<p>how extreme is it at stanford? I don't drink and I hope it doesn't work against me.. are there particular dorms where the drinking scene is not as wild?</p>
<p>Drinking is definitely not an emphasis at Stanford. What I like is that if you want to drink, you can find a place to do so; if you don't want to drink, you can find a place to do so. I've also found that while people have occasionally asked me if I want to drink or go to a party, they are respectful when I say no, and I have never felt pressured. I've also never had trouble finding people to watch a movie with, and it's also been fine to just stay in my room and study. All-frosh dorms definitely tend to be louder and crazier than four-class dorms (I have lived in both), but either way, it is still possible to do whatever you want to do, find people to do it with (if you want), and not feel pressured to do something you don't want to do.</p>
<p>woud you recommend living in a four-class dorm for the first yr? I'm just a bit concerned about the relatively smaller number of freshmen..</p>
<p>Well, Roble, which is a 4-class dorm, has many freshmen... anyone here know the number? I'd estimate around 100. Most 4-class dorms probably have around 35-40 freshmen, which I think is nice because you'll get to meet a lot of freshmen while also meeting lots of friendly upperclassmen who can give you advice and be there for you in general. Also, you'll meet freshmen in your classes.</p>
<p>I definitely think that 4-class vs. all-frosh depends from person to person; it's not as if one of them is the clear winner over the other. I don't necessarily think that the alcohol thing should make you avoid all-frosh; I lived in an all-frosh house and had no problem finding things to do that didn't involve alcohol. (You may frequently encounter drunk people, though.) What are your other thoughts regarding housing?</p>
<p>Roble has exactly 4 fewer freshmen than Branner, so 168 and 172, respectively. I might be off by a little, but you get the idea; there are a bunch of freshmen in both. I lived in Roble as a freshman and didn't really like it because it tends to be the dorm where seniors like to draw in because of the large number of singles, and they're mostly isolated in their own section of the dorm, so it really doesn't have the smaller "4-class" feel that I like now living in Stern. It was just about as rowdy as Branner is known to be, maybe a tad less at best.</p>
<p>Most four-class dorms in Stern and Wilbur have ~40 freshmen and ~40 upperclassmen, with a few exceptions (I'll be staffing around 38 frosh and 21 uppers next year). It might not seem like a lot when compared to 168/172, but I've found that it's a good number of people to live with. Not too overwhelming, but not too few.</p>
<p>I totally agree.</p>
<p>However, I'm not sure I like that jwj called upperclassmen "uppers" =p</p>
<p>He and I love the "small" 4-class environment (we live in the same dorm, and we will both be staffing in "small" 4-class dorms next year), but again, I won't say that it's the best for everyone. Feel free to describe more of what you want in a dorm your freshman year, and we'll do our best to advise you.</p>
<p>I was thinking of SLE for awhile but it seems like the program takes up too much credits to allow for the time to do a double major. (polisci and econ) Slavianski dom was one option but apparently it's not offered to incoming students? so now i'm leaning towards casa zapata or 4-class dorms. I like to have a small but tight circle of friends. I love languages, books and latin dance.</p>
<p>I'm doing SLE and I'll be doing a BioSci (Neurobio) and PoliSci major. :) Just so you don't rule SLE out completely.</p>
<p>are you allowed to go over 20 credits per quarter? how do you like the program?</p>
<p>Going over 20 credits per quarter is a really bad idea, especially fall of your freshman year. College is much, much different from high school. It's very possible to take only 12 units and be drowning in work, so often taking more than 20 units would just be a huge disaster. Freshman year is a humbling time for all students here. You'll probably find that it's just not feasible to do everything that you plan on doing. </p>
<p>If you like latin dance, there are a bunch of social/latin dance events on campus that you should look into. There's a salsa dance team that I think sponsors events and then something called Jammix that's more general social dance (also swing, waltz, polka, etc.) that happens about once a month. The social dance scene here is awesome.</p>
