Staying "In-Touch" While Living on the University of Michigan's North Campus: Saving Your Social Life While Living on North Campus

You've been accepted to the University of Michigan, you receive your housing contract and realize you've been banished to the ever so unpopular, North Campus! The University of Michigan's North Campus has the terrible reputation of a castaway island. Randomly selected freshmen are housed in one of two residence halls on this secluded, woodsy campus with the rumored idea that they are among the unlucky that have been sentenced to two semesters of pure isolation. Even though the stigma associated with North Campus is not so far fetched due to its segregated location way out of walking distance to Central Campus, there are plenty of ways to save your social life while living on North Campus.

North Campus is its own little community, which is one reason some find it unnecessary to even visit Central Campus that often, outside of classes. Home to the Engineering, Music, and Art Schools, North Campus also has great places to eat in Pierpont Commons and Bursley Hall, plenty of space to study in the Duderstadt Center (rumored the best library of all the campuses), and an excellent place to sweat it out at the North Campus Recreation Building (NCRB). Though it is a great place to eat, study, and exercise, North Campus only contains a fraction of the assets as Central Campus, so the most obvious change to make is to do these things on Central Campus instead. You get a larger variety and get to spend time in the company of the rest of the university's students. Now I admit this may not be a reasonable idea in the middle of the semester when you're buckled down in the books and just simply don't think you have the time to take the bus ride down. However, the easiest way to accomplish this is to stay on Central Campus after class.

This leads to the next big tip about...BUSES! Probably the number one reason students dread North Campus is the bus commute to and from Central Campus. By staying on campus after and between classes to enjoy food and studying, you can elevate the hassle of taking the bus multiple times during the day! Another great way to deal with the inconvenience of the buses is to make them convenient for you by getting familiar with the busing schedule http://pts.umich.edu/maps/bursley_baits.pdf. Be advised that the weekday and weekend schedules are far different from each other. Because the weekend commuter is far less frequent than the busing to and from North Campus on the weekday, it is very helpful to also have reliable friends on Central Campus with futons in their dorm rooms or extra floor space.

As you will become increasingly familiar with the University of Michigan's social calendar as the year progresses, you may find that more events require your attention on Central Campus than on North Campus. Knowing that you have a place to crash eliminates some of the doubt about attending that oh so important weekly organizational meeting.

While I genuinely admit that some of these tips and suggestions may be a bit inconvenient, committing to some of them may indeed save your social life at the University of Michigan.