How Much of a Pain is North Campus?

<p>I really like almost everything about Michigan and its programs and community, but the fact that Engineering is separated from the main campus disturbs me.</p>

<p>To me it would seem that having to take a bus everywhere would be absolutely terrible, and I feel horrible having to cross Michigan off of my list just because of that little quirk.</p>

<p>For engineering students at Michigan, is living/taking classes on North campus a huge pain? Do you feel separated from the school? Does it detract from your college experience? </p>

<p>Thanks for your help,
mvmanno</p>

<p>Not at all. You can practically live anywhere on the Michigan campus you want, providing they have the space available. The campus is large, but really not any larger than a campus like Michigan State. It's just that it has a distinctively different feel between central and north campus'. I think that's what is so cool about it. It's not a huge pain at all. Buses run like every 10 minutes during peak times and they are free. It only takes like 5 minutes to get from one campus to the other. Many engineering students also live at north campus and bus to central. It's easy. Remember to that the vast majority of students only live in the dorms the first year or two at most.</p>

<p>Well I would assume they may have a good travel system establish.</p>

<hr>

<p>As many probably have read my post on this forum, how I find Michigan State University by far the best campus I've seen. Looking at University of Michigan- Ann Arbor north campus, I've notice characteristics in how their campus could have been really astonishing to me, but that would have not been lead to the phase of intermixing the campus and city together ( but more like how Michigan State University and East Lansing is layout). Though I have not been to University of Michigan- Ann Arbor campus, and I'm sure when I do I'll find it nice.</p>

<p>rjkofnovi</p>

<p>Are you a student at Michigan (or engineer their)?</p>

<p>If so, do engineers basically have all of their classes on North?</p>

<p>depends on the engineering major. my friend, who is an 'engineering physics' major, has all or almost all of his classes on central campus. his dorm is also on central campus.</p>

<p>when i go back and forth from central/north, i bring flashcards on the bus. for me, it's not a hassle...</p>

<p>I'm an engineer...virtually all engineering classes are on north. Chem, math, physics, etc. will be on central. Every once in a while, you'll get an engineering class on central.</p>

<p>Honestly, I think that the north campus setup is easier to deal with vs. a huge campus like MSU. There are a couple main bus routes to North Campus and it is really easy to get up there and back. Very efficient, doesn't bother me much. If I only have one class on North sandwiched between free time that I would spend at home (such as the only class on Friday, etc.), I'll drive up there much of the time, especially when it's cold.</p>

<p>North campus is nice because there is actually some parking available, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. Once football finished up last semester, when I wanted to study on the weekend, I just drove up to North Campus.</p>

<p>I can't understand a word of coolbreeze's post. MSU's campus is nice, but it seems much bigger than Michigan's. I guess my main point is, at U of M, you can walk pretty much anywhere on campus (just need to take a bus between Central and North.) At MSU it seems like you need to take a bus just about everywhere.</p>

<p>Thanks, guys. More info is welcome.</p>

<p>Coolbreeze, please do not even respond to the above post. This is a Michigan thread in a Michigan forum. If I were interested in Michigan State, I would not be posting here.</p>

<p>hahah lol stick it to the man mvmanno. Coolbreeze is a disgruntled spartan that wont leave the michigan threads alone!</p>

<p>Burn. Bump.</p>

<p>Not a pain at all. As a freshman engineer, you'll have probably one class per semester on North, so living on Central is usually preferred. The buses are fantastic, believe me, I know the exact time I can leave my house in the morning and catch the last bus that will get me to class on time, and I get annoyed when it's even one or two minutes late. I've heard of my friends at MSU waiting in the cold for buses for a half hour? 45 min? I forget their horror stories...</p>

<p>I like riding the bus, it's a nice brain break, you can finish up an explanation on your homework, run into someone you haven't seen in a while and catch up, etc. Having all the engineering things on North campus also helps make the school seem smaller, because there's tons of fabulous computer labs and comfy study corners and MUCH fewer people using them. No psych majors facebooking when all you need to do is print the graphs for your homework and you can go home... </p>

<p>When my friends from MSU visit, they're fascinated by the immediate transition from campus buildings to student houses. I think the buses there are mainly because their campus is so damned big and if you don't live in the dorms, you don't live within walking distance of anything.</p>

<p>it's ok on weekdays..pain in the butt on weekends...</p>

<p>I agree with bearcats. I live across from North Campus. Weekend buses run... every 20 minutes. It's even worse during football Saturdays when everyone packs the buses and it just seems so much better to walk 40 minutes to central campus/downtown from north campus than to be crammed. One time i waited an entire hour...</p>

<p>You'll learn to time things so going to North Campus for your one class won't be a big deal.</p>

<p>Im an aerospace freshman and I got credit for nearly every pre req so i have only calc on central but all my other classes are on north so it worked out well for me...
North can be fun and i like it better im a suburban person so living on north is like living in the suburbs, its quieter, greener, the mall isnt far away, there are places to go eat but most of the entertainment is on central...it is only a real pain on the weekend if you like to enjoy nightlife which is primarily on central as the buses dont run that frequently and at night stop after 3am...</p>

<p>I lived in Bursley in Fall '71, Winter '72 and from the postings above I see that things haven't changed much with the bus service. Back then, there was always a lineup for the bus to early morning classes, which was a real pain when it was sub-freezing. It was also a pain coming back from town late at night on weekends. The main stop on central campus does not provide much protection against the elements.</p>

<p>Then again, when one of our friends fell asleep in the back of the bus and wasn't discovered until the driver took the bus back to the terminal provided comic relief for our entire floor for about a month.</p>

<p>FYI OP -- note that they stagger the class start times between central and north to accommodate for the brief commute.
My S. is aiming to dual degree between LSA and School of Music. He is also aiming to seek residence at Lloyd Hall (in the Lloyd Hall scholars program) on the Hill. Benefit of that approach is he's within walking to central and a short ride to north for classes...yet ideally avoids any weekend/social bussing issue. You may wish to explore residence on the Hill, but to do so, you'd need to apply to a Michigan Learning Community that is housed in one of those residences.
Congrats, btw.
Cheers,
K</p>

<p>For freshmen, what's better Baits houses or Bursley hall?</p>

<p>Baits is not designed for Freshmen. It is quite, secluded and not that pleasant. Bursley is much better for Freshmen.</p>

<p>There are no absolutes Alexandre. I lived in Baits my sophomore year in a single, and there were plenty of freshmen there who liked living at Baits. It's definitely A LOT quieter than any of the other dorms. But, if you are not particularly outgoing, living in Baits might not be the best idea, as the way Baits is set up, you probably won't get to know 20+ people in your dorm unless you try hard. And you absolutely DO need to take the bus unless you have a car. I decided on Baits after a year of living in a party-central floor in Markley... where it was pretty hard to study in my room. I actually liked living in Baits, it gave me a lot of peace and quiet when I needed it.</p>

<p>You make a very valid point kb. For some students, Baits lacks the distractions and makes for a very effective living/studying living space.</p>

<p>And for the coming fall all of baits i believe will be exclusively for freshman…</p>