Guide to Dorms at Michigan

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>Because I'm on spring break and I'm bored! </p>

<p>Each dorm is unique and has its own character. Campus is pretty much divided up into 3 main areas: Central, Hill, and North. I have listed the Pros and Cons of all the dorms.</p>

<p>CENTRAL CAMPUS: West Quad, South Quad, East Quad, North Quad, Betsy Barbour/Newberry,Fletcher</p>

<p>WEST QUAD</p>

<p>PROS: Probably has the best location out of all the dorms. Right across the street from the Diag. 5-10 walk to classes on central. It is right behind the Union building so you can go to Wendy's, Panda Express or Subway without even going outside. Rooms are among the biggest you'll get at Michigan (12 X 19 doubles) and many have sinks (which is a nice perk!). Near some frats (Shady, Sigma Chi) and restaurants on State Street. Overall one of the best dorms on campus. If you get this as a freshman you are lucky!</p>

<p>CONS: Has a very old feeling (built in the 30's!). However, it is getting extensive renovations in a couple of years. Community isn't as tight as other dorms such as Markley or Bursley, which are predominately freshman. Many athlethes/uppperclassman who already have their own group of friends. Still, it is about half freshmen. Also, there are no elevators so hope that you get put on a lower floor if you live here (it is a 5-story building!). Dining hall is average, but decent burrito/taco bar. It closes on weekends, you need to walk to South Quad to eat.</p>

<p>CAMBRIDGE HOUSE</p>

<p>PROS: Used to be a hotel, so rooms are big. They have nice perks such as carpeting and bathrooms attached to the rooms. Upperclassmen only, so fewer distractions from the more immature freshmen! Attached to the Union and West Quad so you don't need to go outside for food.</p>

<p>CONS: Since all rooms have private baths, they are very expensive ($13,500 for a single!!). Also, like West Quad, very old and need of renovation.</p>

<p>SOUTH QUAD</p>

<p>PROS: Very similar to West Quad (which is right across the street) but has an elevator. Big rooms and good location. Nice views of Law Quad from top floors.</p>

<p>CONS: Dining hall isn't exactly one of the best. Like West Quad, many upperclassmen/athletes and is old. Getting renovated next year though, and the dining hall is getting redone completely. Usually need to be in LSA Honors to get put here as a freshman. A bit of walk to get to CC Little, so not a good dorm for engineers who have many classes on north....</p>

<p>EAST QUAD</p>

<p>PROS: Very good location, especially for Ross and School of Education. Close to South U, which has many good bars and restaurants (which are open late!). Also close to many house parties around Packard. Perks such as sinks. Closed this year for an extensive $112 million renovation (food redone and AC) so should be one of the most sought-after dorms from next year!</p>

<p>CONS: Where all the RC Kids (mainly very liberal/ hipster) are put, so may be a very interesting living environment. Kind of a dark atmosphere (but this may change after the renovation). Rooms are not big compared to others on central (but probably bigger than Hill). Food was disguisting, with few non-vegan/vegetarian options but is supposed to get better after the renovation. </p>

<p>NORTH QUAD (living here next year)</p>

<p>PROS: Probably the best dorm for upperclassman on campus. It is the newest dorm on campus (built just 2 years ago). The rooms are mainly 4 and 5-person suites, which consists of 2 doubles or a double and a triple attached to a common living area and bathroom. Rooms are huge (range from 11X15 to 11X18 for doubles, not including the living area!). The rest are mainly single rooms with a bathroom shared with a few other people. All floors are Co-ed. Many nice study spaces and modern facilities. Best location for food! Close to great restaurants on State and Main Street areas. Food is the best quality on campus. Right across from the Diag and some classes are even held right next door in the academic part of the building. Close to the Power Center bus stop (the stop right before CC little).</p>

