The Yard

The Yard is a 15-minute walk from the Ross School of Business, but in the past year seems to be predominantly undergraduate students (more freshmen, sophomores too). Thin walls = very noisy, especially on weekends. There is now a security service that attempts to enforce quiet hours. The amenities, while nice, are usually crowded during peak hours. Management is quick to fulfill work orders in the apartment. Make sure you get a unit that is facing away from the train tracks, which can be noisy at night. Ask the office to see a floor plan.

The Yard allows you to indicate your roommate preferences, which is highly recommended so that you are not randomly assigned to an undergraduate apartment. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, and The Yard breaks leases out by apartment, which eliminates the need for roommates to coordinate with each other to pay rent, very convenient.

I enjoy that I live in a building with a lot of other MBAs.

The apartment itself has everything I need and made it simple when meeting other people in a remote environment simply because many other students live here. They have not taken many cleanliness things, related to COVID in particularly, very seriously and have haphazardly closed/reopened apartment amenities. That said, they have been quick to make repairs as needed.

The biggest downside was moving in and the difficulties they had with determining when that was allowed throughout the entire summer.

There are also a number of things about the apartment itself that are simply designed poorly, doors open into one another, and half of my closet isn't accessible because its not a sliding door.

The largest benefit of living here has been its furnished.

Yard is great if you don't want to furnish an apartment; however, there are actually a lot of furnished spots in the Ann Arbor area. With COVID, the amenities are less useful, and the building has become full of undergrads who more or less disregard COVID precautions. With COVID still a very real threat, I'd recommend looking for a spot in a smaller building or in a home, because private outdoor space and less busy common spaces would be so much better for the current reality.

The yard is great. A little more expensive than other apartments but it has great location, lots of amentites, and many other MBA students live here. Since it's a giant building all of the apartments are similar so if you are unable to tour the place yourself you can be assured that it's a desirable place to live. The management isn't that great but I haven't had many problems. The one major downside is the train. It doesn't bother me as much but friends in the building have a tough time getting used to sleeping with the train blasting the horn throughout the night.

Cheaper of the Fully Furnished Apartments

The Yard is super convenient and it's nice to have a pool, but the rent is overpriced and the management is poor. The walls are also super thin and with the influx of undergrads moving in it can be extremely noisy and party scene in the common areas.

Pros: lots of MBA students live at the Yard, you have your own bedroom/bathroom space & share the kitchen/ living room with roommates, amenities are okay

Cons: literally everything else! Lots of problems with building construction, packages go missing often, management is generally indifferent about your issues. Also please note, majority of the building is currently undergrad students in particular freshman (their parents didn't want them living in the dorms during a pandemic). Hopefully not the case post-Covid, but you never know.

The Yard has nice, furnished apartments. It's greatest asset is the proximity to so many Ross students and Ross itself. Unfortunately, you share the building with undergrads who can be loud, messy, and anti-mask (in this era of COVID19). The train also runs relatively early in the morning and will wake you up regardless of where your unit is in the building.

This is a great location if you are looking to live near other MBA students. It can be a bit noisy on the weekends with undergrads running around, but is not the loudest place I've lived. It's a reasonable walk to Ross and downtown and is recommended if you are looking to be social.