<p>Hear are some things I figured out last year that may be helpful to you:</p>
<p>1) CELL PHONE: When D went to admit weekend, she was told by current students to get a cell phone with a local stanford number. That way, kids in her dorm would not be charged long distance just to call the room next door (since not everyone has a free long distance plan). You can get your cell phone through Stanford at a discounted rate and family members not attending S can also get on the same family plan at the discounted rate and do not have to have a Palo Alto area code.</p>
<p>2) LAPTOP: If you are planning to get a new one before going off to college, Stanford also has a discount deal with DELL. They have packages configured to Stanfords specifications and offer different packages to choose from. That way you will know that your system is compatible with the needs you will have at S. Most of the common software you will need, you will download at school. Stanford renegotiates their package deals with Dell on July 1 (?) so wait to order online with Dell after that. You will need your student ID to get to the special deals. A Latitude seems to be the most generally recommended model for PC users. Mac Users can get their computer through the bookstore.</p>
<p>3) ADMIT WEEKEND - go to the session that tours the research labs and lets you talk with the researchers - very cool. Also, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT FROSOCO (Freshman Sophmore College - one of the dorm options). IMHO this is one of the best kept secrets at Stanford. Frosoco is run by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (Bravman) who lives across the street from the dorm, organizes faculty-student dinners at his home, allows students to borrow from his extensive DVD collection and invites them over for a friday night BBQ when the weather is nice. Frosoco is his baby, so he has made sure that Frosoco kids have access to extra resources. The ratio of support personnel to students is astounding and the students form a tight community. The downside is that Frosoco is located way out on the edge of campus at Govenor's corner. This makes kids think the Frosoco students are exclusive (not true) and more academically focused (also not true). Their dorm rooms are larger and there are many more singles. The dorm food service sounds like one of the better ones on campus as well. TAKE THE TIME TO CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF! It really isn't that far out there, but you will need a bike if you decide to live there. (Joining Frosoco is by application. Once in, you are also guaranteed a spot there your sophmore year instead of having to be part of the housing lottery at the end of freshman year - like everyone else).</p>
<p>Hey, thanks! I think I'll check out FroSoCo - do they have private bathrooms in there? I'm not really keen on community bathrooms... but I suppose I could get used to it.</p>
<p>I've heard that Verizon does not have good coverage on Stanford's campus, and that AT&T Cingular has much better coverage (and Stanford gets you a discount with its agreement with Cingular).</p>
<p>Yeah, Verizon doesn't work on campus. They have five towers around the edge of campus, but if you look at a map of the coverage there is a big black hole where stanford is. It's because of Stanford's deals with Sprint and Cingular... and despite lots of complaining they haven't changed it. It's yucky. :-P</p>
<p>I was there for three weeks over the summer on Verizon, and it worked fine for me. Then again I'm used to the suckfest on my high school campus, so maybe it's relative.</p>
<p>My son has Verizon, and it works OK as long as he makes his calls from outside. Ah, I think I just realized why he hasn't called home much this year--the weather has been bad!</p>
<p>On the bike lock--get the best one you can possibly find! My son has had his bike stolen twice, while locked.</p>
<p>I was told I shouldn't get a bike during orientation. Why, is this because everyone else will be getting one at the same time? I couldn't possibly get one before unless I decide to arrive on campus early (I'll have to recover from jet lag and all). Any arrival tips for an overseas student?</p>
<p>Same here. I guess I'll have to practice so that I won't fall and make a loser out of myself. It's bad enough that I'm going to be at the bottom of the class at the Farm anyway :p</p>
<p>So Vicky, are you definitely going then? I'm still waiting for my admit packet to arrive!</p>
<p>I'm currently a freshman at Stanford so let me just respond to a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Verizon does in fact suck. I had it when I got here and could barely make a call anywhere. get att or sprint.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to live in FroSoCo fine, but just be forewarned that the rest of the campus considers these people to be kinda weird and anti-social and squar-ish. It's also really really really far from everything. SLE has the same reputation.</p></li>
<li><p>Get a bike. During orientaiton, before orientation, after orientation, who really cares, Just get a daaamn bike. u need one. buy a used one from the bike store on campus/</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Here are some tips for what to do when you arrive on campus:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you have a car, go to the stores and buy some things (food, school supplies, etc.). Take advantage of having a car, because later it becomes a bit more difficult to move around, especially off campus.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't worry about unpacking everything in your room immediately! There are lots of programs to check out during the arrival day that you and your parents will probably be interested in attending. You will have all year to unpack/decorate/whatever.</p></li>