<p>CONS: Not a good sense of community because it’s all upperclassmen who have their own group of friends already (no freshmen can live here). In a quiet, northern corner of campus, so no dorms nearby. Dining hall gets very crowded at peak times and it difficult to find a seat. Food options are good but limited, and the portions they serve are small and on big plates so you always need to go back to get more food. Expensive room/board rates because of the semi-private baths ($12,000 a year). Getting a spot here is hard as many people are in living-learning communities such as the Global Scholars Program. You need a high lottery number in the International Impact theme-community sign up (you need to attend a meeting to participate in this sign up).</p>

<p>BETSY BARBOUR/ HELEN NEWBERRY</p>

<p>PROS: Right next to each other. Don’t know very much about these dorms as they’re very small…Very good location on State Street. Right across from Diag. </p>

<p>CONS: All girls. If you are a female and request this for freshmen year, you will get it. Strict rules for visitors. Pretty old. </p>

<p>FLETCHER (actually on South Campus)</p>

<p>PROS: Only like 75 kids, so great community. Big rooms. Mainly triples and singles. Close to IM building (best gym) and the Big House. Close to frats/house parties so good for people who like going out often. Some good restaurants nearby.</p>

<p>CONS: Probably the dorm you’d want to avoid living in the most. If you don’t like your hallmates, you’re pretty much screwed as it’s a tiny dorm and there are no other dorms in the area…It has no dining hall so you’ll need to walk 10 mins up to South Quad to eat. Classes are far. You might even need to take a bus to get to them, even if they’re on central. Kind of sketchy, especially for females (hence the name “sketchy fletchy”). Need to walk past frats at night to get there.</p>

<p>THE HILL (Dorms on and near Observatory Street, by Palmer Field): Stockwell, Mosher-Jordan, Alice Lloyd, Couzens, Mary Markley, Oxford Housing</p>

<p>STOCKWELL</p>

<p>PROS: Best location out of all the hill dorms. Right next the bridge to central and the CCRB. Like north quad it is all sophomores and up so it has a more quiet/mature feel. Recently renovated with a cool glass ceiling in the main area and a ballroom. There is AC in all rooms. </p>

<p>CONS: Not very social because all upperclassmen. Need to walk to Mojo (Hill Dining Center) next door to eat. Rooms are average in size (about 12X14 doubles). Mostly singles, so you need a high lotto number in the Sophomore Experience Theme Community sign-up to get a double.</p>

<p>MOSHER-JORDAN</p>

<p>PROS: Probably one of the nicest dorms a freshman can get. Many nice lounges for studying. Everything is renovated, with AC. The relatively new Hill dining center is in the back, and is only second to North Quad for the best food on campus. It has many food options. </p>

<p>CONS: Kind of a “nerdy” feel because most people who live here are in either the Women in engineering (WISE) or Research (MRC) living-learning community. Hard to get if you are not in one of these communities. Mainly freshmen.</p>

<p>ALICE LLOYD</p>

<p>PROS: Newly renovated with cool lounges and art studio rooms. Good mix of freshman and=sophomores. Tight-knit community feel because it is a relatively small dorm. You are lucky to get this freshman year. Most rooms are on the bigger side for the Hill (15X16 doubles) but can get very small too (11X11). </p>

<p>CONS: Unless you are in the Lloyd hall Writing program, it is very hard to get this as a freshman. Need to walk to Mojo to eat. </p>

<p>COUZENS</p>

<p>PROS: They did a great job renovating this. Very cool lighting, staircases, and lounges. There is even a game room! Like Lloyd, it is about half freshman, half sophomores. Rooms have AC and temperature control. Right next to the bus stop to north campus so good for engineers. </p>

<p>CONS: Rooms are on the smaller side, but some can be big (especially the 2-room doubles). Not many doubles open for sophomores but many singles. If you are a freshman living here and not in the Health and Science living community, it can be harder to make friends as you may be put in a hall full of sophomores. It takes a few mins to walk to the Hill dining center to eat. Also, most classes on central are a 10+ minute walk away.</p>

