Apartments:

Grad Hills/Garden Appartments:

Link: http://www.smc-grad-housing.com/

Rent for 2 bed 1 bath approx:(4 people) $1136

Rent for 1 bed 1 bath approx:(2 people) $925

Time to reach university: Approx 15 Min walking.

Time Table for UM Shuttle 113, 102 and Gold to university: (Free of Cost)
102: http://www.transportation.umd.edu/routes/schedules/smallwebFall2007/Campus%20Connector%20North_low.pdf

113:
http://www.transportation.umd.edu/routes/schedules/smallwebFall2007/University%20Town%20Center_low.pdf

Gold Night ride:
http://www.transportation.umd.edu/routes/schedules/smallwebFall2007/University%20Town%20Center_low.pdf

Grocery: Shoppers (walkable distance)
Indian Grocery: Patel Brothers (1 mile for Grad Hills)

Number of Indian Students: approx 100

Facilities: Playgrounds and Picnic Areas, All Utilities Included (Also Internet/Telephone).

University Square Apartments:

Link: http://www.universitysqapartments.com/

Rent for 2 bed 1 bath approx:(4 people) $1200

Rent for 1 bed 1 bath approx:(2 people) $1000

Time to reach university: Approx 30 Min via UM Shuttle and C2 Metro.
Time Table for UM Shuttle 106 to university: (Free of Cost)
http://www.transportation.umd.edu/routes/schedules/smallwebFall2007/Greenbelt%20North_low.pdf

Time Table for C2 Metro: (Will charge $1.25)
http://www.wmata.com/timetables/md/c2-4.pdf

Grocery: Greenway center, greenbelt co-op, beltway plaza
Indian Grocery: Patel Brothers

Number of Indian Students: approx 80 to 90

Facilities: GYM, Tennis courts, Swimming pool, Basketball court.

Seven Spring Village Apartments:

Link: http://www.move.com/apartments/listing/C382796

Rent for 2 bed 1 bath approx:(4 people) $1350

Rent for 1 bed 1 bath approx:(2 people) $1120

Time to reach university: Approx 25 Min via UM Shuttle and 83 Metro, if you have a car it will take around 5 mins as the buses takes the longer route.

Time Table for UM Shuttle 110 to university: (Free of Cost)
http://www.transportation.umd.edu/routes/schedules/smallwebFall2007/Seven%20Springs%20Apartments_low.pdf

Time Table for 83 Metro: (Will charge $1.25)
http://www.wmata.com/timetables/md/81-86.pdf

Grocery: Shoppers (5 min walk)
Indian Grocery: Patel Brothers (require 2 bus change to get there)

Number of Indian Students: approx 70 to 80

Specialty: Get-to-gather on each student's birthday at 12 am.

Facilities: GYM, Tennis courts, Swimming pool, Basketball court.

Assistantships:

You guys can start looking for the opportunities at the career center website or the Human resource's websites for the openings. You can also start emailing professors for the Research Assistantships if you think that you can contribute to the research conducted by the professors. For the UMCP students, there are large no. of RA opportunity as our university conducts researches on various fields and topics. So if you want to have some good experience and want the benefits of GA, TA or RA, then be pro-active and look out for opportunities. Again your previous work experience will count only if it is related to the job which you have applied. In Fall 07, there were few students who got assistantships when they were in INDIA itself, some got when they came here and comparatively large no. of students got assistantship in second semester, I am one of those and more than 50% of the students are still in search of assistantships. Hope this answers most of the queries. Let me know if you guys need any help via by blog.

Link for GA positions: http://www.uhr.umd.edu/employment/listings.cfm?listing=30%20Graduate%20Assistant

Banks in College Park

Most of the students have account in the Chevy Case Bank as it is located in Stamp Student Union.
Another bank which is popular with the students is Bank of America which is located within walking distance of University's campus.

