<p>My take based on my son’s experience:</p>
<p>There are wonderful a capella groups at UMD. My son is in one of the groups and keeps quite busy rehearsing and performing with them. They go on a Spring Break performance tour every year.</p>
<p>I don’t think there are student-run theater opportunities, but maybe we just didn’t encounter them. If your son is a leader, he could form a group. I think there are a lot of people who enjoyed their high school theater experiences who would love to participate. It just takes one person to start it.</p>
<p>Relationships with professors are possible no matter how large or small the class, although it is probably easier in smaller classes. Professors love students to visit and discuss ideas during office hours.</p>
<p>The size of non-honors classes depends on the major and the level of the class. The 100 and 200 level classes tend to be large. 300 and 400 level classes are small to medium sized, depending on the major and topic. If you sit in the front of the class, you never notice how many people are sitting behind you.</p>
<p>There are so many activities happening on campus every night that many students never leave the campus and immediate surrounding area. Other students take advantage of living close to DC. It depends on a student’s own interests. It is very easy to get into DC. There are shuttle buses to the nearby Metro (subway) station.</p>
<p>For students in the Honors Program, the center of social life varies from student to student. Freshmen tend to engage in social activities with their hall mates. By the 2nd semester or fall of
Sophomore year, they tend to branch out beyond their hall mates, but still maintain many of the friendships.</p>