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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Honors dorm - Prince Frederick - awesome
Food - awesome.

Freshman male engineer[/quote]

My dd is in the honors dorms and they are very very nice! My other 2 kids who went to different schools say they are the nicest they have seen. Food is also very good compared to other campuses we are familiar with. Its a big school but compact. It isn't often that you will have classes more.than a 10 minute walk away. Social is good, the dow town area has come a long way, with lots.9f food options and DC is close and easy to get to for other things. 
Cons: non honors dorms some are.older. 
Dd is chemistry major, sophomore and has already been in 2 research groups. She has some.good.options for internships this summer. My other 2 kids who did not want to be close to home so went further now feel that they should have given Maryland a look.[/quote]
Honors programs are located in multiple dorms. [b]Gemstone, the only 4 year program, is housed in Ellicott, one with no air conditioning.[/b] However, I believe its scheduled for installation. [/quote]

Yup.  My kid was in Ellicot.   Not having the AC was the only con.  And not having an AC in the dorm room is only an issue for a month or so.

The beauty of Ellicott was that all kids became friends very quickly because they all hung out in the AC common rooms.  One floor common room was designated party room and movie room, another floor was the quite study hall.

Another pro for Ellicott was that no one was having wild and crazy parties there. The 5-star dorms had parties (which the Ellicott kids attended) but the guests trashed it.  There was a lot of drinking and puking every where.  My kid was happy that Ellicott public bathrooms did not have a puke problem.

Anyways - for my kids who both doubled majored because coming from MoCo MCPS had earned them boatload of credits because of 12+ APs.

GOOD - 
- CS, Physics, Math, Econ, Engineering (the ones that I know of)
- Very good food, many places to eat
- Honors college helps get in-college assitantship.  Use their placements and counselors
- Amazing paid internships (my kid was in CS) all the years in DMV and beyond. 
- Merit scholarships, also will give scholarships for NMS finalists.  8K over 4 years. Great group of really smart kids
- Nice off-campus apartmentsLots of cheapish eating places, boba tea, grocery stores etc near the apartments. Ikea closeby
- Large student body. Lots and lots of opportunities to try out new things, cultural events, games... etc

BAD 
- College Park is improving but as someone said it is not a quaint pretty town.  
- Pr Georges grittiness outside of college ...it is improving though...and attempts to make it prettier

UGLY
- I haven't seen the ugly yet.  Maybe my kid and his friends were in a bubble and were not part of living or witnessing any kind of ugliness.

I do not know how it is for poor students, international students, Trans LGBTQ students, students with addiction issues, disability issues, immigration issues.  These are the things that can make life ugly. I also do not know of suicides, deaths, bullying, rapes, trafficking, crimes.  I am sure it happens.  Always know that things can always go wrong and be vigilant and make good choices.

My kids do not hang out with 1%er kids.  Most are instate and come from educated families from all walks of life. The vibe is liberal and progressive.  I am sure there are Charlie Kirk followers too but my non-White kid did not face anything negative.

It is a familiar, comforting and beloved institution.  It has given an excellent education to my kid and an amazing job opportunity. [/quote]

This poster nails it.

A couple more things. There were a couple of years during the peak construction of the Purple line and the improvements of Route 1 that construction around campus was truly unbearable. With Rt 1 fully finished, and the Purple line for far behind, construction is pretty normal for a healthy, non-stagnant town.

Athletics is currently a dumpster fire. Some games are well attended, but the teams are currently so bad, that the majority are not. Some top recruits are coming next year, so there's some hope that things will start turning around.

Overall it is a great university, with some programs top of the nation (CS, physics, criminology). College Park is nothing like a decade ago, and now has one of the best concentrated food scenes in the area. The university and students have events non-stop, and the city also started organizing some goofy events that add even more life to the town. It is still not a charming college town, but I'd say that with all the pros above, and proximity to DC, it is a truly good school.[/quote]

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