Chevy Chase Bank: http://www.union.umd.edu/chevyChaseBank/index.shtml

Bank of America: https://www.bankofamerica.com/index.jsp

Cars

Following is the list of rental car suppliers:

Avis Rent a Car: Local Rental Locations- www.avis.com - (301) 345-0167

Enterprise Rent-A-Car - www.enterprise.com - (301) 313-0935

Thrifty Car Rental: Beltsville-College Park - www.thrifty.com - (301) 474-2193

Zip Car - http://www.zipcar.com/umd/

The rates for renting an economy car for a day will vary from $35 to $50 depending on the age of the driver, i.e. Below 25 will cost more. Plus you have to buy the car insurance which will also cost around $35 to $60 again depending on the age of the driver.

If you want to buy a used car, following websites will fulfill your needs:
http://www.autotrader.com/

http://www.cars.com/go/index.jsp

Copy Services:

If you want to take several copies of your resumes, cover letter or any document, I would recommend going to copy services instead of going to Libraries and paying 10 cents per copy.
Location: STAMP 0232 (Ground Floor)

More Information: http://www.union.umd.edu/designCopy/index.shtml

Entertainment at TerpZone !!!

The TerpZone is located in room B0106 of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, which is on the Basement Level and next door to the Lower Entrance of the University Book Center.

TerpZone features include (8) Brunswick Bowling Lanes, (10) Gold Crown 9' Billiard Tables, Video Arcade Games and a Lounge Area with (3) Projection Screen TVs. We also office Daily Specials, Group Reservations, Locker Rentals and Membership Discount Cards.

For more information: http://www.union.umd.edu/TerpZone/index.shtml

General Information for prospective students

Preferred Apartments:
1) Graduate Gardens/Graduate Hills
2) Seven Springs Village Apartments
3) University Square Apartments

Oncampus Jobs/ Assistantships possibilities and earnings:
Good chances of getting oncampus jobs in the beginning of the semester. Can get assistantships too in the second semester if your work hard for it!

Oncampus Jobs: $ 600 to $ 700
Assistantships: $1100 to $1300 + tuition remission

Fees Structure (avg Credit Hour Fee): $ 850 to $ 1000
Credit Hours: 30 to 36 for whole course.
Total tuition fees: ($850 to $1000) * (30 to 36)

Campus Recreation: Four Gyms, Olympic size swimming pool, outdoor recreation like climbing wall, challenge courses etc.
link: http://www.crs.umd.edu/

Transportation: Free shuttle service to various location including the above mentioned apartments.

Libraries: Seven libraries in all.
link: http://www.lib.umd.edu/

Food: McDonald's, Panda Express, Sbarro, Taco Bell, Subway, Adele's Restaurant, The Coffee Bar, few Indian restaurants around.

Student Council of India: http://www.scimd.org/

Grocery:

Major grocery stores around university are:
Shoppers, Giant, Safeway, 7eleven and many more.
Click here for list: Google Maps

Indian grocery store (Patel Brothers) around 2 miles from campus
Click here for directions: Google Maps

Info of Prospective students:

Social Networking:
If you guys can share your contact info on this blog, then it will be nice for you to co-ordinate before coming to USA. You can co-ordinate your flights, roomies, etc. What I want from your side is the following information in the comment section of this post, and then i will upload it in the post itself:

Name:
Admitted program:
Contact Info :
City of Residence:

Information on MIM

There are three types of stream one can select for their MIM degree. They are:
1) Individual program plan (http://ischool.umd.edu/programs/mim/indiv_program.shtml)
2) Concentration on Strategic Management (http://ischool.umd.edu/programs/mim/strategy.shtml)
3) Socio-Tech Concentration (http://ischool.umd.edu/programs/mim/socio.shtml)
Just go to the links above to know which courses are required for the respective streams.