<li><p>Getting a bike as soon as possible is probably a wise thing to do. If you don't arrive until the day before orientation, most bikes at the local Target and Walmart will be gone, but there are several bike shops around Palo Alto (these are more expensive). I bought my bike at the Campus bike shop for around $200 (it had been used by a student during the summer, and included a U-lock (get a U-lock, not the chain ones) and a year warranty).</p></li>
<li><p>Orientation week generally sucks. It's awkward having to meet so many new people, and not knowing anyone. Adjusting to college-life can be difficult and you will have to make personal sacrifices and step out of your high-school "comfort zone" in order to make the transition. Try to meet as many people during this time as possible, because later on, it will be weird walking up to a random person and introducing yourself. Life at Stanford is a lot better when it moves past orientation and gets real.</p></li>
<li><p>It's not necessary to attend all the events that are set for Orientation week. You're in college now... you can do whatever you want. However, it's probably better that you do, since most of your future friends and dormmates will be too.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't worry about having a disaster roommate... generally most of the matches in my dorm this year have been successes. It doesn't mean you will become best friends with your roommate, but that most likely, you will be compatible living together.</p></li>
<li><p>Try to start planning out what classes you are going to shop, as soon as possible. Though Orientation week will seem to take forever, it actually is over before you know it. You don't want to be stuck on Monday night before school starts having no idea where you are going the next morning. </p></li>
<li><p>Saying goodbye to your parents might be easy/hard/sappy whatever to you. But they will most likely be sad, so even if you're overjoyed that you finally have freedom, at least pretend that you will miss them.</p></li>
<li><p>At the Orientation programs, each dorm goes to them together as a group, carrying a dorm flag, and chanting dorm cheers. This is all very summer camp-like, and if it's not your thing, don't worry... it doesn't happen for the rest of the year.</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, the first couple of weeks after your arrival will seem sort of surreal. But soon enough, you will settle in, and your old high school life will seem so insignificant and melodramatic compared to college life. If you have trouble adjusting, bear with it, go with the flow, keep in touch with old friends and your family. The first quarter can be rough for some people, but eventually you WILL find incredible people who you'll form great friendships with.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to Orientation, though - I can't wait to make new friends. I'm going to sign up for as many things as possible but I'll try not to tire myself out before classes start - I don't want to fall asleep in my very first lecture/seminar!!</p>
<p>Getting a bike seems to be the most important thing so I'll put that at the top of my checklist. Thanks guys - I appreciate the advice :)</p>
<p>One more thing: Can I arrive at the Farm 3-4 days before Orientation? If yes, I'm assuming I'll have to stay at the Guest House?</p>
<p>nkay, my Ds roommate was an international student. She had already been in the dorms for a couple of days when we arrived. I'm not sure but it seems like they have a pre-orientation for the Int. students so they have a chance to adjust and recover from jet lag. </p>
<p>You will definitely want a bike on campus, or some other means of transportation (freshman are not allowed to have a car), especially if your dorm is far away -- it's a very spread out campus (but luckily it's usually sunny!). We were told to buy the cheapest bike/clunker possible so that no one would want to steal it, and even if they did, you wouldn't feel so bad. However, apparently bike theft has gone down a bit from past years.</p>
<p>To address other comments on this thread: I don't believe any freshman dorms have private bathrooms. However, since Frosoco is not as large as other dorms, it seems like there may be fewer kids sharing a bathroom. As I mentioned before, the dorms at Frosoco are true doubles (as opposed to 2 beds in a single room!) and most have a wall between them making them into single doubles. As for the comment that the rest of the campus thinks the students at Frosoco are weird or anti-social, that's what we were told too, so I wanted my D to check it out for herself. It turned out to be a completely false stereotype which is why you should check it out for yourself during admit weekend. However, it sounds like it is true that there is less drinking than in the frats, and its quieter than an all-frosh dorm. But those can be pluses depending on your perspective!</p>
<p>"Saying goodbye to your parents might be easy/hard/sappy whatever to you. But they will most likely be sad, so even if you're overjoyed that you finally have freedom, at least pretend that you will miss them."</p>