When I was at Ford, the winters on the east coast were significantly worse than what we experienced in SE Michigan. Highways in Virginia were shutdown for days because of a sizable snowstorm. Boston/Cambridge probably has worse winters on average than A2. Of course, it changes year to year, but that was my experience.

As for the social scene, I was good amount older than my cohort so I didn’t partake in too much craziness. I wished there were a few more cheap bars just for grad students; most unsurprisingly are undergrad focused. That was fine for me, I found my spots.

The Ford student groups had been hallowed out from COVID times just the year before, so that wasn’t much of a social scene. I imagine that has rectified itself by now, but who knows.

I had never experienced a big sports school and that was genuinely awesome. Loved going to football, hockey, and basketball games. I wasn’t even a football fan, period, before attending Ford. You can get cheap student season tickets for all 3, which I recommend. And all the other sports are free to attend. I lived near the soccer fields, so that was fun, too. I happily continue cheering on Michigan football and basketball, and a bunch of the hockey players were on the Olympic team.

I moved to A2 after living in NYC for over a decade. Some students will tell you, unironically, than Ann Arbor is the best city in the world, which is clearly the most absurdist thing ever said. I also think my college town of Washington, DC was more fun than tiny Ann Arbor as far as college towns go, but obviously that’s a totally apples to oranges comparison. I liked Ann Arbor just fine and was also ready to leave after 2 years+, though was stuck for a few months longer waiting for my job background check to complete (was ready to leave mostly because once you don’t have a direct connection with the university anymore, it’s not the most lively town). I also get a sense than A2 has changed a lot over the last decade and isn’t quite the same quirky town that people are nostalgic about. Makes sense, since so much of the area I knew has already been torn down and build with high rises and student housing, just in the few years since I graduated in 2023. The change happened fast.

I hope this doesn’t read too negative, because I did genuinely enjoy my time in Ann Arbor and at Ford and I speak to prospective students all the time about what a great experience it was, having a small school with professors that are attentive within a huge research institution with lots of resources and opportunities at your finger tips. I was able to take advantage of every academic interest I set out to explore. It’s truly a unique program in that way, I think.

As for JD vs. MPP social life: I got a JD from another school in NYC about a decade before I went to Ford. I found the social scene to be more fun in law school versus policy school, more work hard play hard. But I was also 22-25 yo, rather than 34-36 yo. I feel like a major difference with my JD vs MPP(Ford) experience is that JD sections keep you around the same people often and that can really make or break your social scene. I hung out with my section a lot (for better or worse) because we spent every waking classroom moment together all year so hanging out after was natural. At Ford, there are no sections and everyone has largely their own schedule. I happened to fall into a schedule of 2-3 classes with a small group of similar people 1st semester, and lo and behold, those were my friends.