Hey everyone, I got in touch with a 1L at Maryland Law and she gave me a bunch of pretty good info. I thought I'ld post it on here so everyone can see what they had to say.

"Hi Kevin,

I'm glad that you decided to come! Here are some quick answers:

1) Housing -- I live in Columbia so I don't know too much about housing in Baltimore. What I've heard is that the people who live right around campus like the convenience of living so close but don't like the fact that it's so desolated at night. The people who live in Federal Hill and Fell's point really seem to enjoy it. It's still close but in a good location where there's great night life, bars, etc.

Not sure about the roommate thing since my roommate is my husband! I've heard good things overall from those who do, but it really depends on the person you end up with. The best thing is to go to the various welcome nights or whatever they have and try to get to know someone who you think you would be compatible with. One of my friends split from his roommate from last semester bc he was so messy. You also may want to try to post on the google group to see if there are any takers.

2) Safety. I was very worried about safety, esp. as a young woman. I typically stay in the library till about 7 pm and then walk by myself to the car. They have a shuttle service, but I usually don't take it. I've never had any problems ever, but I do think it's important to be careful. One of the students in my class was robbed at gunpoint, but ironically that was in Federal Hill - far from campus. I think you just need to use some basic common sense. Most of the people around the area may look scary, but are actually pretty harmless. I can't vouch for how it would be late at night (past 10 pm) because I'm usually not around then.
3) Workload - very intense, more than you can possibly imagine. Make sure to have some fun this summer! At MD, we're very different in that we take 5 classes the first semester (most schools only make students take 3). My biggest suggestion would be to read ahead as much as possible, start outlining the 2nd week of school, and don't go overboard on the socializing. There's definitely time to hang out, but keep it in perspective. Getting drunk is not the way to go!

4) Advice - aside from what I've said above, I think the most important thing is to keep very focused and on top of things. We have a lot of reading to do and it's easy to get behind if you're not careful. Make a schedule as to when you're going to study and stick to it. If you're going out on weekends, go out on one night and stay in the other night - you'll be glad you did once finals come around. Also, get to know professors early on -- they're wonderful and will be great mentors to you.

Sorry if I've scared you. I love Maryland -- students are friendly, professors are great, and I really like the fact that it's small and I know a lot of people. I just want to make sure you know that it is a LOT of work. Good luck!"


Hope some of that information was helpful!

~Kevin