Navigating Housing at UMD: Freshman Dorms, Greek Life, and Finding an Apartment Early [Constance]

In this episode of The Best Four Podcast, Laura chats with Constance, a junior marketing major at the University of Maryland from Northern Virginia. Constance shares why UMD was her top choice, how she went into college knowing very little about housing, and what she learned from navigating every stage of campus living, from freshman year dorms to sorority life and off-campus apartments.

Constance walks through her full housing journey at UMD, starting with her freshman year in Easton Hall, where she found her roommate through the class Instagram page, lived in a learning community, and quickly built a strong community by being outgoing early on. She reflects on adjusting to communal bathrooms, moving into a sorority house sophomore year with 30 to 40 girls, and how that high energy environment shaped her socially. She breaks down her apartment hunting process, including signing early, touring apartments, and asking the right questions, which eventually led her to sign at Landmark. Looking ahead, Constance explains how competitive senior year housing is at UMD and why she locked in a senior house earlier than expected.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Constance chose UMD and what she knew about housing going in
• Her experience living in Easton Hall and being part of a learning community
• The pros and cons of freshman dorm living including communal bathrooms and shared spaces
• How leaving your door open and talking to everyone helps you make friends early
• Transitioning into college and dealing with homesickness
• Rushing at UMD and her advice for going through sorority recruitment
• Starting the apartment search early and comparing Landmark and The Standard
• What questions to ask on apartment tours including pricing, fees, and amenities
• Living at Landmark junior year and adjusting to having her own room
• Planning senior year housing, why it’s so competitive, and how she secured a house in Old Town
• Her biggest piece of advice for incoming UMD students about putting yourself out there and talking to everyone