SBDad

Yes, we just moved DS into his South Quad triple. It's is incredibly small. I think it's funny that there is a cable TV hook-up because the only place a TV could fit is on the ceiling.

micromom

SBDAD, you have to post how he likes his classes once they start. That is a good thing about the lack of space for a TV - one less distraction :-)

SBDad

Oh, I will. But I am as sure as sure can be that he'll love them. Truly, the room issue has been my one and only dissapointment with UMich. It's a great place.

And I couldn't agree more about the TV.

michiganman

What about the instructional quality? A lot of GSI's and professors absolutely suck. Luckily UMich is big enough to let a student navigate the school without getting bad teachers if he or she is willing to work hard enough to do it.

reeses414

michiganman, huh? I'm going into my third year at Michigan, and I'm very happy with the instructional quality so far. I've even taken classes in order to have a specific instructor again. I'll admit. There are also certain teachers (GSIs/professors) who I'd rather not have again, but those experiences have been a minority for me. Maybe it's the concentrations I'm pursuing. Maybe I've been lucky. However, based on perisonal experiences, I have to disagree with you.

Alexandre

Instructional quality is a constant accross most campuses. You have great teachers, horrible teachers and regular teachers on any campus. Michigan is no better or worse than any other school in that regard. But I definitely agree that like any university, Michigan has a lot of room to improve on this front.

goblue

I concur on the housing situation. Moved my daughter into South Quad triple last Friday. Found out that the double rooms are all bigger than her triple. Luckily a few other students were there to help move the furniture around to make the room functional. We made one set of bunk beds and left one set of furniture configured in a loft. A small TV did actually fit in on top of a bookshelf. My daughter is a freshman and her room is in a wing of Hunt House that is all single rooms with upperclassmen except for the other triple across the hall. I am really disappointed in the Housing office at U of M. I really don't think they care about what will work best for new students in a new situation. They see them all as just bodies and dollars. Luckily my daughter has made a number of friends in the other wings of the floor and on other floors.

redhare317

I lived in an economy triple my freshman year in South Quad (Taylor). It was very doable. Remember that you get what you pay for (and vice versa). An economy triple is around $6,200 while a standard double is around $7,900 (per year). So you get less space but pay less, too. It might turn out to be a significant difference, especially if the student is the one paying for school. If your daughter likes the other two people enough, things should work out.

SBDad

redhare, what goblue and I are talking about are not "economy triples", they are "standard triples" and are billed as standard triples. I get your point, but usually when you "get what you pay for", you are making a choice - and there was no choice here. DS requested a double and was put in a triple.

Having said all that, I too think it will work out.

GoBlue81

Does this have anything to do with the fact that they overadmit again. I understand that we have nearly 6,000 freshmen coming again(?) so housing has to scramble to fit everyone in.

SBDad

I certainly have to come to believe that is one factor. Another is that they have not built a new dorm since 1968. And lastly, they have taken one dorm, Morsher-Jordan, out of service for remodelling without having a new dorm online to replace it.

goblue

I discussed the situation with the University Housing personnel and they insist that the triples in South Quad have been classified as regular triples not economy triples because they have 3 closets - although they admit that they are actually smaller than some economy triples in other buildings and definitely smaller than most doubles. Besides that, the fact is that the people in the University Housing Office initially told parents that triples are bigger than doubles and this is clearly not true for South Quad. The freshmen in South Quad are generally honors students, which in many schools, earns them preferential housing. At U of M South Quad might have a preferred location but putting these kids in these small rooms almost totally negates the advantage of the location. My son lived in Markley as a freshman and had much more space in a double. The distance did not make things that much more inconvenient for him. The condition of the dorms plus his dislike of the food did, however, cause him to move off campus after freshman year. If I had known that there was a chance that my daughter would get in one of these substandard triples I would have encouraged her to pass on South Quad and live somewher else with the majority of freshmen. Besides the small room, the rest of her hall (except for the triple with three freshmen squeezed in across the hall) is all single rooms with upperclassmen so its not the best freshmen experience in that respect either. I don't know what these Housing people are thinking but I am not impressed. Luckily she has made friends who live on other floors and in other dorms and is having a great time - now I am just hoping that she settles down by the time classes start on Tuesday !

hoedown

It's got to be the Mosher-Jordan issue. Housing had enough spaces for this fall. As I understand it, they could have accommodated an even larger class. However, that stance doesn't at all mesh with their practice of putting people in triples they didn't ask for. Come to think of it, that doesn't make sense to me at all.

Welcome to Michigan, where logic does not always rule the day.

fredmar

Hoedown, that sure isn't how it seems at South Quad. On my daughter's floor, they have taken over the study room at the end of the hall and put a bunch of boys in it - on a girl's hall. Housing seems to be really reaching for space.

commodore24

Where'd you get those stats?