University of Maryland — Attraction in College Park

How does this university even have a rating above 4? I have hated attending this university since I joined. Here are my reasons, as a PhD student:

Asked for accommodations for ADS. My original university usually has a two week turn around if they're unlucky, so I emailed this university on August 1st before the semester I officially started. They said their next available appointment was September 15th. I asked them how they expect me to not have accommodations for the first two weeks of school? They had an IDGAF attitude, but after much complaining, was finally able to push it up.

I have had accommodations in the past. Every university I've attended has been reasonable and has accepted accommodations from previous institutions, no questions asked. For UMD, I have to do more paperwork to "prove" I need accommodations. They never clearly tell me who to send it to, so I send it to an apparently defunct email address (I didn't know), and they take away my accommodations the next semester without telling me. I raise hell, get them back. Needless to say, I have never used my accommodations because I have now a severe lack of trust with ADS. Fortunately, my professors have been more than accommodating.

I TA for chemistry. I am assigned 80 lab reports a week, 2-4 hours of office hours, of which I get as many as 30+ students, no training on how to handle these many students, all students are amazing, but clearly need a lot of help (this is COVID btw), ask professor to help, they don't, I have a mental breakdown and they blame me. Needless to say, I never TA for chemistry again.

End of year 1

I fail the qualifier because my first advisor dud not prepare me correctly. First advisor dumps me during the qual. I talk with the program chair. He is very helpful (actually my new advisor and I love being in his lab), but at the time, there is a very strong possibility that I will have to master out. Old advisor "talks" with chemistry to try and get me TA there. Needless to say, I was without a TA that semester.

Talk with ombudsman. He hears my concerns and does nothing. I have to find a new advisor without him on my own. Fortunately, my new advisor is amazing and takes me on, but it took multiple convos and at first he was reluctant. Decided eventually to give an informal rotation.

End of year 2.

Apparently, I am not officially a PhD student because of the failed qual (on paper I am, but still need to pass the qual). I get my master's at my new advisor's advise (it really did help). I pass the qual with a new committee.

End of year 3 (thank God nothing majorly horrible happened)

I am trying to switch from SHIP to State Health Insurance (I finally have a stable TA line). After two months of the promise that it will occur, they reject me for the State insurance, tell me that I will have to pay for SHIP at close to $500 a month (it would have been $1000 for 5 months had I had it for the whole fall, and they did NOT prorate it). I raise hell. They do nothing. I refuse SHIP and get my own health insurance for $66 a month.

I apply for TA positions. For background, my department has no undergraduate courses, so we have to outsource to departments in CMNS. Due to a TA shortage, many of us are left without TA lines. Our department has no control over this, but students raise hell, and now many of us fortunately have TA lines next semester

CIO of university threatens to revoke my UMD computer access if I don't do "mandatory training" that is required for workers. As per The Graduate School, I am "first and foremost a student." This is more semantic of me and I don't mind doing the training, but it's great to know that I am not "first and foremost a student" in many cases.

Keep in mind, the spring semester has not...

Going here was the worst decision I have ever made. Anything you read online about this place saying it’s a good school is a lie.

All of my school work was case studies my professors plagiarized from a professor at a different University, then had their TA grade.

Unless you’re a freshman on north campus their gym and recreation centers are borderline inaccessible. The closest parking lot most students can get is 4B, about a hilly mile walk, otherwise you’ll have to wait until 4:00pm.

Anywhere you park DOTS will find a way to give you a $85 ticket

There are 3 overcrowded, overpriced bars for a school with something like 40,000 students

School actively tries to ruin Greek Life, with help from the few locals who live in COLLEGE PARK, they’re succeeding. For more info look up the “unruly social gatherings” law and its 75/65 db rule (about as loud as a normal conversation)

The food in the dining halls is inedible and gave people salmonella while I’ve been here

Dorms with no AC and black mold

The entire campus, and I mean ENTIRE CAMPUS is constantly under construction. This is not an exaggeration, I tried to count the ongoing construction projects on and around campus and lost track after 19

Every off campus option is egregiously overpriced and have awful living conditions. (Old town is no better)

The area around campus is horrendously dangerous. I know 2 people who’ve had their cars stolen in the past 3 years and several people who have been mugged

I could go on but I think my point has been made, UMD is a terrible place to go to school. The reason students graduating from here do so well is they’re so used to putting up with this BS that they can handle anything. The student body here is fantastic, it’s unfortunate their motivation and drive will be stomped out by this...

If you're a motivated and curious student craving a challenge, this place won't be for you.

I transferred to finish my undergraduate here, and was astonished by the lack of quality. Every class I took through the community health and public health departments (6 in total) was abysmal. I sat through class after class where the teacher had neglected to create any kind of plan and just droned on brainlessly. I had a teacher read off of power points that were essentially spark notes of a terrible text book, little more educational than reading a brochure. I had a lecherous teacher behave inappropriately with his female students, (!) and on top of it just fail to teach the class whatsoever. On several experiences I had professors say off color things about issues surrounding disability and mental health. The list goes on and on.

I thought my experience might be a fluke so I did some research-- I talked to other students in my program, I messaged a great deal of people online, hoping to get a better understanding of the average student experience. Every story was the same-- uninspired professors that phoned it in, poorly trained staff and an overall dysfunctional system. Even with STEM majors I was told about egregious inaccuracies in class materials and unchallenging courses.

It seems that (at least) at the undergraduate level, students are not the priority. This is a large research institution, and most of the professors care more about that.

However, there are some good professors, who will actually challenge you. They are typically the ones with negative reviews on 'rate my professor' complaining about 'how hard and unfair' they are. Take those classes. They probably won't be able to meet all your requirements, but if you're unable to afford anything out of state, it's probably...