Academics
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, in cozy St. Mary’s City, is itself “like a small town in that everyone knows everyone” and “the minute you step on this campus, you’re a part of the family.” Students boast that the school is “a place to grow as a person and become part of a lifelong family.” Students enjoy classes that are always “challenging but never impossible” taught by professors who “get to know you personally” and “take an interest in your future.” One student describes a favorite professor, saying, “I only took a single class with him, and yet he helped me get a paper for his class published, I talk with him weekly, and he has mentored my sister through difficult academic situations.” SMCM professors “are an interesting bunch, not afraid to speak their minds and push students to become involved.” Students find that “many professors are extremely good at making classes interesting and at engaging students” through “discussion based” approaches. While SMCM “professors are demanding” and “expect a great deal from students,” “they are always willing to help.” Professors help students look towards the future with “internships and research opportunities” and “post-graduate plans.” Many students cite the relationships they built with faculty as “largest benefit to attending SMCM.” They “provided an extensive network“ of professional and academic connections, but they also “let students babysit their kids.” “When the professors know you by name and care about your personal life and your general well-being,” it “fosters an atmosphere of accountability and responsibility” among the student body. “I would feel guilty,” one student explains, “if I didn’t go to class, didn’t read, or didn’t compete my work.”
Student Body
At SMCM “there are plenty of students who are super involved, and almost everyone is very intelligent and well spoken.” Students “value difference” and try to “foster relationships based on mutual respect,” so it is no wonder that many describe themselves as having an eclectic group of friends. “It’s hard not to have a diverse friend group here,” one religious studies major tells us, “and that is greatly comforting.” Students feel free to be themselves, without pretence, because, as another student explains, “This is a place that is full of people who just want to be accepted, and therefore accept others.” As a result, SMCM students are “kind, and even a little goofy! We like to keep St. Mary’s weird.” “There is no one group someone belongs to” at St. Mary’s “because it seems like everyone belongs together.” One biology major sums up the student body, saying, “I am so happy that I am able to walk about this campus knowing that every person I walk past could be a conversation away from being a friend of mine.”
Campus Life
Students say “there is a sense of community” at SMCM “and people are extremely friendly” because it is part of “the St. Mary’s way.” These academically minded “students mostly go to class, study or work during the week,” but some may relax from time to time at a “local bar called the Green Door where there are weekday specials.” But “without much of a town nearby,” students “are kept entertained through the vast selection of clubs available as well as the student organized events.” Students stage “cook-offs between houses” on campus and support one another by attending “orchestra, dance club, theater, [and] burlesque” performances, as well as “scientific presentations/lectures.” In spring, when the weather is warm, “people enjoy the waterfront and natural landscape around campus.” Whether they are admiring “the beauty of the St. Mary’s River” from a kayak, “[tanning] on the docks,” “taking walks in the woods,” or keeping warm next to a bonfire, outdoor activities are popular and “only a short walk from the campus center.” For others there is nothing better “on a warm day” than “to sit outside at the campus center or on the patio of an academic building with a cup of coffee and a few friends.”
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