AHerm

I'm going to Michigan next year but live and work in Detroit right now, right around Wayne's campus. You have nothing to be worried about in and around Greater Downtown Detroit (which includes Wayne's campus, Midtown, Downtown, Corktown, the Riverfront, Woodbridge, New Center, and the Villages). Detroit is an amazing city with a lot to offer. Some of the neighborhoods are pretty rough outside of what I mentioned, but the part of Detroit you'll be living is very young and thriving.

Hey everyone! I'll be doing a dual MPP-MUP at Michigan the next three years, and did my undergrad there as well. Ann Arbor is an incredible city with a lot to offer. And, although I understand graduate students are looking for very different things out of their time in A2 than your average undergrad, I would seriously consider living closer to Central Campus. On North Campus you'll be away from everything that makes Ann Arbor your quintessential college town. A lot of grad students (especially international students and those with families) live in Northwood (it's very convenient of course), but I would consider Kerrytown as my first option typically. It's a little north and west of Central Campus, an historic district with a lot of "flavor" to it, with a higher concentration of graduate students/professionals. It also happens to be close to all of the bars and restaurants you'll want to hang out at as a grad student. South of campus (where I lived as an undergrad) is where all your partying is going to happen, so if that's not your scene you might want to avoid. If you care most about cutting cost and little about the campus environment, then consider living outside of Ann Arbor altogether. A2 is not a cheap city for housing (anywhere you go), and many grad students opt to live outside of the city altogether after their first year. Let me know if I can be of assistance at all. I live and work in Detroit currently but make frequent visits to A2!

Hello everyone! I kind of wish I had known about this website before applying and making my decisions the last six or so months! Is anybody here attending UM's Ford School next year? Did you make it to the Spring Preview? How was that? I was out of town that weekend unfortunately.

I wish I had known about this site while I was applying! Hopefully I can help someone out in the future! Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan Undergraduate GPA: 3.90 Undergraduate Major: Double major in History and Sociology GRE Quantitative Score: 154 GRE Verbal Score: 167 GRE AW Score: 5.0 Previous Work Experience: Worked for one year out of college at a local nonprofit social services organization, primarily as a grant writer (though performed other critical functions, including some community development stuff which particularly helped me in my application). Also worked as a journalist for our student newspaper for two years, interned for one summer in Canada's Parliament, and joined/led a number of other student groups. Math/Econ Background: AP Calculus in high school, two introductory statistics courses in college, and zero experience with econ. Foreign Language Background: Intermediate Spanish. Intended Field of Study in Grad School: MPP/MUP Long Term Professional Goals: Work in a nonprofit community development office, for a land bank, or in municipal government. Schools Applied to & Results: Michigan (Ford), Michigan (Taubman - Urban Planning), Columbia (SIPA MPA, no funding), Georgetown (GPPI) -- accepted; HKS MPP -- rejected. Ultimate Decision & Why: I will pursue a dual MPP-MUP at the University of Michigan. In the end, it's much more affordable and relevant to my interest working in the City of Detroit. The primary appeal of the other two schools was location. I love DC and NYC, but Ann Arbor is great for its own reasons. Advice for Future Applicants: Consider the cost of graduate school early. And don't apply too early! I applied one to two months early on several apps and had a number of things change for me at work afterward. I doubt these additions would have changed any outcomes but it's certainly possible I could have been considered for additional funding!