and was unable to focus on classes. I had to quit school for a while. When I was ready to finish I found that too much time had lapsed and I lost all my credits in the masters program. I could not apply any of my past credits nor apply knowledge gained on the job toward my credit hours.

To get out of my comfort zone and really explore the university's offerings of various student activities.

That Maryland rather have a majority of in-state students, even if those in state students do not meet their usual standards to attend. In addition, I should have planned better financially. I knew I deserved to go to Maryland but I cannot afford to stay here regardless of how great of a student I am. College is a business, not a priviledge. It is about who can afford to go, and not who deserves to go.

Take advantage of Club Fair and Stamp Fest at the beginning of the semester because these are your only chances at connecting with various clubs, and clubs are your only chance at socializing if you don't make friends easily at parties.