I’m transferring to Mich with 36 credits this January and I’m a bit confused about the roommate situation. First off, from the colleges I’ve gotten into when apply out of high school, there’s a Facebook where you can talk to other admitted students and find a roommate from there. I haven’t gotten any such thing, but I’m pretty sure I can remember some of using it to find roommates out of high school. What’s the deal with that? Am I going to get one or does it not exist for transfers?
Also, when I apply for housing there’s only North Neighborhood available, is that because that’s the only one with space left?
Search for the FB name of your class - such as University of Michigan Class of 2020. For University Housing, North Campus may be all that is available. A great option, being that you are not a freshman, is to search in FB, Craigslist, etc. for an open room off campus, near Central Campus. There are fantastic sublease deals for the Winter semester because of so many students going abroad and subletting their rooms. If you negotiate a good deal, you’ll pay much less to be right near Central Campus than being on North.
On the housing website there are also listings for contract reassignment…kids who want to get out of their dorm contract for winter term and have someone else take it over.
Buckets, you have a million options for housing. If you let the University assign you a roommate blind, you’ll likely end up on North in Bursley-Baits dorms. North isn’t so bad, but it does have the drawback of requiring a 20 minute commute on the bus. If you’re the party type…North has been described as “social death”…lol. But if you’re a nerd who likes engineers, D&D, movie parties, and less alcohol driven gatherings, you’d probably quite like it. My daughter lives in the Northwood university apartments and loves North because it’s quieter.
Keep in mind, at UMich, you are not required to use university housing at all…and regardless of where you live, it will not affect your aid. As a previous poster pointed out, there will be tons of subleases available for winter semester. Not just kids going abroad, but kids who needed only half a super-senior year but signed a year contract to get an apartment they liked. There will be tons of people closer to central looking for new winter roommates if you’d rather be closer to the action.
Plenty of dorms, but plenty of rooms in houses and apartments, too. Make a point to review all of your options. If I were doing it…there’s no way I’d live in a dorm when I could get a room in a house or an apartment cheaper.
If you go to apartments dot com (can’t type that here, or they’ll nix it), use Ann Arbor for a location and zoom in until you’re on central campus, you’ll see hundreds of available rooms in houses and apartments all around it. You can narrow your search by what you’re looking for, price range, etc. For what the dorms cost, you can find a much nicer room in a house with a kitchen and some space to breath. Plenty of options on the UMich bus route or within walking distance to central.
@buckets97 as @MaryGJ already suggested, apartment sublets are readily available mid-year. The high-end apartments such as Landmark, Zaragon, Zaragon West, Arbor Blu etc; have countless students going abroad who are more than willing to have someone take over their rooms for half their cost. Room shares that normally go for $900-$1000 can often be had for $500/month. Most students will gladly accept what they can get, as its better than bearing the total cost while not residing there. These buildings have security, fitness rooms, study rooms, etc and all residents are students. Definitely worth checking out. You can google the buildings and contact them directly.
This website https://offcampushousing.umich.edu/ allows you to search off campus housing options and search for roommates (need to have a UM login ID).
I believe North hosts the Transfer Student experience. So that’s one advantage to North, other transfers. But the pricy buildings where you’ll get a huge sublet bargain can be great too.