The Varsity College Park — Attraction in College Park

This is, without a doubt, the worst living experience I have ever had in my entire life. There are multiple reasons you should literally never consider living here, and they are as follows. 1. The fire alarm goes off all the time. Its just for testing, but it is extremely loud and goes off during all hours of the day. it has woken me up at 3am before an exam, it has woken me up at 6am on a saturday and kept going until 8 am, and it has gotten to the point that when there is a real fire in the building, I will not leave the building because they have conditioned me to disregard the fire alarm entirely, and I know that I am far from the only person that feels this way. If there ever is a large scale fire, I am confident that I would just stay in my room and not leave because there have been at least 50 occurrences of the fire alarm going off over the past 6 months alone and not one of them has been real. This has to be a massive violation of safety and questionably legal at best. 2. The appliances are a wreck. The washer gets absolutely filled with black mold, the shower heads were replaced with new ones that have much lower water pressure so the Varsity and Greystar can save a few bucks a month. The washer also leaked everywhere across the floor in my experience. The dishwasher has a tremendous amount of buildup and mold in it, to the point that it does not work at all and just coats all of the dishes in it with grime. it is truly a severe health hazard. I filled out maintenance requests for all of these issues and not one of them was taken care of. all three requests involving these issues were marked as taken care of while they literally did nothing. The request regarding the dishwasher? It was marked as complete with a comment saying "There is no buildup". Which tells me they didn't even bother to look inside of it and see the very obvious buildup. their lack of care has put me and my roommates health at risk because they cant be bothered to take care of the appliances that they provide for us even though it is simply their job. As for the request about the mold in the washing machine? Also marked as completed and left with a comment saying "No mold or buildup in the washing machine" even though if you open it, it is clear as day that there is a good amount of black mold coating the rubber ring that goes around the door of the washing machine. this is an incredible health code violation and I am baffled that they have the audacity to do absolutely nothing and yet say everything is fine. The other request involving the massive amount of leaking from the washing machine was marked as completed and with a comment saying "It was tested and there was no leaking. Try using it again and let us know what happens." I tried using it again and what do you know, it leaked everywhere again. How do they think that this is okay to do to us while jacking up our rent prices when Greystar bought the building? I pay 1000$ per month for the most generic bedroom in a 4 bedroom apartment above a bar that is incredibly loud and prevents me from sleeping on most nights. Finally, my toilet was leaking for a long while. It would keep flushing. I filed requests, made calls, reported it, and then at the end of the month I had a $300 water and sewage bill. When I called to dispute it, they said there was nothing that I could do about it and that I would have to pay it. It took numerous calls and in person talks to even get them to accept that they messed up and didn't do their job while trying to past the cost on to me. Do not live here. Don't consider it. They will take every single penny they can from you and then try to convince you that its your own fault all the while you are likely getting sick from black mold and grime buildup in the washing machine and dishwasher, and when you use the washing machine it will leak everywhere, and they will do nothing to fix it. A lot of these issues are arguably legal issues and I would absolutely have no problem taking that route if something is...

Lease somewhere else.

While the Varsity tries to entice you with its granite counter tops and bamboo floor (two things that no college student ever even acknowledges in day to day living) it fails to deliver on the essentials like reliable internet, good plumbing, and working appliances. Things break at the Varsity, and fairly often. From my experience, and those of my roommate and next door neighbors, lights, toilets, refrigerators, doors, dish washers, microwaves, and air vents all broke at some point during the one year leasing period. The "free printing" requires you to bring your own paper, and 90% of the times I have tried to print, the (one and only) printer is broken. You will also get the pleasure of being woken up at 3am by the blaring sounds of the Varsity's emergency alarm (positioned right over the head of the bed), for no reason at all. This will leave you waiting outside in the cold for about 30 minutes before they let you back inside (better to just ignore the alarm actually). Although it is hard to ignore the alarms when they are "testing" them for 5 hours straight while you are trying to study. If your room is on the inside loop of the parking lot, you will have every single obnoxious sound echo throughout the poorly designed layout, waking you up multiple times throughout the night. Did I mention that the Varsity sits across the street (the hideous and loud route 1) from a fire station? Did I also mention that the PG County fire department is the most active fire department in the country? Expect to hear the screams of fire engine sirens multiple times per night. There is no sleeping through them. In addition, you might wake up one morning to see that you don't have running water. This is very handy especially when the typical student is waking up for class and wants to experience the luxury of showering, brushing their teeth, or even using the bathroom. For some reason water maintenance can't be scheduled at night, or even in the middle of the day. No, it has to be scheduled during prime water usage time. Lastly, there doesn't seem to be any sort of logic behind monthly utility bills. In my honest opinion I think the Varsity picks numbers out of a hat each month and that is what you pay (but don't try to pay the utility bill online, there is an additional $20 fee. Also don't try to pay with cash, it's written check and written check only).

