APARTMENT LIFE AT UMD

When applying for University Housing, there are a few important decisions to make. For one, are you even going for living on-campus, or do you want to live off-campus? If you do decide to live in university housing, what kind of meal plan do you want? Do you want to live in co-ed or single gender dorms? Do you need to be closer to your classes, or is it alright to be farther away? And do you want to live in traditional dorms, or apartment style dorms?

Apartments and Dorms both have their pros and cons. Apartment units in Oakland and most other buildings consist of two double bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen, unlike traditional dorms, which are usually just a double room with a communal bathroom for the hall. Most of the apartment buildings are not connected to the rest of the campus, like the dorms are. I live in Oakland Apartments, so I'm going to talk about life in apartment-style dorms.

Pros

• Kitchen- don't have to depend on the dining center for food, you can decide what you want to eat
• Living room- more space to study and relax, a place to go if your roommate wants to sleep
• 4 roommates- more variety in your dormroom

Cons

• Kitchen-have to learn to clean up after yourself, and no dishwasher in sight
• 4 roommates- easier to deal with one bad roommate than three
• parties- apartments attract parties and illegal activity more than traditional dorms, and three roommates means chances go up that you'll have a roomate who loves the parties.
• Not connected to campus- having to go outside to get to classes, not much fun when it's raining or snowing or the temperature is in the negative, also means it's more of a walk to get to campus activities or the dining center or friends living in dorms

All in all, apartment style dorms, just like traditional dorms, have their pros and cons, and different people can do well or badly in either. Thinking about your college experience priorities is important before choosing where you want to live, but it's not the end of the world if you don't get the living arrangements you asked for. In the end, it's what you make of the situation you're placed in, and both types of on-campus and off-campus living situations have their own benefits, pluses, and minuses.

Above: The housing facilities that have apartment style dorms (Goldfine Hall, Heaney Hall, Junction Apartments, Oakland Apartments, and Stadium Apartments)

For more information about the different types of housing available and other housing information click here.

- Miriam Feingold