1) You always complain that the pizza and bagels in College Park aren’t up to par.
Many out of state students, including myself, come from areas like New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. We constantly insist that the pizza and bagels in CP don’t even come close to the perfection of our own at home.
2) Your entire dorm/apartment is flooded with clothes.
Living out of state means you typically only go home during holiday breaks or emergencies. That being said, you feel the need to hoard every item of clothing you own into your closet. You have an irrational fear that the shirt you want to wear tomorrow is going to be one of the things you left at home.
3) Once you got into UMD you had to stock up on Maryland gear… fast!
In-state students have shown their UMD pride their whole lives; they have probably accumulated Maryland gear since they were born. When you arrive at UMD, you realize everyone has a Maryland flag on everything and at least five shirts with Testudo on it to show off that school pride. So of course, you beg your parents to take you to the bookstore so you could stock up on all types of UMD clothing. And naturally, you insist on getting a Maryland flag for your room too.
4) From time to time people tell you that you talk funny.
Every once in awhile you say something that catches others off guard and they ask where you’re from. They point out that you talk “funny” and that you’re clearly an out-of-state student. However, you insist that they are the ones who talk differently.
5) You had absolutely no idea where anything was on campus.
Besides ‘accepted students day’ and orientation you’ve only ever set foot on the University of Maryland campus twice. You kept a map in your bag the first week of class and crossed your fingers that you wouldn’t get lost. All of your in-state friends laughed because they had been on the campus multiple times for events and sports games.