As we near the halfway point in the school year, planning for college is a topic on the minds of many Schreiber students.  Although it is an exciting time for many, choosing a college can be an incredibly stressful decision to make.

Schreiber alumni Sadie Mandel graduated Schreiber with the class of 2022 and is currently a sophomore at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.

The process of picking a college is a very important, personal decision.  Before Sadie started to look at colleges, she made a list of factors that were important to her like the location, weather, school spirit, sports, and a range of academic options.  For example, Sadie wanted to attend an out-of-state school, near a big city, with a warmer climate than New York, but one that she didn’t have to fly to.

”When I first started looking at colleges and looked at Maryland, I realized that it checked off almost all of my boxes.  Throughout my college search process, I constantly found myself coming back to Maryland, and after I visited for the first time, I knew that I wanted to go there.  Even though I visited during Covid, from the moment that I stepped foot on campus, I saw people wearing Maryland clothing and sitting outside doing work with friends.  I instantly was able to picture myself living in the dorms and walking to my classes every day, and everyone was so welcoming and I could tell that they truly loved going to school there; and being only a 30 minute drive from Washington, DC, it seemed to be the perfect choice,” said Mandel.

Additionally, Maryland’s large range of courses, majors, and areas of study drew Mandel to the school because she knew that she would be able to explore all of her interests to eventually figure out what she would want to do.

“Going into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life after I graduated or what job I would want; I only knew that I wanted to do something related to working with kids,” said Mandel.

Finding a space to study is important in college, especially with how many distractions there can be.  Last year, Mandel preferred to study in designated study rooms of dorms most of the time.  She realized that she was much more efficient in quieter spaces like the study rooms rather than in more crowded academic buildings.

This year, her go-to study spot is the study room located in her sorority house because it provides her with both a social and quiet/study space which she enjoys because she can spend time with friends, while still getting all of her work and studying done.  She also likes finding different buildings around campus to study in so that she does not get bored of being in one singular location.  At the moment, her favorite building to study in is the School of Public Policy because it is close to where she is living and is modern and very pretty inside. She explains that it is always quiet in there, allowing her to get her work done. 

In regards to academics and social life, everyone that Mandel spoke to had told her that there was a great balance between the two which was very appealing to her. An important factor when picking a college for Mandel was school spirit and sports. She knew that she would find that in a Big Ten school like Maryland.

“There is definitely a lot of school spirit at Maryland, which I love.  Whether it is seeing people wear Maryland apparel as I am walking to class every day or going to football and basketball games, you can really see how much people love the school and show off their spirit,” said Mandel.

One of Mandel’s favorite ways to show her school spirit is by going to tailgates before football games and then walking over to the games with her friends.

“The game days are always so much fun, and it is so special to see the whole school come together and show off our school spirit and love for Maryland,” said Mandel.

Another thing that she loves about Maryland is that the weather is usually very nice.

“I spend a lot of my time doing my work outside. There are tons of tables, benches, and outdoor study spots throughout the campus which I use a lot when it is warm outside,” said Mandel.

Mandel also notes that Maryland does a good job at accommodating people with food restrictions or allergies and restrictive diets due to religion. Mandel herself is gluten free, and she greatly appreciated that the dining hall labeled all of their food with common allergens that were in them. They even had dedicated vegetarian and gluten free areas while living in a dorm last year. Some of her friends are kosher, and while the dining hall last year did not have kosher meat options, there were a lot of dairy options and alternative/fake meat options for them.  Mandel adds that some of her friends had meal plans at Hillel where they could go and get kosher meals and snacks whenever they wanted.

“Overall, I would say that the Maryland dining hall staff is extremely accommodating and they want to work with their students and hear their feedback so that they can ensure that everyone has options when it comes to dining,” said Mandel.

Extracurriculars are a great way to be active around campus. During her freshman year, Mandel was involved in Terp Thon, a dance marathon to raise money for the Children’s National Hospital.

In addition to this, Mandel was involved in College Mentors for Kids, a mentor program where she was paired with a fifth grade elementary school student and got to know and mentor her throughout the semester.

Mandel also continues to be very involved in her sorority and is currently the Vice President of Risk Reduction. This upcoming semester, she plans on working at the University of Maryland Child Development Center as an associate teacher, which she is very excited about.

“One thing that I love about Maryland is that it has something for almost everyone – whether you want to join a club sport, mock trial, a medical club, tutoring clubs, greek life, etc,” said Mandel.