It was once suggested to tear down Markley for hospital expansion, but that plan did not go through a couple years ago.
My S says he doesn’t really care. So not going to worry about it. He’s more of a studier, go for a run, play rugby on the lawn type anyway. He might like it.
@HRSMom He probably will. I wish Michigan did a little better job of trying to put more incentives into North. One thing I could think that they might be able to do is really make it more appealing to Freshman would be ( if it’s possible) to have some GSI’s have office hours in North dorms for some of the more challenging classes. What about some ability to use blue bucks for discounted uber type rides? It would be nice for then to think a little creativity.
There are basically abandoned dorms in the North Campus. It is really not clear what are they up to. But for the North Campus in general, they are spending a lot in the landscaping recently.
There is a 6.9 million dollar renovation taking place called The Grove to be completed before the fall. Ice skating, volleyball, amphitheater, central plaza, farmers market, movie night. North Campus will be beautiful no doubt!
North Campus always gets a bad press. It actually isn’t that bad. I have friends who lived there.
North campus is bad for kids who like to go to early tailgating, very late night parties, have a 10 minute walk to thir class, be able to run back to their room in the middle of the day, or make a quick trip to the drugstore late at night or early in the morning.
It’s not bad for students who want a peaceful quiet living environment and lots of other freshman around
@maya54 I hope you are not suggesting that students are drinking when they are under 21?
@klingon97 No I would never suggest such a thing.
My daughter is having a hard time deciding (decision due in a matter of days) if it’s truly in her best interest to select North Campus as her first preference. She’d love to be a part of one of the MLC’s on Central/Hill and likes the energy of that area, but if she doesn’t get an MLC, I think she’s better off opting for North Campus because she’s an art student and will have a majority of classes up there.
You would think the Housing Dept. would automatically fill up North Campus dorms first with all incoming freshman in the schools located on that campus (e.g. Art, Arch., Theater, Dance, Music, Engineering) so that only a few ('unlucky") LSA students would have to fill in the rest of the rooms on North Campus–perhaps those who applied for housing late. So far, I haven’t convinced her that a 5-10 minute walk to classes every day will be appreciated in the dead of winter and late at night as compared to a bus ride for classes to the Stamps School from Central/Hill dorms. (I bet it’s about a 25-minute commute considering walking time and riding time.)
I’ve been relying on the stated statistics that getting into an MLC on Hill is competitive, so it’s safe to assume she will end up in some other dorm comprised of freshmen–Markley on Hill or Bursley on North. I figure she can always go find “fun” when she has time for it (art students are notoriously busy and tired) by taking buses to Central/Hill on weekends, but doing the reverse commute for classes M-F from Central/Hill to North seems like a waste of time and energy. If Bursley and Baits were nicely updated by now, some of the aversion to that campus would be eliminated, but it has the double whammy: isolated location and old-style dorms. Eventually, Michigan will pour millions into North Campus dorms, but not during my daughter’s time there.
I would recommend that if she does not want North Campus, then she put Central/Hill as primary choices. Bursley is tolerable, especially since they are doing some work on the dining hall this summer, but a Baits and especially Northwood placement would be a lose-lose situation. Even Bursley itself is not that close to the art school. I see little advantage living on North if she is not looking for a quieter, more serene, more natural setting.
@yikesyikesyikes What is the best way to avoid Baits or Northwood? My D will be a music major and wants Bursely. Do we pick the double with community bathroom - Group C and triple with community as a second choice?
I would think so. That AND applying for MLCs that she finds interesting AND putting Central Campus/Hill as first choice will give you the best chances against getting Northwood/Baits. Keep in mind, if you REALLY want her to have Bursley, Living Arts is located there last time I checked.
Ah, everyone gives North such a bad rap, but it’s really a right of passage for all UMich freshman. I did my first year at Bursley and loved every minute of it. My sophomore year I was in Mosher Jordan. The memories… 
^^^^^. But it’s not a right of passage for ALL freshman. And that’s the problem with. If it were all freshman it would not be so bad. But Under current housing conditions the MAJORITY of freshman are on Central/Hill. So you get a minority of students with a different experience that is in many ways worse than what most get. You may have liked it but many really miss the experience freshman year of being on a highly walkable campus/town. An experience the majority of their peers get. That’s not an ideal set up at any university. That doesn’t mean it’s horrible. It doesn’t mean sone kids don’t end up thinking it was Ok or even liking it. If it was a good ennough experience that ennough students would choose it and thus that no one was there who didn’t want to be it would be fine. But that’s not the situation. Its a problem the University should be thinking more about.
@maya54 Then what would you suggest? Building more dorms on central campus? Cause that’s a lot of money and more construction, which most kids on campus complain about a lot more. You get a totally different experience in every dorm you live in. South Quad is so different from living on the Hill, which is different from living in Bursley, which is different from living in Baits. To classify both experiences as simply as “North Campus bad” and “Central Campus good” is too broad. The reality is that whichever dorm you are placed in you will get a completely different experience. If you want a good library closeby to study at, then Bursley is ideal. If you want a nice field nearby to play sports, then the Hill/Baits is ideal. If you want to be next to the stadium, then South Quad is ideal.
So many colleges now have a “insert EWNS here” campus for some freshman housing. It is a bad idea period in my opinion. Freshman should be the center of campus, not the afterthought.
My ideas would be as follows:
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early and frequent tailgating busses on game day ( current bus service starts too late on game days)
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in dorm office hours by gsi’s for some of the most challenging classes just for North campus residents.
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early registration for North campus freshman for Winter term and sophomore fall term
These kind of perks could draw ennough students to choose North that you might end some of the anxiety and gunning for central/hill.
For the record, it is rite of passage. “Rite” as in ritual or custom. Not “right” as in due or expectation.