<p>I live in Montgomery County, about 30 minutes from the campus. A lot of kids from my school go to UMD.</p>
<p>First of all, the PROS from what I know/have heard:</p>
<ul>
<li>It’s got a great party scene</li>
<li>Beautiful campus</li>
<li>Great journalism, business & engineering programs</li>
<li>Active student body</li>
</ul>
<p>But with a big party scene comes tons of riots. When my friends and I see an ambulance go in the direction of the school we joke about another drinking/riot binge.</p>
<p>Although the campus is pretty, the freshman dorms are HORRID. No air conditioning, cramped, very bad places to live. And you’re required to live on campus freshman year.</p>
<p>The academics are pretty good, especially for a state school, but a lot of classes are huge and it may be hard to get the one you want.</p>
<p>The surrounding area is NOT a good place to live. Prince George’s County is basically a ghetto with a high crime rate. It’s not Baltimore, but…if you want to live off campus, be warned it’s not the safest place.</p>
<p>It is a HUGE school, kids love sports here, and most of the people are (of course) from Maryland. It’s not hard to make friends, but it may be hard to get personal attention.</p>