Frequently Asked Questions
These "Frequently Asked Questions" are drawn from the most commonly asked questions by new undergraduate students attending summer orientation prior to starting their first year at Michigan. We find that many students can feel like they are the only student at Michigan who doesn't know the answer to something or who feels uncomfortable about something. Almost always there are many others with the same question or the same concern. Here is University Housing's response to the questions posed by our incoming students.

1. How can I troubleshoot problems with online access to my assignment, driving directions or unloading permit?
2. What is the difference between substance-free and other rooms?
3. What is it like using community bathrooms?
4. When the dining halls are closed, where do I eat?
5. Are most students able to study in their rooms?
6. About how many people are in each residence hall?
7. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of living in a coed hall?
8. How can I find out someone's residence hall and room number?
9. Are Central Campus residence halls filled with older students?
10. What are the benefits of living on North Campus?
11. How late do the buses run between Central Campus and North Campus?
12. Is it possible to change my room assignment?
13. How can I establish a good relationship with my roommate(s)?
14. Is it possible to change my roommate?
15. Do most people keep their original roommates throughout freshman year?
16. Will I need to purchase a computer for my residence hall room?
17. If I do bring my own computer to campus, should I bring a laptop/notebook or desktop?
18. Do the residence halls have cable?
19. Should I purchase a loft?

Send an e-mail message to housing@umich.edu or contact us during Online Office Hours from the Housing homepage .

All student rooms, in fact all spaces in the residence halls, are non-smoking. In addition, residents and guests of "sub-free" rooms (including anyone over 21) agree to keep the room free at all times from substances that have the potential to damage their health or the community. These substances include, but may not be limited to, alcohol, tobacco products (including smokeless), illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia and illegally obtained prescription medications. More about sub-free rooms is available at http://www.housing.umich.edu/undergrad/subfree.html and in Community Living at Michigan .

Bathrooms in all traditional halls are community bathrooms, and this is what virtually all first-year students should expect. Using community bathrooms is generally a new experience for most of our students, although there is some similarity to what some students might have experienced at summer camps.Our experience is that most students adjust to the bathroom situation rather quickly. Community bathrooms create a situation where your actions and behavior can have consequences for others. The expectation is that you be responsible for your own behavior and for doing things that facilitate the maintenance of a high-quality, respectful community.

There is always at least one residence hall dining hall open during the hours of 7:30 am to 7:30 pm in each of the main residence hall areas, Central Campus, the Hill and North Campus. The hours and locations are available online. In addition, the various meal plans offered with your contract, along with your Entrée Plus account, offer considerable flexibility. If you find you can't get to a dining hall during serving hours, you may be able to use a meal credit in one of the several retail dining locations in the residence halls. These locations are also often open when the dining halls are not serving, so you can purchase snacks and meals using your Entrée Plus account. You can also use your account at other eateries on campus, for example, those in the Michigan Union and Pierpont Commons . Of course, you may also wish to eat occasionally at one of the many restaurants to be found in Ann Arbor .

Surveys on this topic have indicated that many students do much of their studying for academic course work in their residence hall room. There are other (relatively) quiet areas available in all residence halls, including the computer sites, Community Learning Centers and lounges. Also, there are quiet hours established in each residence hall, generally 11pm-8pm Sunday through Thursday, and 12am-9pm Friday and Saturday (check your hall for additional hours). During exams, additional quiet hours may be in effect.

Residence halls at Michigan range in occupancy from 75 to 1,350. The larger residence halls are divided into smaller units called houses and some are further divided by floor. This organization helps create smaller communities where it is easier to get to know other people and create a sense of belonging.

Each student has his or her own view as to what the advantages and disadvantages of living in a coed environment are. A coed hall can provide a more diverse atmosphere while it may also provide less privacy and more noise.

University Housing offers single-gender corridors in coed halls, coed corridors in coed halls and all-female halls. When asked to indicate a preference on their housing application, most students choose a coed environment.

You can search for another student by name on the Housing homepage by choosing "people" and entering the person's name. (Some students may have chosen not to allow sharing of their information, in which case it will not be accessible to you.)

Returning students have the opportunity to apply for their next year's on-campus housing during the previous Winter Term during ReApp, (the reapplication process). These returning students take most of the double and single rooms in Central Campus halls, but you won't feel as if you're the only freshman on the corridor-the number of freshmen living in triples and economy triples is about equal to the number of older students in the singles and doubles.

In general, North Campus offers a calmer and quieter atmosphere. There is considerable "green space," and access to bike and hiking trails. At the same time, numerous organized activities take place in the student union, Pierpont Commons, and elsewhere on North Campus. For example, residents can enjoy dance lessons or an open mike and other live music-even free weekend concerts from the School of Music . Students from all parts of campus participate in these activities.

More specifically, Bursley and Baits residents enjoy comparatively larger rooms than residents in other halls. In addition, Bursley's dining hall food is consistently voted the best residence hall food and Bursley offers the Blue Apple-a pizza place, deli, café, lounge and meeting place, with wireless Internet access, plasma TV and a live stage.

North Campus is a short, free bus ride from other parts of the Ann Arbor campus. The University buses run frequently and well into the early morning. Students use this free system every day to get to their classes and other activities.

The schedule and routes for the free University bus service are available at the Parking and Transportation Services Web site .

