Dorms

<p>What are the best dorms to live in freshman year? I will be an engineering student, but I would actually want more of a social environment than a typical eng major. When I visited, I ate in the Bursley hall dining area, and not gonna lie, it kinda stunk. If I remember correctly, the Hill is nice? What do you guys think?</p>

<p>Tbh you don’t have much control over any of it unless you join a learning community. Pretty much everyone lists their preferences for living locations 1.Hill/Central, 2. North-Bursley, 3. North-Baits/Northwood. Still, 60% of freshmen end up on north campus so just hope you don’t end up in Baits.</p>

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<p>that hurt man…</p>

<p>I know what you mean, but even if you end up in Bursley, you’ll have fun if you meet the right friends.
I’m kinda scared of that too, I’m going into engineering, but some engineering students don’t have fun from what I’ve seen… No offense to anybody.</p>

<p>You don’t want Bursley. I live in Bursley. It’s ok as far as dorms go (and the food is second only to the Hill) but the location is terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE. I hate the bus with a burning passion of a thousand suns. If you are involved in extracurrics or like to go to sporting events, it really is that bad, because the buses run much less frequently on weekends and after 7 o clock.</p>

<p>^^^
Really… Baits was my first choice… but i changed it to central/hill, then bursely, then baits…
Cus I heard baits was really boring.</p>

<p>Andre10-
What do you mean it’s bad for sporting events? For football days, the buses do not take you to the Big House?</p>

<p>How does it work If i want to get to the games on time?</p>

<p>Are Hill, Bursley and Baits the only three halls that Freshman can live in? There are a lot more on the website</p>

<p>Central/Hill includes all the dorms on Central Campus. e.g. Markley, MoJo, Couzens, etc.</p>

<p>"Andre10-
What do you mean it’s bad for sporting events? For football days, the buses do not take you to the Big House?</p>

<p>How does it work If i want to get to the games on time? "</p>

<p>The Buses do not, in fact, take you to the big house. They run very irregularly on game day, and getting back up to Bursley AFTER a game is the worst; you are tired, dehydrated, possibly hung over if you have been drinking, and the buses run infrequently enough that getting on one must be like getting on the last chopper out of Saigon. </p>

<p>It is even worse for hockey games, because those are either later at night or on saturday, so the buses don’t run very often, and its cold waiting at the bus stop in winter to boot. </p>

<p>Bottom line, always, ALWAYS put your preferences as 1. central 2. Bursley 3. baits.</p>

<p>You cant apply by certain halls, for example 3 on the central campus and not even have bursley or baits on your list?</p>

<p>^No. You can only apply by location, not names of specific halls. Your choices are Central/Hill, Bursley, Baits/Northwood.</p>

<p>Let me just add my two cents in here. While I do not live on north, I do have a number of friends who do, and I visit them quite often. While most people strive to be placed on central campus their first year, reality is that about half of the freshman class ends up on north. Yes, riding a crowded bus on Saturday morning down to central is not fun, but everyone makes it out to seem like the worst place in the world. I have friends in Bursley, Baits, and Northwood who are having an awesome time living on north. The only of my friends who genuinely hate living on north campus are the ones who didn’t go in with an open mind.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone</p>

<p>I’m going to be a music student so I’ll pretty much definitely be on North Campus, or at least I’ll need to. Everyone seems to say that Baits is worse than Bursley, yet Baits has some private bathrooms, or am I ignorant? What is the general consensus when choosing between these two dorms?</p>

<p>Bursley is a larger dorm. You’ll probably be in a double with a roommate and share a communal bathroom with your hall (which is not that bad. Seriously). In Baits, you’ll probably end up in a double, but two rooms share a private bathroom (so four people share one). Personally, I’d recommend Bursley. Lived there freshman year, had a good hall, and fun activities. While having a private bathroom may be nice, it’s also a pain to clean up and even if one person’s messy, the bathroom gets filthy fast. Bursley has a dining hall, while Baits does not (although you can walk to it). The only annoying thing about Bursley is that the buses to Central start at Baits, which means buses are usually full by the time it gets to Bursley in the rush hours in the morning.</p>

<p>From how I understood it I’d be on North Campus more anyway. Thanks for the advice! What about freshmen having cars? I know that Baits and Bursley both have parking lots and that freshmen can put themselves in the lottery or whatever. And I’ve been told that you don’t really need it, but that you can’t really leave Ann Arbor any if you don’t have one. What’s your opinion?</p>

<p>You really don’t need a car in Ann Arbor. The blue buses will get you to most places on campus, and the public bus is free for students. The only instances I can think of when people left campus by is if they lived close by and wanted to visit home, or to go to an event (for which you can probably find a friend for a ride). A car’s not necessary imo.</p>