I’m currently working on my LSA honors application, and I’m wondering if I should go for South Quad if I get in. My main concern if is South Quad would be a good idea freshman year. I would like to meet as many freshmen during my first year as possible, so would I have a better experience in Bursley or Markley instead of South Quad?
Look into learning communities too for great housing and communities with freshmen.
S Quad is ideal.
So if were to stay there I wouldn’t miss out on meeting a lot of people? I’m not really interested in any learning communities, just honors.
@whizkid98 Short Answer: No
Just curious, but what is your main motivation in doing honors if you are skeptical of the housing?
I’m just interested in the honors classes and curriculum. Housing is secondary for me.
Well, you can be in the honors program without doing honors housing. In my opinion, though, South Quad is just about an ideal location in terms of convenience and access to everything for an LSA freshman, honors or not, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet freshmen there, they’ll just mostly be honors freshmen. Nothing wrong with that, though, because it just means there will be a lot of overlap between people you’re taking classes with and people you’re living near, which I should think would only enhance opportunities to really get to know them.
You say you want to “meet as many freshmen . . . as possible,” but realistically, what does that mean? There will be more than 6,000 people in your freshman class, spread all over campus. You won’t meet all of them, because you can’t. Wherever you live, you’ll get to know the names of maybe a few hundred of them in your freshman year, and probably have any significant face-to-face interaction with fewer than that. You’ll probably really “get to know” a few dozen, though you may have superficial acquaintances with more. As far as I can see, that experience isn’t going to be much different whether you’re in Bursley, or Markley, or South Quad. What will differ is proximity to your classes (presumably on Central Campus), the Union, extracurriculars and cultural events (mostly on Central Campus), shops and services on State Street and South U, downtown Ann Arbor, the Athletic campus—all of which heavily favors South Quad.
But to each his own.
I heard South Quad is a tad bit “cliquey” from some people who live there (can someone confirm or deny?). It has a great location and dining hall, but also most rooms do not have A/C even after the renovation, if I am not mistaken- and my A/C room came in VERY handy first semester.