Now I realize that all of these complaints could be viewed as over dramatic, and I realize that these types of things do happen at apartment complexes. However, for the incredibly hefty price that the Varsity charges monthly, these issues should not exist. Are there good things about the Varsity? Yes, and all in all the majority of the time everything is fine (with the exception of the noise and fire station, that happens around the clock). But there are better/cheaper options out there, so my advice is to keep searching. But then again, I do love those granite counter tops...

Currently adding to this review one month later. Came back to the Varsity today to see the entire lobby underwater with waterfalls cascading over the walls and down out of the light fixtures. From the third floor down is basically underwater at this point. But have no fear, the Varsity was quick to come up with an answer. How do you stop water from washing away your apartment complex? Shut the water off. Now nobody knows how long the water will be off because the Varsity management wasn't even considerate enough to send out an email updating the residents on the situation. I just hope 7/11 doesn't run out of gallon water jugs. I wonder how many I'll need to quickly shower myself... or brush my teeth... or go to the bathroom. Sure hope people don't start defecating in the hallways. But then again, most of them are (often) drunk...

The Varsity is a new building offering housing almost exclusively to students at UMD College Park. It is located right on the edge of campus and there is a walking path for access to the campus. One should be aware, however, that it is still a pretty long hike to get to the classroom buildings from The Varsity. The Varsity offers several floor plans for their apartments. In each, a student has his own bedroom and private bath, I believe. Access to each student's private quarters is controlled by a unique key lock. There is a common kitchen and living area. Not surprisingly, these are kind of small. However, the shared apartment comes with all of the amenities one might hope for, including washer/dryer, fridge/freezer, stove, and microwave. The apartments also come with furniture, including beds, bureaus, couch/chair, and even a flat screen TV in the common living room. Additionally, there is a "game room" and an exercise facility in the building. It was all of these included features that sold me on The Varsity as the best place to secure housing at UMD for my son quickly. As a transfer student, he was on a long waiting list for living arrangements on campus, and we couldn't take the risk of waiting.

So, at first glance, The Varsity is an excellent solution for student housing. It offers a simple, quick solution to the housing problem. That is its strength, and the owners clearly understand that. I have not been inside the place since I signed up my son to live there, so I can't comment on whether or not there is damage to property, vomit, etc. My son hasn't mentioned it to me and I haven't asked.

There are a few things prospective parents need to know about The Varsity before committing to them. First, the monthly rent is high for what you get compared to other apartments available in the College Pard area--but you are paying for convenience at The Varsity. Second, the staff is composed of twenty-somethings who do not know what they are doing. I don't know this for a fact, but suspect that the majority of the staff are also residents. They are mostly air-heads. Third, you will receive an option to have an automatic bank draft for your student's rent, and if you select it you will still get an e-mail notice threatening you with a late fee if you don't pay on time. (Air head management). Fourth, I was under the impression that the utilities in the apartment are covered. Well, they are NOT. that is a lie. Only $30 worth of credit is given per month per student. Consequently, in addition to the high rent, I regularly receive an invoice for utilities from The Varsity that amounts to about another $75 every month Again, the method of collection is a testament to the stupidity of the management. This includes such things as trash removement, electric, and more. Not disclosed before you sign the lease.

Parking, if your student has a car, is an additional charge. I don't remember off hand what it is, but it is costly. Something around $100 per month.

In conclusion, if you understand all of this, especially all of the hidden fees that drive the cost per month up to something like $1200+ for a single bedroom in a triple or quad, and you are willing to spend the money, then convenience factor is good. I think that is The Varsity's market strategy. They are banking on people paying more for convenience.

What they actually deliver, in terms of living conditions, I will leave to other...