I have taken the individual program plan as this plan gives me great flexibility to select my courses. I am interested more towards management side as I have a good technical background from my BE in Information Technology. So I like to take more management oriented courses. There are plenty of courses to select for your semester; you can also take courses from other programs like ENTS, business school as long as the department and your advisor have no problem with that. I have currently taken an ENTS689J course which is on Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship. This is a very interesting course with very interesting professor which covers topics like, broad introduction to various business issues that face any small business or start-up. This shows the flexibility of MIM course.

I have taken all the three required core courses that are INFM600, 603 and 605 in my first semester. I would recommend the prospective student to register for these courses once you get an invitation for registration from the department. Sometimes these courses get full very quickly and few of my friends from last semester haven’t got few of these courses as there were no seats available. INFM612 is also as important as the core course as it is required in all the three streams, so try to complete that course as soon as possible.

If you want to complete the program in one and half year, you can take four courses per semester and complete the whole degree in 3 semesters. Most of the people take 3 courses per semester and complete in 4 semesters. It depends on individual to individual.

The professors are very helpful and make the course very interesting. Many of the courses do not have mid term exams and final exams, but they do have projects and presentations that lasts throughout the semester. Most of the MIM classes are from 6pm to 9pm and the class strength is from 20 to 30. There is around 60% of Indian population in the class. Rests are the USA professionals as this is a management oriented course.

There are three career fairs each year; this is the right time to apply for internships and full time position. This time very less people got internship from MIM, but the search is going on. But if you are a dedicated and hard working student, you will land up with something you like for your career.

Hope this helps the prospective MIM students!!!

Internships:

Internships:
Your previous experience will count if you have done something very similar to the company's job requirements. Most of the time Internships for University of Maryland students will land up in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia area. These areas are accessible by local transportations so most of the student don't need to shift their apartments. The pay will be something between 15 to 20 USD per hour and 40 hours per week. Some of the internships are non-paid too. It's not necessary that all the student get internships, there were some students in past who didn't got any internship so they took summer courses and completed the program in 1.5 years. So according to me rejecting UMCP or some other university only on the basis of Internship's scenario won't be a wise decision. I still believe that America is a land of opportunity; you just have to be "at right place and at right time".

International Calling Cards

Students generally prefer two types of calling card for international calls.
One is Stana Card charges 8 cents per minute for India Calls and the other popular card is our very own Reliance Calling Card which also charges around 8 cents per minute for India Calls.

Buy Stana Card online: http://www.stanacard.com/en/home.aspx

Buy Reliance Card online: https://www.relianceindiacall.com/us/index.aspx

Laptops

Students prefer laptops of the following companies:
Dell, Lenovo, HP, Sony, Apple Mac.

Following are the links where you can buy laptops online for very cheap prices compared to in store prices:

http://deals2buy.com/

http://www.buy.com/

http://www.compusa.com/

http://www.bestbuy.com/

http://www.circuitcity.com/

http://www.target.com/

Look out for this sites during Labor Day, Thanks Giving and Christmas for very good online deals for all kind of stuffs you wanna buy.

Maryland Driving License:

Three steps for gaining a driver's license in Maryland state.
1) Give the Drug and Alcohol test.
2) Give the 15 min written test.
3) Give the driving test.

The whole procedure, online driver's handbook and exam location information in this link:
http://www.marylandmva.com/

MIM at UMCP vs MSIS, MSMIS, MSIM at others

In this post I will compare and contrast the MIM program at University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), MSIS program at Kelly School of Business Indiana University, MS in MIS at Taxes A&M University (TAMU), MS IS program at University of Cincinnati and MS in IM at Syracuse University

