ARTICLE BY FREELANCER KAYLA BLIETZ
With the incoming class of 2027 becoming official and constant tours happening across campus, I asked current students at the University of Maryland to share some tips and experiences that they learned from their time in college for the incoming freshmen.
The interview was edited for length and clarity.
Q: What advice or tips do you have for incoming freshmen when it comes to academics?
Ashley Ankapong, a senior journalism major : Academics-wise, freshmen should take their time with the classes that they are taking and don’t take on more than you can handle.
Erica Javadpour, a junior journalism major: College can always feel like competition or a rush to the finish line. I didn’t even have it all figured out until my junior year where I really had a clearer idea of what I wanted to study and what I wanted to do after graduation. My second thing is that freshmen should utilize every opportunity to go to club meetings that no matter if you think you would be interested and don’t be scared to ask for help.
Lanpin-Rivas, a freshman criminology justice major: One big piece of advice I would give to incoming freshmen is to find what style of studying and note-taking works for them. Even bigger than all of that is figuring out what style of setting reminders works for yourself. You just have to explore different styles and find out for yourself and taking notes and making sure you’re up to date with everything can help you with not falling behind in your classes.
Q: What is something unique or interesting you learned during your time at UMD?
Ankapong: I would say the way you can utilize different places to study or utilize tools. For example, the STEM Library has a 3D printer that everyone can use; you don’t have to be an engineering major to use it. We have access to a lot of tools like different academic buildings, and libraries and you don’t need to be that specific major or in those particular classes to utilize those tools.
Javadpour: I think something else that is unique about UMD is that it’s a huge school, but it is easy to make little pockets that feel like home to you. There are a lot of people on this campus, and that can be overwhelming. Here, you can join a club where you’re only working with four other people, and as you get to your late years of college sometimes your classes get really tiny. UMD has the benefits of both a big and small school because of how people are constantly open to making new friends and growing their networks.
Lanpin-Rivas: Something that is unique about UMD is how localized it is. There are shopping plazas nearby, and further down there is a Trader Joe’s along with other commodities for people going about their daily lives.