<p>MARY MARKLEY</p>

<p>PROS: Most social dorm on campus. It is big and full of freshman so it’s easy to make new friends. It has a nice fast-food place in the building, which can be really good especially after a night of partying! If you want the best freshman experience, hope you get this!</p>

<p>CONS: Can get rowdy at times, especially on weekend nights when you’re trying to get sleep. Full of hung-over people on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Pretty bad location; takes 15 minutes to get to most classes on central. Dining hall isn’t that great but does have a make-your-own-pizza station. Closes on weekends so need to walk to Mojo to eat. Rooms are smallest on campus (typically 12 X 12 doubles but can get even smaller!) and the dorm has a very old feel to it.</p>

<p>OXFORD HOUSING (not really on the Hill, but close enough)</p>

<p>PROS: Next to many frats (parties). Rooms are on larger side. More economical living option since many triples and quads. The new dining center (Twigs) is supposed to be decent. </p>

<p>CONS: Not a very good dorm overall. Kind of split into separate smaller buildings so harder to meet more people even though there are many freshmen. It’s kind of away from campus (separated by frats/houses) so you need to take a bus to get to classes on central. On nice days you can walk but those are rare in Michigan. </p>

<p>NORTH CAMPUS: Bursley, Baits II, Northwood II/III/IV/V</p>

<p>BURSLEY (where I live now)</p>

<p>PROS: Best dorm on North (best of the worst). Good sense of community because it’s about 90% freshman and everyone is kind of isolated on North. Its rooms are bigger than Markley’s (12X14 doubles) and a more modern feel, even though it was built in the 60’s and 70’s. Good location for engineering, art, theater, and architecture classes (5-10 min walk). Also, there is a nice convenience store/café right in the building (Blue Apple) that is open late where you can use your dining dollars. Right across the street from NCRB. Probably better than Fletcher and Oxford overall.</p>

<p>CONS: Not too social, even though it has about 1300 people because of the strange layout (corridors are perpendicular to each other). Many all-male floors. Some strange engineering and theatre kids. 10-15 minute bus ride to classes/parties on central. If you like to party, you will experience the Vomet Comet (the last bus back to North). Food is decent but gets old very fast. </p>

<p>BAITS II</p>

<p>PROS: Bigger rooms. Some renovations done recently (but minor). First stop on the Bursley-Baits bus to central, so can avoid squeezing in on exam and game days.</p>

<p>CONS: Very anti-social because split into different buildings like Oxford. Halls are very small, so don’t meet as many people. No dining hall so you need to walk to Bursley to eat. Many kids who live here end up hanging around Bursley most of the time because they make many friends there.</p>

<p>NORTHWOOD II/III/IV/V</p>

<p>PROS: Can get your own apartment with own kitchen, living space, and bathroom as a freshmen (in III). Northwood IV and V can be an economical option for upperclassman (and still get a good amount of space). More privacy. Near some restaurants and Kroger (grocery store) on Plymouth Rd.</p>

<p>CONS: Very isolated feeling as many buildings. No hall to meet people as a freshmen. Very long commute to classes as it can take a while to get to a bus stop to central, depending on where you live in the complex. Need to walk up to 15 mins to Bursley to eat. Especially bad if you’re roommates aren’t good (many druggies). Worst option for freshmen, especially if in LSA. Try to switch to at least Bursley if you get this.</p>

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<p>Pretty much correct. Moral of the story: get off campus sophomore year and on. None of the dorms are that great.</p>

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<p>Thanks! :D</p>

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<p>Quick question: Would you say that Honors housing and HSSP Housing (Couzens) are still relatively social?</p>

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<p>They are social but more of the “substance free” kind. Less alcohol/partying and more planned events such as going to a movie or ice skating.</p>

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<p>Thanks for this very thorough evaluation of the on campus housing options. </p>