MIM program at UMCP comes under College of Information Studies and it’s different from Masters in Library Science. MIM tries to cover the concepts of Business Administration, Computer Science and Information systems. Basically it deals with managing information in an organization at all the three levels of corporate environment viz. strategic level, management level and operational level by using various tools and techniques. Managing information here means analyzing it, sorting it, storing it and distributing it. Here is the differentiating factor for MIM from the MIS, MS IS and other programs. The programs like MS in MIS at TAMU have courses like Data Warehousing, Business Data Mining, Customer Relationship Mgmt and Planning, E-Commerce Technologies, Enterprise Resource Planning etc which deals only with the Information System concept and less importance is given to Business Administration (BA) and Computer science (CS) concepts. Similarly the MS IS program at University of Cincinnati also targets the Information System concepts but it also have a wide range of courses to select as Specialization Courses which deals with Business Administration concepts. But the program does not cover the strategic level courses of corporate environment. The MS IS program at Kelly school of Business covers the Information Systems, Business Administration as well as the Computer Science concepts to some extends. It also covers the strategic level courses as their electives. After reviewing the courses of MS in IM program at Syracuse University, I was able to relate it with some of the courses offered by MIM at UMCP as both of the programs are on Information Management. So you can say that both programs tries to target the IS, BA and CS concepts.

So it’s up to the individual to select the course of their liking. If you want to do something more specific, then you should go for MS MIS, MS IS programs. If you want to deal with more general topics then MIM would be a good choice. MIM degree at UMCP also covers the concepts of MIS but not in much detail. It will give you a basic idea about the concepts which are related to Business Intelligence, ERP, CRM etc. Also MIM degree at UMCP has great flexibility, so if you want to go for more technical side, you can take courses from computer science department and if you want to go for more management side, you can take courses from the business school.

The above details are from my personal experience and from my research on the programs mentioned above from the respective universities. These are my personal views, so it might differ from some other students pursuing the above mentioned courses.

Here are the links to the courses offered in the above mentioned universities:

MIM at UMCP: http://www.clis.umd.edu/courses/course_descriptionsINFM.shtml

MSIS at Kelly: http://www.kelley.iu.edu/isgp/docs/MSIS_enter_S07_or_F07.pdf

MSMIS at TAMU: http://mays.tamu.edu/depts/info/MS/Info_MSMIS.html

MSIM at Syracuse: http://ischool.syr.edu/academics/graduate/msirm/irm_req.aspx

MSIS at University of Cincinnati: http://www.business.uc.edu/msis/academics

Hope this helps the prospective students to make the decision on which program to select from such a wide range of programs offered by some of the best universities in USA!

On Campus Jobs

On Campus Jobs (20 Hrs/ Week): In library, in college mess, in college restaurants, in college recreation center, in college stores. These jobs are more laborious and you will earn around $600 to $700 per month after taxes. So you can manage your own expenses. Start the search for on campus from the very first day you visit the college. There will be lots of competition, so it will be on first come first serve basis but everyone will eventually get an oncampus job in the end.

Here are few links for online application for Oncampus jobs:
1) Work at CRS: http://www.crs.umd.edu/jobs/jbs_apply.html

2) Work at Stamp Student Union: http://www.union.umd.edu/employment/studentEmployment.shtml

3) Work at Dining: http://www.dining.umd.edu/about_us/st_employ.cfm

4) Work at Office of Information technology: http://www.oit.umd.edu/Employment/index.html

Phones

Few of the cell phone service providers are as follows:
AT&T
Verizon
Sprint
T Mobile
and many others...

Normally students prefer AT&T service as it has free call services to any AT&T number throughout USA. There is also an AT&T store very close to University's campus.

Most of the time students buy a prepaid card for AT&T and then after few months, they convert that prepaid to post paid card. Newly arrived students can't get any post paid card as it require some decent credit history which student won't have when they are new in USA.

Here is the link which gives more information on various cell phone service providers and the cell phone model they offer: http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/companies/default.aspx

Public Transportation

The most convenient way to travel around Maryland-DC area is using Metro service if you do not have a car. The Metro have buses as well as trains which connects almost every corners of the city. This link will provide the schedules and fares for buses and trains and it also have a special feature of trip planner: http://www.wmata.com/

Places to visit in College Park and near-by areas

Places to visit in College Park:

College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Corporal Frank Scott Drive. Open daily 10 am to 5 pm. Located at the College Park Airport, the world's oldest continually operating airport, this museum emphasizes early aviation.

