Academics & admin
Sweetland Center for Writing
Free one-on-one peer tutoring, writing workshops, and courses to help students at any stage of the writing process.
The student guide to Ann Arbor, Michigan: where to eat, live and get help, what a year really costs, and the free stuff most students miss.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.
After grants and scholarships, by family income. Average: $14,362.
Academics & admin
Free one-on-one peer tutoring, writing workshops, and courses to help students at any stage of the writing process.
Career
Three items per semester, free, and yours to keep.
Getting around
Free campus bus system with 12 routes connecting dorms, classrooms, and Michigan Medicine facilities. No fare or ID required.
Housing
U-M's free food pantry for students. Shop fresh produce, groceries and staples at no cost, by appointment (sign up on the Cupboard's website).
Dining halls, quick bites and coffee on campus.
New Central Campus dining hall in Wolverine Village.
Wolverine Village, S Division St
All-you-care-to-eat dining hall on Central Campus with diverse menu options for lunch and dinner.
600 E Madison St
North Campus dining hall with 8 mini-restaurants including Signature, vegetarian, halal, pizza, grill, stir-fry, deli, and desserts.
1931 Duffield
All-you-care-to-eat dining hall near Ross School of Business. Only dining hall open for spring/summer meal plan holders.
701 E University Ave
All-you-care-to-eat dining hall in the Hill neighborhood serving residence hall students with full meal service.
1503 Washington Heights
All-you-care-to-eat dining hall on Central Campus with extended daily hours for residence hall students.
200 Observatory St
Premium marketplace-style dining hall with chandeliers and dramatically vaulted ceiling, serving sustainable options.
105 South State St
Laid-back dining hall at Oxford Houses with cozy couches and rotating American and international options.
619 Oxford Rd
Late-night marketplace and cafe in Bursley Hall on North Campus

Café and market in Mosher-Jordan, open till midnight.
Mosher-Jordan, 200 Observatory St
Café in East Quad, open till 10 pm nightly.
East Quad, 701 E University Ave
Grab-and-go convenience market in Bursley Hall on North Campus
24/7 self-service market in Munger.
Munger Graduate Residences, 540 Thompson St
North Campus market with hot food in Pierpont Commons.
Pierpont Commons, 2101 Bonisteel Blvd
Coffee in the Taubman health sciences library, weekdays.
Taubman Health Sciences Library, 1135 Catherine St
Popular study spot in Shapiro Library serving La Colombe coffee, snacks, and sandwiches with late-night hours.
919 S University Ave
North Campus cafe in the Duderstadt Center atrium serving La Colombe coffee, salads, sandwiches, and local vendor food.
2281 Bonisteel Blvd
Cozy North Campus cafe in Pierpont Commons with globally inspired hot entrees and local vendors.
2101 Bonisteel
Study-friendly cafe in the Museum of Natural History atrium with abundant natural light and coffee drinks.
1105 N University Ave
Cafe inside the University of Michigan Museum of Art offering coffee, tea, and light bites.
525 South State Street
Cafe in the Ford Robotics Building on North Campus with coffee and grab-and-go items.
2505 Hayward
Underground convenience market in the Michigan Union with snacks, drinks, grab-and-go meals, and blue books.
530 S State St
Small Michigan Dining café inside the School of Dentistry on North University, named for the 32 teeth adults have.
1011 N University Ave
Michigan Dining café off the atrium of the Museum of Natural History in the Biological Sciences Building.
1105 N University Ave
Market and food court in the Michigan League.
911 N University AveResidence halls, apartments and help finding a place.

Central Campus residence hall opened in 1951, renovated in 2014 with 10 unique dining concepts, music practice rooms, and modern study spaces.
600 E Madison St
Cluster of residence halls in the heart of campus including South Quad, West Quad, East Quad, and smaller historic halls housing 3,000+ students.
Central Campus
Central Campus residence hall opened in 1941, renovated in 2013 with improved infrastructure, updated rooms and bathrooms, and an improved dining…
701 E University Ave
U-M's free food pantry for students. Shop fresh produce, groceries and staples at no cost, by appointment (sign up on the Cupboard's website).
Betsy Barbour Residence Hall (basement), 417 Maynard St
Five residence halls on Observatory Road housing ~2,500 students near the recreation center, Nichols Arboretum, and medical facilities.
Observatory Road area
Central Campus residence hall opened in 1940, renovated in 2015 with upgraded infrastructure, improved accessibility, and renovated student rooms.
541 Thompson St
North Campus residence hall opened in 1968, the largest dorm on campus. Features a massive dining hall and peaceful surroundings.
1931 Duffield St
Residence halls near the engineering school and music facilities, housing 2,000+ students with free Blue Bus service to Central Campus.
North Campus
North Campus residence hall housing approximately 570 students in 5 named houses.
1440 Hubbard St
Seven small apartment-style houses in a quiet, woodsy neighborhood with a Sustainable Living Experience program and strong community focus.
Oxford Housing area
North Campus apartment community housing over 1,000 graduate students, student families, and post-doctoral research fellows from more than 80…
1000 McIntyre DrShuttles, parking and accessible rides.

Free campus bus system with 12 routes connecting dorms, classrooms, and Michigan Medicine facilities. No fare or ID required.
Central Campus Transit Center
Free university-operated bus service with 12 routes serving Central Campus and Michigan Medicine, carrying over 5 million passengers annually.
1213 Kipke Drive
Public transit system serving Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti with fixed-route buses connecting campus to the wider community.
2700 S Industrial Hwy
U-M parking permits, visitor parking, and commuter programs.
523 S. Division St
Comprehensive parking permit system with color-coded permits for faculty, staff, and students across campus structures and lots.
523 South DivisionU-M sponsored program offering students $4 off Lyft rides between 8 PM and 7 AM within the designated campus service area.
Campus-wide service areaTypical pay 4 years after graduating. Top 6 of 59 bachelor's majors with published pay.
Source: College Scorecard, field-of-study data.
5 things worth doing early
The Registrar puts it about as plainly as it can be put: placing a class in your Backpack does not enroll you in that class — you still must register for it. Every term a few people find this out when the class is full.
Blue Bucks roll over year to year for as long as you are a student — but a balance under $25 is forfeited when you leave, so run it down rather than leaving twenty dollars behind. Dining Dollars are the opposite: they end with winter term. Spend those first.
Two separate things, both real. U-M Transit runs 12 campus routes that are open and free to the general public — no ID, no fare, anyone can board. And through MRide, students get unlimited access to TheRide's fixed-route city buses, any day of the week, any time of day.
Central Student Government rents TI-84 and TI-30X calculators and iClickers for free out of suite 3011 of the Michigan Union. They go fast — this fall the iClickers and scientific calculators were gone within days of rentals opening, so check the page before you buy anything. CSG also gives you free New York Times and Wall Street Journal access for as long as you are enrolled.
Four or five syllabi, each with its own deadline table in its own format, is exactly the kind of thing that gets lost by week three. Upload them to Gus and every due date lands in one calendar.
The one we cut: the free 2 a.m. ride home
U-M runs a late-night Ride Home service that picks up at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library. It was the strongest tip that did not fit in a five-item video.
U-M — SafeRide and late-night transitGus is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Michigan. Tips checked against Michigan's own pages in September 2026. Campus info last updated October 2026. Stats from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Something out of date? hello@meetgus.app · All campus guides