College Park, MD: Large brick buildings, sprawling campus grounds, thousands of kids, perfectly trimmed greenery. This describes the University of Maryland. ­Although this is a large state school, it offers many small details.

The University of Maryland is located in College Park, Maryland, and is very accessible to the Washington, D.C., area by car, bus, or campus shuttle. The D.C. area provides students with “city life” and downtown shopping if that’s what they desire.

This large, co-ed university is home to 25,857 undergrads and 10,000 graduate students. The University of Maryland looks for applicants with an average GPA of 3.9 and SAT scores between 600 and 700 for math and verbal. The school is very competitive, and getting in can be difficult.

The academic choices are endless at the University of Maryland. Students can pick from a variety of undergrad and graduate programs. Schools within the University of Maryland include colleges of Education, Informative Studies, Arts and Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Chemical and Life Sciences, Public Health, Public Policy, Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Engineering, Business, Journalism, and many more. I have not decided my major, but my ­interests fall under the College of Arts and Humanities.

Although academics are extremely -important, another aspect of the university that students love is the athletics. With Division I sports, the University of ­Maryland draws attention with winning records and championships. The school offers any sport a student could ever want, including intramural and league opportunities.

In addition to five-star athletics, the University of Maryland has a wide variety of activities – everything from community service to academic clubs. If you don’t find a club that interests you, you can start your own with a few peers.

So what are the negatives? The only problem students may find is that this school is very big and they could feel overwhelmed. Yet there are solutions to this: participating in clubs, Greek life, or athletics will make the school feel smaller and more manageable.

The University of Maryland has an amazing school that offers every opportunity students could be seeking. College-bound high school students should definitely check out this university! Learn more at umd.edu.