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Route 193 and Stadium Dr. Catch a play, music performance, or other event at the University.

Lake Artemesia, On the border with neighboring Berwyn Heights, this man-made lake offers fishing and a pleasant walking/biking/rollerblading trail around the circumference for free.

Paint Branch Golf Complex, 4690 University Boulevard (near Route 1), Open daily, seasonal hours. Nine hole "executive" golf course, driving range and putting green. $7 for a bucket of 65 golf balls, $10+ for 9 holes of golf, $3/day for putting green.

Terrapins Ticket Office, 2740 Comcast Center, M-F 8:30AM-4:30PM. With 27 different sports, the University of Maryland offers you a choice of everything from wrestling to lacrosse to softball. You can book your tickets for your game at this office.

Wells Ice Rink, 5211 Paint Branch Parkway. Open October to March.

Near-by places to visit:

D.C. is a few miles away.
Baltimore is about a 45-minute trip.
Bethesda is good for night-life and is about a 30-minute drive, or 45-minute Metro ride.
Silver Spring is about 20 minutes away and has a newly revitalized downtown.
Takoma Park and Langley Park have many ethnic eateries and crunchy shops.
Hyattsville and Mount Rainier are adjacent, hip areas on Route 1 towards D.C.

Safety:

Personal safety is a big issues now a days, not only in University of Maryland but everywhere.
This link will provide you with all the necessary emergency numbers that can come handy someday: http://www.umpd.umd.edu/university_of_maryland_police_campus_phone.cfm

Search UMD Faculty and Staff

Below is the link where you can search your professor's and faculty member's information in no time. Just enter their name or phone or email and get their whole contact information in seconds:

Click Here: https://directory.umd.edu/search

Shop at Stamp Union:

1) If you want to send some urgent mail or parcel and don't know where to go, I would recommend to use the post office services in Stamp Union.
More information: http://www.union.umd.edu/um_shops/mailEtc.shtml

2) Buy Text Books, Stationaries, Clothes, Maryland Souvenirs and many more items at University Book Store located in Stamp union.
More information: http://umcp.bncollege.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBHomePage?storeId=15551&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

3) To buy soft drinks, candy, snacks, freshly prepared sandwiches, salads and sushi, Krispy Kreme® donuts, newspapers, magazines, sundries etc, Please visit Union Shop in stamp Union.
More information: http://www.union.umd.edu/um_shops/UnionShop.shtml#

Social Security Card

Social Security Numbers are issued for work purposes only. They are used to identify you within the government tax and pension system. They are not general purpose ID’s. Accordingly, you do not need a Social Security number to:

• open a bank account
• rent an apartment
• open a utility account (e.g. electricity, gas)
• set up a cell phone account
• register your children for school
• conduct business with other financial institutions
• Receive a driver's license

More information at IES website: http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/2431

When applying for a number at the Social Security Office bring the following: http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/2432

Social Security Administration Offices The phone number for all offices is: 1-800-772-1213
Offices are open Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location addresses: http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/2435

Student Insurances:

Take a three months insurance from India itself from any of your preferred brand name. Then once you are here, after three months most of the students go for:

1) Most of the students who are not GA have opted for ISO insurance. It will cost you around $45 per month. Here is the link for ISO insurance which has all the necessary details:
http://www.isoa.org/

2) Students who have are GA go for university health insurance. It will cost you around $60 per month. If you are not a GA and want to take university health insurance, it will cost $1300 per year.
http://www.health.umd.edu/geninfo/insurance.html

3) Some of the students also opted for Blue Cross/ Blue Shield insurance which will cost around $60 to $90 per month depending on the plan you take. Heres the link with all the necessary information: http://www.bcbs.com/coverage/basics/

Student Organizations

There are various Student Organizations in university in which you can participate. Following are the links to the organizations classified by various categories like Cultural, Sports, Religious, Academic, etc. For most of the organizations, membership is open to all university students and with very nominal fees.

