<p>Hey guys,
I live in Ann Arbor and will be attending UMich in the fall. After getting rejected from the learning communities I applied to (hooray...), I realized that there's a pretty large chance that I'll end up being assigned a dorm on North Campus.
Do you think it's worth it to just live at home during freshman year and commute to school everyday? My house is about 10-15 minutes away from Central by car, and maybe 5-10 minutes away from North. I could get someone to give me rides in the mornings and evenings, and I could also take a bus if necessary. However, it would be quite inconvenient for me to go back and forth during the day.
My family is perfectly fine with paying for a dorm on Central, but hesitant about whether North is worth it. So, we CAN afford the housing... But we don't want to throw money out the window at the same time. I've also understood that living off campus makes it harder to make friends and experience college to its fullest. At the same time, I'm pretty nerdy and not exactly the most social of the bunch, so I don't know how that would affect me.</p>
<p>If you were in my situation and got placed on North, what would you do? Is freshman housing worth it?</p>
<p>If your house is only 10-15 mins by car from central, commuting from house is really not a bad idea. Considering the ad/disadvantages of living at home of course.</p>
<p>Eh overall, if I were you I would commute from home. You could use that money for something else.</p>
<p>Don’t do it. Do not do it. Regardless of location you still want to be in a dorm, it’s huge for your social life and not something you’re gonna be able to experience again. Even if you end up on north it’s a 10-15 minute bus ride and you don’t have to worry about finding parking. You’re gonna want to have a place to stay on campus so you’re able to go out with your friends and have a normal freshman year.</p>
<p>If you’re not social to begin with, living off campus freshman year will probably hurt you more than someone who is social, because they’d be more focused on trying to be social and would more likely put more effort into it. Living in a dorm makes it a LOT easier to be social, which is very beneficial for someone who is otherwise not so much, because you don’t have to try very hard.</p>
<p>If you get a dorm on Central, then it’s a no-brainer. If you get put on North then it sounds like something you’ll have to discuss with your parents.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for your responses… Even though they are somewhat mixed at this point. =/ I’ll definitely live on central if I get a spot there… But it’s not clear at all what will happen. More opinions are certainly appreciated!
Are textbooks (for fairly common classes like math 116, chem 130, Bio 205 etc) easily available at the libraries on campus? I really don’t want to be lugging three or more books around all day, plus my papers and laptop, especially if I’m not going to be heading home until the evening (assuming that I choose to live off campus).</p>
<p>Though amount of social activity is not limited to dorms, I personally think that people you meet and get to know from dorms, not clubs or classmates, tend to last longer and have tighter bond. Especially if you guys eat together as well. If you get the North, hmm you could be looking at apartments. I did not get the kind of dorm I wanted my freshman yr so I just lived in a 4 bedroom unit. There is also a kind of advantage with living with upperclassmen.</p>
<p>If you really want social and you are good at it, you can honestly meet and get to know people from extracurricular and classes.</p>
<p>Thanks for your response, helpmeoutman. My parents want me either stay home or live in a dorm, so living in an apartment right now isn’t an option.<br>
To be honest, I am a fairly introverted person and somewhat social, but not as much as most people I know. I typically don’t go far out of my way to meet people, and I’m perfectly happy just having a few really good friends rather than having a bunch of acquaintances here and there.
I also really want to focus on studying during freshman year, but I certainly do not want to be a loner. If I can get that experience while living at home and the transportation isn’t too bad, then I’ll probably be okay.</p>
<p>Just saying, it’s gonna be very hard (especially for someone with a self-admitted lack of strong social skills) not to be a loner if you don’t live in a dorm. A lot of freshman year is very spontaneous–people eat with people from their hall and go study with people from their hall. You want a group to be part of right off the bat. Almost nobody commutes and it would really set you individually apart from everyone else.</p>
<p>Maizeandblue21, thanks for your help, but I’m getting a little worried. Let’s say it’s inevitable and I DO end up on North and have to live at home next year, because the decision ultimately belongs to my parents (and right now, that’s the one they seem to favor). Other than joining clubs, what are some good ways for me to make friends in class and around campus on the first days of school? Do you guys have any social tips for me?</p>
<p>dude, just don’t do it. you will suffer both academically and socially if you live at home. get a job on campus during the school year and summer to pay for it if you have to.</p>
<p>I got to get to know some in discussion sections (basically smaller classes for your lectures). Forming study groups, etc. Though the interaction is rather professional, you can definitely make some close friends through that way.</p>
<p>The reason why I said dorms will help you the most is because you will have such a long interaction time. And that time itself is what makes you feel as is you are not a loner. Though I must say, if you are introverted, you might have to make some effort in those clubs and classes. They might just end up being “someone you know” or just “classmate.”</p>
<p>It is a tough decision particularly if you have a financial consideration. When I was in college, I lived in the dorm from sophomore on even though my home was within biking distance. It depends on your major and courses, you may need to have late group meeting (particularly for engineering) that living on campus would be much more convenient. Social live would also be a big difference but it should not be your primary consideration.</p>
<p>Jesus christ. See? This is what happens when people on here post like North Campus is worse then hell. </p>
<p>Live on campus! Be with other freshman. Make friends. You my meet your college best friend for years in your dorm. I still have a lot of friendships from freshman year and I wasn’t super social. </p>
<p>As for books, you won’t be carrying them around, and if so, only one or so at a time. Honestly, you won’t even open some.</p>
<p>If you chose to live at home, I think you should definitely rush. Your house will give you a base and also make up for the lack of a dorm social life.</p>
<p>One thing to consider though. If you live in an apt, your mealplan is not subsidized so you end up paying about $13 (50 meal) to $9.50 (unlimited). Since good central places are all rented out, odds are you will have to have a 12 month lease and therefore the rent itself will cost quite more.</p>
<p>The reason why some people particularly hate North campus is due to sometimes rather erratic weather. But I guess you could be used to that.</p>
<p>Free rent v 10k a year? Unless you’re rich af I don’t see why the hell you would want to do that. Having to pay off an extra 10k in loans just to “make friends” seems really stupid unless you or your parents have that kind of money to blow.</p>
<p>I would live on campus for a better social life. Id only consider living at home if I got baits or northwood bc those are more like appartments and you meet less people than if you were in a traditional residence hall</p>
<p>How will living at home affect academics? A previous poster mentioned that choosing to live at home would hurt me in that area. Could someone elaborate on why/if this is true?</p>
<p>Also, what is the environment of Baits like? I agree with bluedevilsfan about Northwood, but I really don’t know much about Baits at all.</p>
<p>Baits 1 (which idk if its still closes or what) was nice freshman year. First on the bus, short walk to Bursely, big rooms, private baths. It definitely didn’t feel like an apartment over a dorm as well</p>
<p>Yes, this is one of my son’s closest friends. That’s why he hopes to share an off campus house with a group of young men discerning the priesthood (as he is).</p>
<p>But it’s too late for him to get in for Fall semester so he’ll be commuting from home for a while. I think it’s going to be a hassle but it is what it is for now. It wasn’t until we went to orientation that we learned how much of a non-commuting school UM is. Bummer.</p>