<p>Oops! My bad...I made it sound like I'm in SLE already. I'm an incoming student. I was just saying that it's possible. Actually, I know a few current SLE people who are planning on double majors, and all the people in SLE love SLE. If you go back into the '09 and '10 boards on here, you can also find a lot more info on SLE. Lastly, overall, SLE does tend to save you time later on. You get rid of all your IHUM requirements, one GE Humanities requirement, and both your PWRs, the latter two which you would be working on as a sophomore as well. Anyways, those are some of my reasons for taking SLE, regardless of the unit count. SLE people have also mentioned that the hours you put into SLE aren't really equivalent to the number of credits you'll be getting, as in it's worth more than you work for it. Just a plus, I guess. :) Whether they're right or not? It depends on the person, I guess. Really, though, whatever choice you make should be great. :D Okie, I'm done. ;)</p>
<p>Actually, in terms of units, IHUM/PWR is just 20 units, SLE is closer to 30. PWR 2 isn't really a big deal at all, I actually really liked my PWR 2 and it served as a great break from my other math/physics classes. And the humanities GER is really easy to fulfill because most classes that fulfill the Education for Citizenship requirement will also fulfill the humanities GER. </p>
<p>It's definitely possible to double major if you choose to do SLE. Just don't plan on taking over 20 units each quarter. </p>
<p>To be fair, I should admit that I don't know tons about SLE. I'll probably learn a lot more next year since I'll be living in one of the 4-class SLE dorms. Should be fun! </p>
<p>If SLE sounds like a program that really interests you, you should do it. It's possible to do SLE along with any major, double major, etc. I do, however, highly encourage you to take no more than 15 units fall quarter of freshman year and then go from there.</p>
<p>Concur with the 15-unit suggestion...you're definitely not gonna spend as much time studying as you used to, given that you're going to be spending a lot more time with dormmates and hanging out since you live with them 24/7. Besides which, freshman year is supposed to be the time you adjust to the fast-paced quarter system, which is like another 2 units on its own.</p>
<p>so i wouldnt be considered a slacker if i only took bout 3 classes=12 units fall quarter?</p>
<p>i don't know, it depends on what you take. If at least one science/math class is a part of that and you want to test how dificult the classes are without filling your plate then I wouldn't think you are a slacker. </p>
<p>(And I am sure that there are other difficult classes that aren't math or science. I don't want to offend anyone but I give this example because the math/science courses were problems for me during first quarter.)</p>
<p>You can also take activity units. This quarter I'm basically taking 8 activity units (well, sort of). Some classes that might interest you: </p>
<p>Dance 46: Social Dances of North America I
Great class!!! Richard Powers who teaches social dance classes in a really great teacher, it's easy to learn, you don't have to be especially well coordinated or anything to get a lot out of it </p>
<p>EDU 193 A&P: Peer Counseling
If you are at all interesting in psychology, mental illness, or even business, law or medicine where listening skills will be important this is a good class to take </p>
<p>MS&E 41 Financial Literacy
This class teaches basics like paying taxes, insurance, credit card debt, buying a car, etc. Very useful and practical knowledge </p>
<p>MS&E 472 Entrepreneurial Thought Leadership
Brilliant CEOs from around the area come and speak about what makes a good leader. You can sign up for dinners and get taken out to really nice restaurants where you get to talk to these brilliant people for free, pretty awesome </p>
<p>There are tons of athletics classes too that sound like fun from pilates and yoga to sailing</p>
<p>Many departments also have a 1 unit class about research topics in that department. There's one in physics, I think one in bio, one in symbolic systems, etc.</p>
<p>I am really interested in takin several IntroSems..but i realize that takin them all may not be possible..how selective is the process..and is it likely for me to be enrolled in more than one introsem a quarter?</p>
<p>It's pretty selective for the techie ones, whereas the ones that study Russian literature or something usually end up with space remaining. It's not exactly likely that you'll be able to take more than one introsem per quarter, but it's possible.</p>
<p>hummm....bc i was reallly interested in takin digital dilemmas and contempory african politics..both of which are offered in the autumn quarter(im startin to get upset with the idea that i might not be able to take all the classes that appeal to me)</p>