Categories:
Academic
Advocacy
Cultural
Departmental
Governing Bodies
Graduate
Greek
Group Councils
Honors
Media
Performing Groups
Political
Recreation
Religious
Service
Social
Sports

Terrapin Express Card:

Terrapin Express is a pre-paid debit account that can be used at participating locations across campus. It’s a convenient way for students, faculty, staff, and university affiliates to access products and services across campus without carrying cash. Forty-seven locations on campus accept Terrapin Express. All you need is your university ID card! Once your ID is in the system and your card is operating, you can activate your Terrapin Express account.

Find more here: http://dining.umd.edu/terrapin

Travel out of state:

Flights:
This link will provide the links to various low fare deals throughout USA: http://www.cheapflights.com/

Buses:
Greyhound buses connects almost all major states around USA: http://www.greyhound.com/home/

China buses are cheaper than Greyhound buses but connects only few major cities like Philly, DC, NY etc: http://www.apexbus.com/

Trains:
Trains also connect almost all the major states of USA. Trains are cheaper than flights but costlier than buses. The best train services provider is Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

Websites of Interest

Following are the three websites which really helped me a lot in many ways. For buying a car, looking for apartments, looking for roommates, buying and selling stuffs, and many more things:

1) Craigslist is a central network of online communities, featuring free online classified advertisements (with jobs, internships, housing, personals, erotic services, for sale/barter/wanted, services, community, gigs, resume, and pets categories) and forums on various topics.
Link: http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites

2) Sulekha.com connects Indians worldwide. Have almost the same features like craigslist, the key difference here is it’s majorly dedicated for Indian.
Link: http://www.sulekha.com/

3) Uloop is a portal started my UMD students which gives you information about different job openings, apartment, roommates, buy and sell stuffs etc. You need a UMD account to register in this website.
Link: http://www.uloop.com/

Weekly Events !!!

Below is the link to the weekly events held at University of Maryland. Events includes cultural nights, Sporting events, Hoff theater shows and many more!!!

More information: http://www.union.umd.edu/events/

Where to Eat?

Nice Restaurants to eat on campus:

• Adele’s Restaurant
• Mulligan’s Grill and Pub

Dining Rooms:

• South Campus Dining Room
• The Diner
• Dining Room Events

Student Union Food Court

Chick-fil-A ®
Choose from chicken sandwiches, salads, and specials.

McDonald’s®
Pick up McDonald’s® menu favorites for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Panda Express®
Features Asian cuisine.

Saladworks®
Choose from a variety of fresh salad fixings.

Sbarro®
Offering fresh, traditional Italian cuisine, including delicious pizza, pastas, salads, and homemade cheesecake.

Steak Escape®
Featuring made-to-order steak sandwiches on fresh baked rolls, hand-cut fries, grilled salads and “smashed” potatoes.

Taco Bell® Express
Serving Mexican favorites, including hard and soft beef or chicken tacos, bean burritos, beef burritos, and nachos. Visit our other campus Taco Bell® Express in the Engineering Building.

Subway®
In the Terp Zone. Offering sub-style sandwiches on freshly baked bread, cold beverages, chips and snacks.

The Coffee Bar
On the first floor of the Stamp Student Union. Enjoy freshly brewed Starbucks® coffee and our plasma screen TV.

Web Food

Order online with Webfood! Just log in, create an account, select a Webfood location, place your order, and we will have your food waiting for you when you arrive.

Try it now!

Menus by Location

Click on the name of the dining establishment to see menus, available specials, and hours of operation.

• Dining Rooms
• South Campus Dining Room
• The Diner
• Restaurants
• Adele’s Restaurant
• Mulligan’s Grill and Pub
  
• Student Union Food Court
• Cafes and Quick Foods
• The Shops @ Maryland

Indian Restaurants near College Park:

Click Here