<p>What is off campus housing like? Are rooms furnished, or do students need to furnish them themselves?</p>

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<p>Are there really “strict rules for visitors” in Barbour & Newberry? I lived in Newberry for two years in the mid-80s. While it is all-female, I don’t recall that there were any rules for visitors. I did have a friend who lived in Martha Cook, and they had rules (hours when men could not be on the floor). I also don’t see Cook on your list… I was looking it up on the internet for another reason lately, and think it is still a housing option. Although maybe it is not technically a dorm?</p>

<p>Per maizeandblue’s comment, I had a great experience living off-campus in co-op housing senior year at Michigan. So that is an option sort of between dorms and apartments.</p>

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<p>My friend lived in the apartments on North campus during freshman year. I stayed over night there tons of times and no one even knew about it. Similarly, our friend in the dorms on that campus (can’t remember the name… The ones by the cafeteria) said they don’t have night watch or anything. </p>

<p>Dunno about the others, though.</p>

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<p>Is MOSHER-JORDAN predominantly women since WISE is in there? OR do they make up for the fact that theres an entire living community of women in the dorm by only accepting male non-living community students?</p>

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<p>I don’t know too much about off campus options but I think apartments are furnished. </p>

<p>Sorry, I made a mistake. Martha Cook is the dorm with restricted visiting hours for males. Not Helen Newberry/Barbour </p>

<p>And I think they do try to put more males that are not in any living community in Mojo. All the people I know in Mojo who are not in MRC or WISE are guys…</p>

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<p>

Off campus housing varies a ton. There’s fraternity and sorority houses, high-rise apartment complexes (Zaragon, Zaragon West, 411 Lofts, and Landmark), other apartments which are all over the place, and then actual off campus houses shared by anywhere from 5-15 people. Basically the high-rise apartments are the nicest and the most expensive, but everything else is generally alright and a clear upgrade over the dorms. Whatever you get will almost for sure be furnished as well. I’m a sophomore and almost all my friends live off campus. It’s the way to go for sure. You get more for your money and have way more freedom.</p>

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<p>Wait ur at Michigan and ur a Blue Devils fan? how does that work out lol. Also is it easy to get Markley as a freshman?</p>

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<p>I knew someone would ask that! lol. I actually wanted to go to Duke but didn’t get in and I don’t know how to change my username…</p>

<p>Most freshman get put in Bursley, Baits II, Northwood III, or Markley. If you get put anywhere else (except for Oxford or Fletcher) consider yourself lucky!</p>

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<p>My good friend (currently a Freshman at UMich for CoE) is in Bursley, I think. He does not seem to dislike it at all, but then again, I think he’s sharing a suite with his best friend from High School. That, along with some of the activities and groups he’s involved with, have supplied him with enough social interaction that I don’t think any antisocial-ness (That isn’t a word…) should be a problem for him. I hope that if I get in, I can at least not have to walk a ton to get to a dining hall. :)</p>

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<p>Is it worth risking the lotto? I really want to get into Markley, it seems like the perfect dorm for me (I don’t care whatsoever about dorm size, I never have needed space; I care more about the atmosphere). I really want to do the First Year Experience here, it seems awesome.</p>

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<p>If you really want Markley, you should do the First Year Experience. Remember though a lot of freshman are put in Markley, there are many dorms on campus! So there would only be like a 15-20% chance of getting Markley with the lotto</p>

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<p>hey what is the 1st Yr Xperience?</p>

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<p>This is very helpful, thanks!</p>

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<p>The 1st year experience is this living community which aims to help freshman adjust to college life. They have group events such as going to movies, etc. I have not heard much about it but it is located in Markley and Northwood III. But here is a link that explains more: [First</a> Year Experience | University Housing](<a href=“Michigan Housing”>Welcome | First Year Experience)</p>

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<p>I know a lot about housing so if you have any questions please feel to ask!!</p>