While we do try to place students according to their preferences, many times students would like to be placed elsewhere. If you don't wish to accept the room you are assigned when you get your contract, you can cancel the contract before signing it. However, you will not be reassigned to another room until the fall, and then only if vacancies exist.

Once you have signed and returned your contract, you have accepted your room assignment. You can attempt to change it later via one of two options. The first is the room swap process. This is when the student finds another person to agree to switch rooms. The students must have current signed contracts and be eligible for each other's space. The other option is waiting until the fall and then putting your name on the waitlist that starts approximately two weeks into the school year, after halls open. There is a list for each residence hall and your name can be on as many of them as you like. After the main sign up day there is a lottery to determine placement. There is more about room swaps and waitlists in Community Living at Michigan .

Most incoming first-year students are placed with a roommate they don't know before arriving in Ann Arbor . More often than not, roommate relationships work out very well, even if the roommates do not become best friends. It is important for roommates to sit down early in the first week of being together to talk about their lifestyle, and how they feel about topics such as bedtime, visitors, borrowing each other's possessions, etc. Some residence halls may use a roommate agreement form which walks roommates through a series of questions in which they identify a variety of interests, lifestyle preferences, and preferences regarding the setup and arrangement of the room. At early meetings, Resident Staff may discuss ways in which roommates can mutually set expectations in a friendly manner. This is one of the most important parts of a residence hall experience-learning how to reasonably accommodate the interests and preferences of another individual while expressing your own. It helps to assume that your roommate is likely going through a lot of the same feelings and sensations that you are, starting out in college and away from home for the first time and for such an extended period of time.

If your roommate is doing something you find annoying, it is important not to let your concern fester. On the other hand, it is equally important not to express your concern in anger or highly inflammatory language, when a less intense approach will probably do. Your roommate may be doing something natural to him or her, and not realize it is irritating you. Point out your concern to your roommate, and ask if the behavior can be modified. Be direct, assertive, but non-confrontational. It is a good idea to suggest a compromise or a way that you and your roommate can work together to resolve the issue. If you can't work it out yourselves, you can ask Resident Staff for help. They may coach you on other strategies or mediate the situation to find a mutually satisfactory resolution.

Although it does not happen very often that roommates are completely unable to get along, we do understand that these things do happen. The first step would be a meeting with the Resident Advisor (RA) assigned to the hall to see if the problems can be worked out between the roommates or if the situation is unsolvable. After that, your Hall Director can be contacted to talk about the problems. If you and your roommate are unable find a compromise, then you can put your name on the waitlist at any of the residence halls that you would like to move into. If there is something available for you, you will be contacted.

Yes. We place over 5300 new freshman students each year. On average, only about 300 make a room change during the course of the contract period, and the not all changes are related to roommates.

Most UM departments do not require their students to own a computer. (Exceptions include the School of Art .) However, over 95% of entering students choose to bring their own computer to campus and we recommend that you bring your own for a wide variety of academic purposes. Ethernet connectivity for Internet access is available in all student rooms and details about connecting will be available at Move-In, but you can visit the ResComp (Residential Computing) Web site now for more information.

For students who do not bring a computer, or who occasionally need to do work away from their room, every residence hall has a high quality computer site with 24-hour access for students and there are thousands of computers available for student use at locations across all parts of campus.

ResComp staff supplies technical support to residents using their own or University computers in the residence halls.

Consider where and how you'll use your computer. Will you want to take it to class or the library with you or to have access to the Internet by wireless connection? If so, a laptop/notebook is probably your best choice. More students are choosing laptops/notebooks as they get smaller in size and mobile networking opportunities increase; however, be aware that laptops/notebooks can be more easily damaged or stolen and desktop computers generally have bigger screens and often cost less.

Wireless access is available in various spots on campus, including the common areas in West Quad and the Blue Apple in Bursley Hall. A complete list of wireless spots in the residence halls is available from ResComp (Residential Computing).

Yes. All student rooms are equipped with cable. There are two cable services provided with the room, UMTV and the Michigan Cable Network, and they will be active when you arrive. UMTV is an educational network that is free of charge to University Housing residents. The Michigan Cable Network includes the University Housing channels as well as commercial channels from Comcast. The charge for this cable service is split evenly among all residents of the room. You can modify this billing arrangement or cancel your cable service by submitting an online form (check for deadlines).

Lofts can add usable space to resident rooms and can be a very good way of dealing with limited space. In most rooms, lofts may be configured from existing room furniture or purchased/installed separately, depending on the room. To ensure safety, lofts of any kind must conform to the restrictions provided by University Housing.

University Housing is gradually converting the furniture in the residence halls from traditional furniture to modular Building Block Furniture. Building Block Furniture configurations include a loft option for most rooms. Other lofts, installed by a resident or vendor, are not allowed in rooms with Building Block Furniture. An up-to-date list of halls and rooms with Building Block Furniture is available on the Housing Web site, but each resident should check his or her specific room assignment information to see if an installed loft is allowed in that room. Lofts may also be prohibited in some rooms or halls that do not have Building Block Furniture.

Residents who are permitted and choose to purchase/install a loft, the University does not endorse a specific vendor of loft materials or building services. Vendors registered with University Housing will participate in the Commercial Vendor Fair during Fall Term Move-In but this registration explicitly does not come with an endorsement or sponsorship, and students are never obligated to use a vendor participating in the Commercial Vendor Fair.

Lofts may not be installed during Winter Term.