McDaniel College

Date: Apr 11 2012
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
I had high hopes for McDaniel. On the tour I was taken away by the gorgeous campus (it truly is stunning), the warm welcome committee, and the seemingly friendly student body. I got a full ride and was impressed with the laid-back atmosphere I expected a rigorous, challenging liberal arts education.

Well…it didn't quite go that way. Unfortunately, I'll be transferring after this semester to Bowdoin College.

To start, McDaniel academics are really not that challenging. Sure, professors are friendly, kind and helpful, but a lot of the work I'm doing feels like busy work or on par with my AP high school classes. For many students this might be a good fit, for the school was advertised as being a prestigious liberal arts college, I was disappointed. I wanted a challenge, and I feel pretty bored in most of my classes. Classes are just too easy. On top of that, practically no one outside of Maryland knows about McDaniel College.

Housing here SUCKS. At least in freshmen dorms. It really does, and the dorms they show you on the tour look nice but once you move in you realize how poorly maintained they are. They often smell like sewage, there's mold in some of the rooms and it's perpetually hot in non air-conditioned buildings, even in the winter!

They just re-vamped the dining hall and it's decent, but lackluster. There's nowhere to eat on campus besides Glar and the Pub, which is just greasy fried foods and some fruit. Sandella's is at the gym and it's overpriced garbage plus some soy milk and energy drinks. I DO however love the coffee shop on campus and the people who work there are wonderful. It's a great place to study. The gym is REALLY nice and I love working out there. And the pool is a great place to work out as well!

Tailgates are fun, and I wasn't expecting a big crazy Division I party school, and I didn't get it so…that didn't bother me. Football games suck but it IS fun to BBQ and hang out with friends. I can't speak for other sports here. We're definitely not a sports-oriented school.

The study body really surprised me. I expected a lot of intelligent, open-minded kids, and there are a lot of them, but SO many people are close-minded, arrogant, ignorant and snotty. There's a lot of rich private school kids who don't take school seriously and just want to drink, party and mess around. That's fine, I like to go out from time to time, but on-campus parties are always busted by the police so many students go home for the weekends.

It's DEAD here on the weekends. Westminster is creepy and there's nothing to do here for college students. It's a pretty far hike to the 7-Eleven, considering the hills and the creepers that leer at you from their balconies at night, even at 8 PM on a Monday! There's no clubs, sub-par bars…nightlife sucks. If you're under 21, be prepared to spend a lot of time partying in off-campus houses or parties that get busted where everyone gets an underage.

I feel really sad because I wanted to love this school, but my first year has been a huge disappointment. There's some great organizations on campus, a small but active Greek scene that hosted a few fun events, but overall I find myself bored…socially, academically and mentally.

For some people, McDaniel is great. I'd say most people that love it here are the artsy-theater types, the kids that are a little weird and didn't fit in during high school. It's a comfortable environment with a lackluster party scene (administration's fault, not the student's). For kids who like cliques and the McDaniel bubble and who go Greek, it's probably also a fun school.

But for kids like me who want a rigorous, challenging academic experience, more things to do and a more well-rounded, diverse student body, I'm ready to leave. Sorry McDaniel.