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My son is wrestling with decision on whether to apply for "substance-free" housing at the Univ of Michigan. He is not much of a party-er but not a nerd either. Any comments on pros and cons (especially at UM) would be appreciated.

By Skulkarni1 (Skulkarni1) on Monday, May 03, 2004 - 08:48 pm: Edit

i dont go to UMICH, but i want to go there, and a ton of people post on the umich board...try that...

By Crnchycereal (Crnchycereal) on Monday, May 03, 2004 - 10:22 pm: Edit

From what I've heard, substance-free houses tend to be extremely dry (no pun intended) and boring. The kids who live there typically have no lives and/or are dedicated to their school work to the point of being recluses. I'm sure if your son lives in a regular dorm, he'll be able to pursue whatever activities he wants without having to partake in alcohol or the like.

By Fishercochran (Fishercochran) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 10:13 am: Edit

Thanks. Does anyone else have a different perspective?

By Demingy (Demingy) on Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 12:28 pm: Edit

I have a different perspective, but it would depend on what your son is looking for. If he is thinking about "substance-free" housing because he either feels very strongly about not being around drugs or alcohol or because he doesn't want to deal with trying to study while parties are going on in the dorm, then I'd say go for it. Crnchycereal is right that (in theory at least) the dorms tend to be known for their lack of "social scene" in respect to parties.

If your son still wants to socialize, being in a substance-free dorm won't prevent him from doing this. Depending on his personality, he will probably meet a lot of people outside of his dorm (no matter what type of dorm he lives in).

But, if he is interested in being "where it's at" then he probably should think about getting a regular (not specified substance-free) dorm room. As Crnchycereal said, he wouldn't have to partake.