Housing

One of your main concerns when you arrive will be to arrange your housing. The easiest housing to find is university housing. Finding off-campus housing can be very time-consuming, so if you prefer to live in an apartment we suggest that you arrive well before the program starts (see Off-Campus Housing below). Since our classes run from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., it will be extremely difficult to find housing once the program begins.

Although off-campus housing is available, most students choose to live in the residence halls. We will provide a list of all program participants to the Housing Office so that you will be able to arrange a room upon your arrival. All students must make their own housing arrangements.

Housing is not guaranteed, but there has always been room in the residence halls for single students who want to live there. The ELI submits a list of program students to the Housing Office so that there is confirmation of your participation in the summer program. Keep in mind that you must make all of your housing arrangements on your own.

The best way to begin is by visiting one of the Housing Office web-sites:

Click here for a special site for international students.

On-Campus housing information

For information regarding residence hall accommodation contact:

Housing Office
Room 1011
Student Activities Building
515 E. Jefferson
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1316
Phone: 734.763.3164
FAX: 734.764.6806

If you arrive in Ann Arbor and haven't made arrangements to stay in a residence hall, simply go to the Housing Office when you arrive and either arrange for a room in the residence hall or get information for off-campus housing.

Information for single students

If you want to live in university housing you should go to the Housing Office located at room 1011 Student Activities Building (SAB). The Housing Office hours are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, which means you can arrange university housing only during these hours. We recommend that you go to the Housing Office well before 5:00 p.m. since it does take time to process room requests. If you wish to have further information, please click here for the Housing Office web site.

If you need to make arrangements for housing before you arrive in Ann Arbor, you can request a housing application on-line at the housing web site, and they will fax you an application. After returning the application, a housing assignment will be made and a lease contract will be sent to you. You are allowed to fax your signed lease contract to the University Housing office. Assignment of rooms (a single room for yourself or a less expensive shared double room) depends on availability at the time you send in the application. Remember, you cannot simply go to a residence hall and request a room. While you must have an ID and a signed lease in order to move into a residence hall, if you arrive after office hours and have been given an assignment, you can go directly to your residence hall, where you will be given a temporary ID card and be allowed to move in. The next business day you will then have to go to the M-Card Center to get an M-card, your university indentification card. For further information about obtaining an identification card, click here for M-card.

Late arrival information

If you have a signed lease you can go directly to the residence hall that you have been assigned to. Unfortunately, if you do not have a signed lease you will need to find alternative accommodation on your own. We encourage you to arrive in Ann Arbor before 5:00 so that you can get settled into your residence hall room.

Arranging for a single room or a roommate

If you would like an American roommate, make sure you let the housing office know that this is your preference.

You can request a single room. Although most students who want single rooms get them, there is no guarantee that one will be available when you arrive. A single room is more expensive than a double room (a room shared with a roommate).

Summer On-Campus Residence Hall

Markley Hall is the available on-campus residence hall for both the undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in spring/summer 2008. It is located at 1503 Washington Heights, in the Hill Area, and within walking distance of Michigan's central campus academic buildings and recreational facilities. Restaurants, shops, theaters and the Nichols Arboretum (a 123-acre natural preserve) are also nearby. Mary Markley Hall offers traditional residence hall-style accommodations. Resident parking near the hall is not available.

You can move into Markley Hall starting at 5pm until 9pm on Sunday, June 22th, 2008. Your summer lease begins on Sunday, June 22 and ends on Friday, August 15. Students must move out before 8pm on the last day of the lease.

Markley Hall has a Dining Room, which provides meal service for summer term residence. Although Markley Hall is conveniently located, it is often noisy and students have complained that the noise level often prevents them from studying and sleeping. If you prefer a quieter location, off campus housing might be a better living arrangement for you.

Residence halls have basic furnishings in each room that includes a bed and a desk. However, you will need to bring or plan to buy bed sheets, blankets, pillow(s), a desk lamp, and towels. These items are not provided. We also recommend that you have a fan since the residence halls are not air-conditioned and can be uncomfortably hot at times. Summer temperatures in Ann Arbor vary from 15° to 32° C (60° to 95° F).

