Maryland Class of 2014 Forum

[Terp2008]

Eager to hear from others who have committed to University of Maryland Law for the Class of 2014! Please share thoughts, roommate requests, stories, etc.!!!

[ach24]

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[Terp2008]

Anyone have info on housing close by?

I was just in the city and had some apartment tours on Saturday. Not sure what your price range is, but all of these are within 2 blocks of the law school and were all pretty nice:

The Redwood
Marlboro Classic
Zenith
The Atrium
Avalon Centerpoint
The Abell
The Greenehouse

Here are a couple others that are a little further but I've heard are nice still:
39 West Lexington
Sail Cloth Factory
Charles Towers

If you're looking for a row home rather than an apartment building and don't mind a little further walk, check out places in
Mt. Vernon
Ridgley's Delight
Federal Hill

This isn't an exhaustive list, just options I've looked into so far. Hope this helps!

[tchan4269]

I deposited as well....think I'll be living in Fell's Point or Federal Hill

[lsatextreme]

hope to be in here soon guys, just waiting for that preferred waitlist call...

[Terp2008]

I deposited as well....think I'll be living in Fell's Point or Federal Hill

How do you plan on commuting? Pretty far walk from both

[tchan4269]

I deposited as well....think I'll be living in Fell's Point or Federal Hill

How do you plan on commuting? Pretty far walk from both

I'll be driving/carpooling.

[ach24]

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[tchan4269]

Anyone have info on housing close by?

I was just in the city and had some apartment tours on Saturday. Not sure what your price range is, but all of these are within 2 blocks of the law school and were all pretty nice:

The Redwood
Marlboro Classic
Zenith
The Atrium
Avalon Centerpoint
The Abell
The Greenehouse

Here are a couple others that are a little further but I've heard are nice still:
39 West Lexington
Sail Cloth Factory
Charles Towers

If you're looking for a row home rather than an apartment building and don't mind a little further walk, check out places in
Mt. Vernon
Ridgley's Delight
Federal Hill

This isn't an exhaustive list, just options I've looked into so far. Hope this helps!

Definitely helpful! I've been looking at a few of these places. A couple of friends in Bmore gave me some suggestions, too. They live in Fed Hill, though, and I'm not sure I want to live that far out. I've been thinking about going without a car (have one now, but it would be cheaper to not take it with me I think). When I took the tour, the guide was very enthusiastic about using the Charm City Circulator since it's free.

Are you guys getting any help with tuition or having to pay sticker?

sticker :/ whatever though...i'm not going to sweat it.

i visited Baltimore last weekend. although it's not walkable, FH is really not all that far away. It really seemed like everything was close together, but im sure im biased because i was in a rental car :/

[lsatextreme]

in this thread...any of you guys receive a need grant or the legal scholars scholarship? Man I really wish I could get my hands on some free aid...

[saky]

I'm in and committed... Hello all and congrats!
I already live in Baltimore ...so paying sticker but in-state rate so...

I was just offered a seat last week so I am guessing that I missed the admitted student day...but do any of you know if there will be another asd type of event....before august?

[ach24]

.

[lsatextreme]

man ouch, i guess i wouldn't even bother asking them for a consideration at this point then. Fin aid even told me that their 4k grants are already all tied up too...that's harsh lol. I'm also gonna call and ask fin aid eventually about establishing in state residency but anyone already knowledgeable on the matter?

also applied for the pascault row studio today, anyone else happen to apply there?

[tchan4269]

man ouch, i guess i wouldn't even bother asking them for a consideration at this point then. Fin aid even told me that their 4k grants are already all tied up too...that's harsh lol. I'm also gonna call and ask fin aid eventually about establishing in state residency but anyone already knowledgeable on the matter?

also applied for the pascault row studio today, anyone else happen to apply there?

If you aren't already in-state, it's virtually impossible to establish residency while attending a MD school. From what I've been told, the main criterion is that you are NOT living in the state for the primary purpose of attending a MD educational institution. There are "ways" to prove you are in the state for other reasons and have an intent of staying within the state for an extended period, but they're mostly inapplicable to the majority of those moving solely for school. All of the criteria, etc. are listed on UMB's financial aid website, under FAQs as I recall.

[red_alertz]

can't wait to see u guys in maryland!

[lsatextreme]

man ouch, i guess i wouldn't even bother asking them for a consideration at this point then. Fin aid even told me that their 4k grants are already all tied up too...that's harsh lol. I'm also gonna call and ask fin aid eventually about establishing in state residency but anyone already knowledgeable on the matter?

also applied for the pascault row studio today, anyone else happen to apply there?

If you aren't already in-state, it's virtually impossible to establish residency while attending a MD school. From what I've been told, the main criterion is that you are NOT living in the state for the primary purpose of attending a MD educational institution. There are "ways" to prove you are in the state for other reasons and have an intent of staying within the state for an extended period, but they're mostly inapplicable to the majority of those moving solely for school. All of the criteria, etc. are listed on UMB's financial aid website, under FAQs as I recall.

so even if i were to get a driver's license, register to vote, starting paying md taxes, etc. none of that would help huh? How would I go about establishing that I do intend to stay in MD after graduation? Like if I got summer 1L employment in baltimore? Would that even help?

