The Varsity College Park, college-park-md

This was my second year living at The Varsity and I am finally leaving. The first year was a mess. We got a room infested with cockroaches so that explains that. My second year unit was fine, but I had a roommate I could absolutely not deal with. Despite all of the issues we've had here with the past staff, I am FOREVER grateful to the current staff for helping me transfer into a newly renovated unit. One of the managers and a staff member patiently listened to the problems I was experiencing with this roommate. They approved of my transfer in just 1-2 days with no extra fees. They also had another manager and staff member watch over my things as I moved out. The Varsity is definitely improving! Especially the staff.

Im not one to write reviews at all but this was HORRIBLE. I moved in around august last year into a absolutely disgusting unit, had to BEG to get my walls repainted and carpet replaced because of the god knows what stains that were everywhere. Apartments are supposed to be checked and cleaned before moving in, it was not. The kitchen was filthy. The gym has maybe two working machines along with 90% of the dumbbells missing, and they kick you out of the gym at noon to clean it for an hour no matter how many people are clearly using it. Study rooms were nice didnt have an issue there. The elevators were broke for WEEKS, and as of now i believe 2 of the main ones are broke yet again. Took WEEKS to fix. The amount of times the fire alarms seemingly go off for no reason at absurd times is ridiculous i shouldnt be told to evacuate my apartment for 3 nights in a row at 2 am just to find out theres no reason i had to. Maintenance requests, ppffttt what are those, expect long wait times if you need something or a half of a solution instead of actually fixing it. I believe we have new maintenance people, which is what prompted me to write this, as they are doing idk what, i am in my apartment using the bathroom and i hear a knock on the door and then someone came in. Did not say maintenance, did not give time to even get to the door to open it. YOU CANT JUST WALK INTO SOMEONES APARTMENT WITHOUT ADDRESSING WHO YOU ARE OR KNOCK ONCE THEN HELP YOURSELF as you dont know if someone is home or not. The ONLY good thing about this place is the court yard and if you have classes near the SPH, which at that point you are better living next door at University View.

This place sucks. We hardly have working elevators, if you write staff an email there's a chance you just don't hear back from them (I wrote them an email regarding being charged twice for utilities nearly a month ago with a follow up email following and still have not heard back from them) and a laundry list of other reasons you will find under these reviews on their poor service. They offer free rewards for people who give them good reviews on google so I honestly would think twice when reviewing those as well. Don't live here bro trust me.

The building is okay nothing special, an older complex near UMD. The rooms are nice. They were a little dirty on move-in (hair around the edges, carpet a touch grimy), but nothing unacceptable.(Floor plan 4X4A ~$1200) The appliances are older but work perfectly fine. The unit comes fully furnished with a three-person couch, a two-person couch, a coffee table, and a TV stand — all fine. Many complain about the bar noise but I found it to be a non factor. I lived in a unit pretty above the bar and found it was only really bad on the weekends and Tues(Cheap drink night) usually lasting late into the night 1-2am. Cars do often rev in the parking lot but don't stick around long. The staff does a great job at keeping the gym spotless as well as the public bathrooms and game room. The hallways can smell but that comes with any college unit. The reason I'm only giving a few stars comes down to a couple of experiences. Everyone's will differ, but here's mine. A worker came to my unit without any notice and demanded to enter. I told him I'd received no notice of entry and that he'd have to come back. He claimed he didn't need to notify me, argued with me, and the exchange turned hostile while I was in my own home. Management handled the situation appropriately afterward, and the property manager in particular was great. Second, the payments. Like a lot of buildings, they use an online portal. I was overcharged once, and rather than refunding the account that was charged, they simply credited it toward my balance. That would be fine normally, but I needed that money back ($434) so I had to go through my bank to recover it myself. Doing so the building charged me a fee for that ($35). I would say that this building is a great option for CS and Engineer majors in particular the buildings are legit 5min from the front entrance. And even with the events I would still say this is a solid choice. Just understand your renters rights living here.

Been living here for over a year now (just renewed), and it’s honestly gotten a lot better. Management fixed the WiFi, elevators (at least for a period of time—they’re broken again), and package delivery system. My roommates and I are lucky to be in a unit facing the courtyard, so we don’t have to deal with Looney’s. Overall, it seems like management is trying a lot harder. Still a lot of issues that could use more attention, but I guess it takes time.