Meals

Up to nine meals each week may be included, if you wish. Students who choose the nine meal per week plan also have Entrée Plus funds that will allow them to eat without additional charge at places other than the residence hall. For further information click here to check the spring/summer meal plan.

Meal Plan

A meal plan is part of the standard residence hall contract for Markley residents. However, it is optional and may be changed or canceled within the first two weeks of moving in. The plan includes nine weekday meals plus $160.00 in an Entrée Plus debit account. Your M-Card keeps track of this amount and allows you to eat meals or snacks in any Central or North Campus dining room or snack bar. During the summer term, lunch and dinner will be served on Sunday but only lunch is available on Saturday. Continental breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served Monday-Friday. Residents can convert their Weekday 9-meal plan to Any-13 plan without the $160 Entrée Plus credit at no extra cost.

Entrée Plus is a prepaid cash plan or debit card that works like a checking account. It's fast, convenient, and means you don't have to carry as much cash as you might otherwise. If you want more meals than your standard meal contract provides for, you can use Entrée Plus for additional meals in the Markley dining room and for meals or snacks in the snack bar (open only summer term). You can sign up for an Entrée Plus account anytime.

Contact the Entrée Office, 100 Student Activities Building, 734.763.4632, for additional information about meal plans and Entrée Plus. You may also click here to check the housing web site's meal plan page.

Lawyer's Club

Although it is more expensive than other housing, the lawyers club is an option for single students who will attend the UM Law School.

Alternative Housing

A less expensive alternative to the residence halls is a student cooperative house. There are 18 group houses and one apartment house scattered throughout the North and Central campuses. The average house holds about 30 people. Click here for the ICC site.

Because students created the co-ops to meet their own needs, the ICC offers 2 or 4 month Spring/Summer contracts. North Campus attracts a large graduate student population (about 50%), and a sizable international student population (about 30%) as well. Central Campus is a large, diverse crowd that is mostly undergrads. Because co-ops are open to all students, each house is made up of members coming from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Budgets are collectively set by the members at the beginning of the term and consistently run at least $350/month less than the residence halls. During the summer, charges are greatly reduced, and singles are freely available on both North and Central Campus. While some houses serve meals during the summer, most don't although you can always live at one house and eat at another. A single room in a house on Central Campus that doesn't serve food costs about $270/month, and a shared room is around $170/month. Food costs about $110 per month. On North Campus, a large single is about $550 and a small single $455, with amenities (food, utilities, and internet connection) included.

Another option is the Ecumenical Center and International Residence (ECIR) located at 921 Church Street near central campus. The ECIR building consists of two wings, the Dotson wing and the newer Harper wing. 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments are available depending on the wing. Currently the per person rental rates range from $560 to $835. Click here for the ECIR site.

Information for married students

Short-term Family Housing is not available in the summer. In the fall, to live in Family Housing, students must be married or in a same-sex domestic partnership and accompanied by their spouse or partner, with or without children; or a single parent with legal custody of children. If a student plans to be married, he or she can apply but cannot sign a lease until the marriage is verified. While families with or without children are eligible to live in Family Housing, families with dependent children have the highest priority for available Family Housing units.

For additional information contact the Housing Information Office, 1011 Student Activities Building, 734-763-3164. Click here for the family housing web site.

Off-Campus housing information

Off-campus housing refers to any housing not owned and operated by the University. It includes small-group housing, such as apartments, houses, rooms, and co-ops. Off-campus housing is roughly divided into furnished housing located within walking distance from Central and North Campuses, and unfurnished housing, usually in large apartment complexes, located a mile or more from campus. Summer subleases often are available at reduced rates. Students who want to live off-campus should refer to the Shared Housing and Sublets section of the Off-Campus Housing web site.

In addition, if you need more information about off-campus-housing (apartment, houses, and rooms in Ann Arbor), you can call the Off-Campus Housing Office, 1011 Student Activities Building at 734.763.3205. Housing advisors are available at all times during office hours to help with your housing needs and concerns. The local newspapers, The Ann Arbor News and The Michigan Daily, also carry information about apartment rentals.