[tchan4269]

man ouch, i guess i wouldn't even bother asking them for a consideration at this point then. Fin aid even told me that their 4k grants are already all tied up too...that's harsh lol. I'm also gonna call and ask fin aid eventually about establishing in state residency but anyone already knowledgeable on the matter?

also applied for the pascault row studio today, anyone else happen to apply there?

If you aren't already in-state, it's virtually impossible to establish residency while attending a MD school. From what I've been told, the main criterion is that you are NOT living in the state for the primary purpose of attending a MD educational institution. There are "ways" to prove you are in the state for other reasons and have an intent of staying within the state for an extended period, but they're mostly inapplicable to the majority of those moving solely for school. All of the criteria, etc. are listed on UMB's financial aid website, under FAQs as I recall.

so even if i were to get a driver's license, register to vote, starting paying md taxes, etc. none of that would help huh? How would I go about establishing that I do intend to stay in MD after graduation? Like if I got summer 1L employment in baltimore? Would that even help?

According to the FA office, no, none of that is going to prove you are in the state beyond the purpose of attending school.

All the requirements, including what constitutes a presumption that you're in MD primarily for school, and what you can do to rebut that are here: http://www.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/Sect ... II270.html

[Terp2008]

in this thread...any of you guys receive a need grant or the legal scholars scholarship? Man I really wish I could get my hands on some free aid...

I'm in state, and FA is really tough at UMD. Only by the grace of God did they offer me Leadership Scholars....actually, it was a combination of luck and hard work. A 3 page written appeal, lots of follow up (phone, email, in person), lots of networking with current students and faculty, recommendations from current faculty, a fortuitious opening in the program, reasonable academic credentials/4 years of strong leadership experience in college, and a solid interview with the deans was honestly what got me in.

My advice is don't give up, people may have put down deposits and could still drop. Just be realistic and figure out if you're actually in a position to warrant a look from admissions, but know that almost all the money is probably gone already and it's really a game of both chance and perseverence - kinda like getting a job is going to be for all of us!!! End result for me was $12.5K/year, which will definitely be helpful.

Just fyi - I had committed to MD prior to interviewing a few weeks ago for the Scholars program, so I feel for everyone paying sticker because that's what I figured I'd be doing too! Good news is MD is cheap comparatively no matter how you slice it, and there's a good chance because of the recent $30M endowment that we'll move up the rankings into the 30's next year

[ach24]

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[lsatextreme]

I see, thanks for all the helpful information. I gave admissions a call this morning, and the lady told me that the legal scholarship considerations were done during the actual admissions process so if I didn't hear anything about the scholarship, then I'm not going to qualify and that's all that they have to offer in terms of scholarships. I had just gotten off the PWL after having sent 2 LOCIs saying that said I was committed to Maryland, so I dunno how well it'll work out for me to say that I have other more debt averse options elsewhere. It also looks like that whole establish in-state residency is a b!@#$ and a half, so I can't rely on that to lower my debt. I guess this is what I should have expected but now that I'm actually put into the position of facing a near 200k debt, I'm starting to have some second thoughts on whether this is really a good decision for me.

[lsatextreme]

did anyone go to the ASD on 3/26? Any comments on how it went, your impressions, etc?

[AvaMaria]

did anyone go to the ASD on 3/26? Any comments on how it went, your impressions, etc?

i did, i was very impressed, the campus is really nice, the surrounding area is not though, i'd recommend a gun

[AvaMaria]

I also noticed there was very little diversity, mostly white students/faculty, and maybe a few URMs; baltimore is the same as campus, you could hardly find any non-American restaurants, except Nak Won, a nice korean bbq place

[tchan4269]

did anyone go to the ASD on 3/26? Any comments on how it went, your impressions, etc?

i did, i was very impressed, the campus is really nice, the surrounding area is not though, i'd recommend a gun

I think that assessment's a smidge over-dramatic. While I didn't attend ASD, I visited a couple of weekends ago, and I hardly felt like I needed a firearm to protect myself. I would agree that the immediate area surrounding the school isn't the best, it certainly isn't the worst I've ever been in. I'm not sure where you're from, but I've been in ATL for the past 5 years and I by far felt safer in Baltimore than the majority of this city....

[tiffers16]

did anyone go to the ASD on 3/26? Any comments on how it went, your impressions, etc?

i did, i was very impressed, the campus is really nice, the surrounding area is not though, i'd recommend a gun

I think that assessment's a smidge over-dramatic. While I didn't attend ASD, I visited a couple of weekends ago, and I hardly felt like I needed a firearm to protect myself. I would agree that the immediate area surrounding the school isn't the best, it certainly isn't the worst I've ever been in. I'm not sure where you're from, but I've been in ATL for the past 5 years and I by far felt safer in Baltimore than the majority of this city....

I totally agree. I have visited Baltimore and compared to Miami, it does not appear to be as dangerous as everyone makes it out to be. It all boils down to street smarts to keep yourself safe.