<p>That is University of South Carolina. Can you compare or weigh in on student life at these campuses?</p>
<p>What is there to do if you don’t go Greek? </p>
<p>Does the Student Union stay open late on weekends, eateries, etc? Or does the campus shut down?</p>
<p>Aside from sporting events, are there campus activities or hang outs within walking distance of campus for underaged students to congregate?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I go to UMD and live off-campus so I’m not the best qualified to answer, but I’ll give my observations.</p>
<p>Greek: Only 10% of the school is greek. From what I’ve heard and read, most parties are either house or dorm parties… this thread might help <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1007092-parties.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1007092-parties.html</a></p>
<p>Eateries: I know the North Campus Diner (aka The Diner) has ‘late night’ most of the days, but it closes at 7 on Fridays and Saturdays. The fast food places in the student union also have shorter hours on weekends. The student union itself is open pretty late though, especially the TerpZone. I’ve driven around campus on a weekend and it seems pretty quiet, certainly a hell of a lot more quiet than it is during a school day.</p>
<p>Activities: Not sure what you mean? The TerpZone is a bowling alley and arcade. There are lots of clubs. As for hang outs near campus, there’s downtown College Park which has an alright number of hangouts and three (might become two) bars. Definitely not the best college town IMO, especially when compared to somewhere like Ann Arbor or Madison.</p>
<p>What is there to do if you don’t go Greek? Tons. Tons. Tons. There are so many active clubs and organizations on campus putting on concerts, poetry readings, protests, camping trips, speakers, skiing trips…you name it, it’s here. Plus, many Greek parties are still open, if you’re into getting trashed.</p>
<p>Does the Student Union stay open late on weekends, eateries, etc? Or does the campus shut down? The Student Union can be open pretty “late”, until about midnight. This past Friday for instance, there was a band setting up in the Student Union at 8pm…so I guess the show started later. There are also usually weekend movie showings or performances. But compared to during the week, the campus is definitely quieter on weekends. Most students go out onto Route 1 for eating especially…there are a lot of places open well past midnight off campus. I like to take my weekends to travel into DC and check out a museum or something going on in the city. I wouldn’t say the student union is generally the “place” to be on weekends haha.</p>
<p>Aside from sporting events, are there campus activities or hang outs within walking distance of campus for underaged students to congregate? Unfortunately, College Park is not the greatest town, but there are tons of “hang outs” nonetheless within walking distance. People like to chill in the various eateries around here - from Marathon Deli to Yogi Berry to Starbucks. There’s even two hookah bars/restaurants. A more alternative crowd will hang out at the vegetarian Berwyn Cafe (be sure to check out open mic nights). In terms of activities, yeah, there’s plenty. I can’t even begin to start talking about them because there are so many “meetings” and “events” going on at any given time. </p>
<p>Basically, MD is a great school in terms of offerings of activities and things to do outside of Greek life and sports. There are huge circles of people here who prefer passing on both yet still live on campus or right off campus in group houses or apartments. It’s probably one of the most chill and diverse campuses out there…that said, this can kinda get lost on a freshman, who is surrounded mostly by a lot of party obsessed people in the high rise freshmen dorms. Seeking out the creative/cool people can be difficult surrounded by this kinda “omg I’m away from my parts ahsjdhawahhhh!!!” atmosphere in the dorms. Additionally, the immediate college town is mostly defined by 2-3 really crappy bars that attract pretty gross people (think your stereotypical mean sorority girl/jock) and a lot of pizza and fast food open late to cater to said bar hopping crowd. That’s not to say there aren’t cool things around town that other, more rural campuses don’t have, but they tend to get overshadowed by this cluster****. So, yeah, I wish the college town was better and that the freshman experience was less of a crazy free for all, but ultimately the student body really gives it their all in terms of organizing all kinds of events, we have a few cool places around town, and there’s always DC, too!</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you for your ideas and information about UMD. We will continue our conversation and see where it leads him.</p>
<p>Best wishes,
Karen</p>