Dorm Advice

<p>A friend of mine in high school asked for some advice, so I was helping him and my post turned out to be much longer then I expected it to be, so I figured it might help some of you guys as well:</p>

<p>I'd highly advise you to choose central campus as your first preference. you will hear lots of complaints about being stuck on north campus, but in all reality, it isn't that bad. the only times where i really regret being stuck on north are saturday/sunday cause the bus's don't travel as often (on the other hand, during the weekdays bus's aren't bad at all, in fact i leave my dorm room about the same time as someone in the markley/lloyd/couzens (hill area) and still get to class ta the same time), or late past 2 AM (cause there are no buses? except on weekends where they run till 3).</p>

<p>anyways, here's a better break down of the dorms:</p>

<p>Hill Area:
Markley - Best food in hill area, most freshman, probably best out of hill area
Couzens - 2nd best food in hill area, although there aren't as many ppl living there
Lloyd - food is sometimes a problem cause the cafeteria isn't open as long as couzens/markley</p>

<p>Problems with hill area: living there probably requires the most walking (to get to classes, school building, etc.), although the distance to the frats (where most of the parties are) are about the same when compared to the dorms on central (although there are a few frats that are closer to central).</p>

<p>Central Area:
South Quad
West Quad</p>

<p>The food/location of both are basically top notch and can't get any better. People argue that the only food that is better is at Bursley. also, they are the closest to all the school buildings and what not. basically, these are the dorms u will probably want to live in.</p>

<p>Problems: there aren't as many freshman that live in west/south quad. also, within south quad, there will be alot of LSA honors students (so they probably won't be as outgoing), and on top of that, both dorms have lots of athletes. basically, there are less people, (but not to say there won't be alot of normal freshman).</p>

<p>North Campus:
Bursley: Best on north campus, arguably the best food out of all of michigan's dorms. lots of freshman
Baits I/II: Worse dorms period. you will have to walk to bursley to get food, not to mention ur on north campus. and baits doesn't have "halls", but they have seperate buildlings, so it's a little harder to meet people also.</p>

<p>Problems: north campus = buses. which means your screwed if you don't get on a bus past 2 on weekdays and 3 on weekends (although you could call a taxi still). also, it means that on weekends it takes a much longer time then usual to get to places on central (and central is where most things are, unless your an engineer or art student). although on weekdays it isn't bad at all cause you'll be able to ride in a nice and warm bus and still take just as long to get to class as the kids in the hill area. </p>

<p>Party life revolves mostly around frats at michigan. and since all frats are on central campus, it's obviously a little easier to live on central. however, people always say that if your stuck on north campus, u have to leave parties early and what not. however, this isn't really the case cause almost all frat parties end at 3 AM (and well, usually, parties are on fri/sat, so catching a bus isn't really a problem unless its a weekday which the party is held (in that case you'll have to go back early), in fact, it's kinda fun talking to drunk kids on the bus and stuff). now, on the other hand, for house parties and non-frat related parties, these might go past 3 AM...although to be honest, usually frat parties trump house parties and whatnot. but not to put them down, sometimes there are some really good house parties and club parties or w/e. </p>

<p>Anyways, I hope this helps a ton and go blue! :)</p>

<p>The Hill Dining Center is opening, Fall 2008. So the food would be the same for all dorms in the Hill Area. And in all probability the best on campus, beating Bursley.
Oh and MoJo Res Hall is opening too, newly renovated so it should be great.</p>

<p>crap, I just got my housing contract, and it's Oxford. I haven't heard of any good things about Oxford yet from other threads. is it that bad? can I request for a reassignment?</p>

<p>Oh I forgot about Oxford.</p>

<p>Oxford, it's located pretty far away from where your classes are and stuff. however, it is the closest to the frats (with the exception of a few that are located near central campus). I don't think there is a cafeteria there, so your going to have to be doing alot of walking in order to eat, which will suck alot :(</p>

<p>I'd argue that Oxford is worse the Bursley, but better then Baits I/II.</p>

<p>How about East Quad? I got assigned there for this winter, I'm a transfer student btw. Where does that stack up? Better than Bursley/Oxford or no? I'm not in the residential college also.</p>

<p>zkevin do you happen to be the very helpful current student in the Michigan group ;) ?</p>

<p>Damnn, I keep forgetting about certain dorms lol. </p>

<p>I'd say East Quad is pretty good, definitely better then Bursley/Oxford. The only major problem imo would be that there aren't as many "normal" (don't take this in a bad way, I just mean not normal as in they are honors/in a learning community/RC etc.) people, as most people in EQ are going to be involved in some sort of RC. Location is pretty good, only a tad worse then south/west quad, but it's still much better anything on Hill.</p>

<p>Doubledian: I don't think I am? :p</p>

<p>Frat parties trump house parties if you enjoy the taste of stale natty ice/light.</p>

<p>"there will be alot of LSA honors students (so they probably won't be as outgoing),"</p>

<p>So judgmental, yet so true.</p>

<p>Good advice.</p>

<p>so the sooner we choose michigan, we have a better chance for dorm choice?</p>

<p>i'm going in as a freshman engineer and was considering north just because its near all the engineering buildings and near the "dude". but if i select my preference as north, what is the chance of getting into bursley, because I definitely don't want to go to baits I/II</p>

<p>I'm guessing your friend is not a girl. I heard Markley's dorms are TINY. Like, the size of my Martha Cook closet.</p>

<p>Most freshmen engineers only have about one class on North Campus a semester. Markley has a good dining facility but the rooms and hallways are very small and there's a lot of freshmen (i.e. a loud environment, which may be nice if you want to meet people but bad if you want to sleep/study).</p>

<p>You only have one engineering class/semester freshman year, so that shouldn't make you want to be close to your classes. Really no need to be at the Dude...the computer sites in your dorm will have CAEN computers, or at least the Ugli does.</p>

<p>The Hill Dining Center is going to have the best food on campus, so that strikes Bursley's food justification.</p>

<p>Atmostfear: i thought housing assignments didnt come out til the summer?</p>

<p>vc08,
I'm going for this coming winter, as in winter 2008. and I haven't decided yet where I'm gonna stay. shoot, there's only a week left.</p>

<p>Yeah Oxford does suck (I'm speaking from experience). During finals week we had a winter storm and I was stuck in my dorm during the weekend and basically starved, since the nearest dining hall is Markley (about a 15 minute walk). Avoid this dorm at all costs, esepcially if you're not a party freak. I hate the people there too, because they love getting drunk and won't be friendly unless you're the party type too.</p>

<p>do most freshman engineering students tend to congregate in a specific dorm area? because I'm aware engineering is a harder major than others so it would be less likely to get distracted if you had other engineers housing near you to get the work done</p>

<p>
[quote]
do most freshman engineering students tend to congregate in a specific dorm area?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Most of the freshman engineering students are in Bursley, but engineering is a big school, so a freshman class of a thousand or more is going to have hundreds in various different dorms anyway. </p>

<p>Bursley is nice in that it's right next to the CoE on north campus. You're always next to the dude, which is a nice place to work, and classes. On the ohter hand as a freshman you have usually have just one, at most two, engineering classes anyway, so you'll be taking the bus to central campus a lot.</p>

<p>ok, thanks for clarifying. good luck!</p>

<p>if you choose north campus though, does that mean you have a 50/50 chance of getting stuck in baits I/II instead of bursley? or is there any way to specify?</p>

<p>bump for question</p>