Michigan Housing for an Engineering Student

Hi there,
I was admitted to the University of Michigan for biomedical engineering. I need some advice from students who already attend or know a lot about the school — for the first year, is it better to live on campus or in an apartment separate from the school? What is housing like at Umich?

I also heard that the North campus dorms are awful, can anyone who’s experienced it shed some light on this? I am the first person in my family going to college in the United States so I could use any and all info and advice you have to give about which housing option is best, the differences between the halls, and so on.

Thank you so much!

According to the CDS, 98% of freshman live on campus. I assume some of the remaining 2% are local.

Here’s a somewhat dated review that we used to learn more about UMich dorms.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theodysseyonline.com/freshman-dorms-at-michigan-an-insiders-scoop.amp

I wouldn’t miss out on the freshman experience by living off campus your first year.

@sushiritto , thanks! Are you a student there? Or do you have any experience visiting the campus or the dorms? How do I know which Hall and which campus is best for me?

I’m a parent of a freshman. I’ve seen most of the dorms on Central Campus and The Hill, but for Markley, and they’re all really nice and remodeled. UMich has been upgrading all their facilities for years.

IIRC, you may be able to state an area (and room type) of preference (The Hill, Central or North) on your housing application, but otherwise you will have no choice in your housing. You get what they give you.

If you somehow are placed on Central (East, West, South Quads, etc.) or The Hill (MoJo, Couzens, etc.) you’re as good as gold. I have not been to Markley or North Campus, but I highly doubt that UMich would allow students to live in substandard housing. There’s so much new construction and remodeling going on that almost everything will have been fully upgraded in a couple years.

Mom of a recent grad here. I would not say that North dorms are awful, but they have a reputation of being less social than most of those on Central campus. North is a bus ride from Central campus and the football games, bars, frat parties, etc. North is a quieter, more tree-filled campus and it is not unusual to see deer. You will still meet a lot of people and there are many freshman who live on North. Some find it quite peaceful and others hate it because it’s too boring compared to Central.

Bursley is the largest of the dorms on North, the most social of those on North, and has the North Campus cafeteria in it. Baits is quieter than Bursley, but my daughter’s suite-style room was huge. Northwoods are apartment-style, the most quiet, least social and furthest from most North Campus classroom buildings. The bus service between North and Central runs frequently and is fairly convenient. Unless you start with a ton of AP credit, many of your freshman classes will be on Central. After that, most of your BME courses will be on North.

Hope that helps a little!

My son lived on Central campus his freshman year. As a second year with junior credit all his classes for engineering and all his activities and job are on North Campus. He is in Northwood 3. He likes it there but is not a picky kid. The apartment is bland but a good size. It takes him 12-15 minute walk to classes and he enjoys that. On central it took him in 10-12 minutes. North is very quiet. Taking the bus to central campus and for games is just not a big deal and actually a good way to meet people as he has done. Life is what you make of it. He had the option to move anywhere he wanted to for his junior year but decided to stay where he is at. If he was not happy he would of moved.

Stepdaughter has stayed in Bursley for Engineering Camps last 2 years and if accepted to the M-Engin 2 yr program, you are locked into living in Bursley.

It’s an older dorm, rooms are small, no air conditioning and the windows barely open(safety). That said, the a/c issue was a much bigger deal w/ summer camps than it will be for maybe a month and a half during Fall term.

It’s big and you will definitely get a lot of socialization opportunity. It’s close to classes and North Campus is quieter. Having the Cafeteria there is a big deal in the winter.

She isn’t a big fan of the negatives but wants the larger experience, so hopefully she will get into M-Engin (pretty good shot). If no, she is looking at MoJo.

Good luck and Go Blue!

Current sophomore at UMich. For the first year, I would recommend living on campus as it is a great way to meet and make friends that also live in your dorms. Some of my closest friends were people lived in my hall freshmen year. As for North Campus dorms, they really are what you make of it. As an engineering student, most of your classes will be on North campus, so your commute time to class will be less than if you lived on Central.

Current student: Live in the dorms freshman year. I really can’t give you any reason to do otherwise and can give you a list of reasons not to.

Also north campus dorms are really not bad, people just don’t like that they have to ride the buses… and obviously thousands upon thousands of people have successfully lived there and “survived” having to bus. Some of the central/hill dorms may be a bit nicer but that doesn’t mean the north ones are terrible. Baits isn’t generally super social because it’s suite style (two dorms with a shared bath between about 4 total people) but some people love that (my good friend ADORED baits). Bursley’s largely freshmen, so it’s pretty social. Markley, though the least desirable dorm on the hill/central, is also well loved by many due to being VERY social since it’s 1200 freshmen. Historically there wasn’t much to do on North Campus, but now a days there’s stuff nearby and the North Campus diag is super nice.

My son is also admitted to the College of Engineering, and is about to submit his housing application.He is leaning toward Central campus cause everyone says that North campus is the worst. However, I have heard that it is almost not possible for freshman engineer to get into the good dorms like West Quad or South Quad. Is that correct? Many freshman engineering students who put Central Campus as their top preference ended up in Markley, and I do not want my so to end up in Markley. Would it be worth to put North campus as his preference so he could get Bursley which is not the dream dorm either, but at least he will have many freshman engineers living with him?

Unfortunately, Michigan does not have living communities for freshman engineers, so my question is: would he get a better chance to have freshman engineering students living close (same hall) with him at Bursley? Is there any way to specify in the housing application that he would prefer to room with other engineering student instead of music or art major?

@Mimomofthree @Knowsstuff has a sophomore engineering student who now lives on North Campus, but as a freshman lived in West Quad on Central Campus.

First, congrats to your S for his acceptance to CoE. Second, North Campus isn’t that bad. It’s not the most desired location, but some actually prefer it. It’s quieter and the recreation center has been remodeled as has the Baits II dorm.

Here’s a fact. 37% of the freshman housing is on North Campus. 63% of housing is on The Hill or Central Campus.

I hadn’t heard that freshman CoE students requesting Central Campus are automatically placed into Markley, but the one person my freshman student knows that’s a freshman CoE student does actually live at Markley. But that’s a sample of one. @Knowsstuff 's son lived in West Quad, so that’s a sample of two. In any case, Markley is a very social dorm and a lot of kids love it there.

Has you S tried to meet someone on the admitted students Facebook page? The probabilty of living with an SMTD student is very small. Last year, there were only 200 SMTD students, 1,363 CoE students and 4,163 LSA students, so just based on probability, your S will likely be housed with either an LSA or CoE student.

I don’t think I answered any of your questions, but hoping it helped in some small way.

@xygate487 I graduated a LONG time ago, but did live in Bursley my first year. All of my classes were on central campus, so had to take the bus every day, but I actually didn’t mind it very much, and it was warmer in the winter to get to classes that way compared to friends who lived in Hill dorms and had to walk 15 minutes to class. Bus ride is about 10 min or so to central campus. If you are in C of E then you will have more classes on North Campus anyways, so that would be a great (possibly best) option for you!
Bursley is a social dorm and the rooms are about the same size as all the other dorms. They just redid the dining facilities this year and they are just like South Quad, with lots of different stations and types of food…and it’s really delicious! I would highly recommend living in dorms your first year as that is the best way to meet people, make friends, find other kids to study with, etc. There’s also a great recreation/workout facility right across the street from Bursley, and the North Campus Commons has cafe and places to meet people to study or hang out.
Highly recommend trying it!