Current Student...ask Away

<p>um...don't know that for sure. i've met a few coterm-ers and i've heard its somewhat competitive, but not too bad...whatever that means. of course, that doesn't help you much, so hopefully im_blue can enlighten us.</p>

<ol>
<li>How easy (or difficult) is it to have your own campus radio show?</li>
<li>Do any of the Stanford libraries keep music CDs of mainstream recordings? I searched Socrates for several popular artists (The Doors, The Eagles) but couldn't find any!</li>
<li>Does everyone have to "cram", i.e. mug up stuff? Even if you take math or computer science?</li>
<li><p>Can you please compare the quarter system with the semester system for us? I saw the post where you said that the quarter system is easier and a bunch of other stuff. Are there any more differences?</p></li>
<li><p>Are the bathrooms attached to the rooms or does everyone use common bathrooms?</p></li>
<li><p>How/where do you iron your clothes? Do you have to take your own iron or does everybody share?</p></li>
<li><p>How often do people cook on their own?</p></li>
<li><p>What about TV? Do you get enough time to watch TV? Also, do you have to take your own telly or do dorms have a common room where you can watch it?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Sorry, these may seem like stupid questions but this is what came to my mind when I thought about living at Stanford. I'm from India and haven't visited Stanford (or any other college in the US) so I don't really know the way all this works.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help current<em>student, im</em>blue, marlgirl!</p>

<p>Can someone explain more about tickets to sporting events. Are there enough seats for everyone who wants to go to football and bball games or do you have to camp out to get tickets (like Duke)? Or do they do a lottery? Do most students go to all the games, and cheer and dress up in team colors and get really into it? Also, do many people travel to away football or bball games?</p>

<p>Yea a good part of my college decision depends on school spirirt/athletics...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How easy (or difficult) is it to have your own campus radio show?
haha. wow, um, i'm not quite sure. i know one of the guys in my dorm had his own tv show on the stanford channel, but as for everyone else, i just don't know.</p></li>
<li><p>Do any of the Stanford libraries keep music CDs of mainstream recordings? I searched Socrates for several popular artists (The Doors, The Eagles) but couldn't find any!
crap, i fell useless. i don't know if they have CD's. i FOR SURE know green library has the latest DVD's, which you can rent for 2 days. so dvd wise, you're covered. i never bothered to look for cd's though. but i'm sure students will have whatever you're looking for, trust me.</p></li>
<li><p>Does everyone have to "cram", i.e. mug up stuff? Even if you take math or computer science?
well, if you have a great studying routine and schedule that you actually stick too, no you don't have to cram. but we all know that never works out. procrastinantion's a biatch. so yes, people cram, but it's not b/c its necessary. to get by if you don't procrastinate or put off as much as some do.</p></li>
<li><p>Can you please compare the quarter system with the semester system for us? I saw the post where you said that the quarter system is easier and a bunch of other stuff. Are there any more differences?
quarters are 10 weeks and go by much faster than semester, which are 16 weeks. you get done with classes much faster and can take more classes you normally wouldn't take. its just much more fast paced. it's difficult to adjust to, but i loved it once i got used used to it. midterms are 5 weeks in, not 8. but i actually had2 midterms for math and 4 for chem. so math was a midterm every 3-4 weeks, and chem was every other week. but it was actually pretty sweet because you have more chances to help out your grade in case you didn't go so well in the beginning.</p></li>
<li><p>Are the bathrooms attached to the rooms or does everyone use common bathrooms?
freshman are not going to have and connected bathrooms. they are all community bathrooms. some dorms have the community showers and toilets all in one area. for example, the toilets are there, and then go a little more towards the back and there are showers. some showers just have one curtain and thats it. other showers are in a completely different room than the toilets, which to me is a lot nicer. and some showers have the showere, a curtain, then a tiny changing area, and another curtain. it all depends on what dorm you are in. and don't worry, everyone, and i mean everyone, gets used to community showers in like a week. its not that bad.</p></li>
<li><p>How/where do you iron your clothes? Do you have to take your own iron or does everybody share?
laundry rooms have irons and iron boards. but seriously, nobody irons anything. you wash your clothes, dry them, and fold them quickly before wrinkles form. maybe if you had a formal event, but that once in a blue moon. you don't need to bring an iron though. either your laundry room will have it or someone in your dorm will have it.</p></li>
<li><p>How often do people cook on their own?
haha. cooking, what is this madness you speak of? the only time i've cooked is to make a desert for hall progressive, which is a day where your hall makes a treat for everyone in the dorm. so you go room to room eating food and meeting people. very nice. but yeah, people hardly cook anything, and if they do, its deserts like cookies and rice krispie treats.</p></li>
<li><p>What about TV? Do you get enough time to watch TV? Also, do you have to take your own telly or do dorms have a common room where you can watch it?
every dorm will have a lounge that has a TV with cable. you DO have time to watch tv, kind of. i mean, you'll always find something better to do. you'll either decided to socialize with friends, go outside, do some work, or something that seems more beneficial than sitting there alone watching tv. you can take your own tv, but you have to pay for cable. and its also a bad idea as far as getting work done and studying goes. too much of a distraction. but seriously, i watched tv less than 5% of my time last quarter. sometimes it was b/c i had too much work to do, and other times its because i'd rather hang out with friends or go to shows or sporting events.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>SPORTING EVENTS...
ok, tickets for the popular sport ie basketball and football have to be paid for. season pass for football is 40 bucks, basketball 6th man/season pass is 65 bucks. or you could just get the all AXEss pass for 105 bucks and that gets you into all the sporting events. football is never sold out. even for BIG GAME against Cal there were some seats left. most students go to either football or bball games. those who go usually at least put on colors and cheer. some dress up and do the whole deal. depends on what game it is. for football, there not A TON of spirit, but theres spirit. there is a lot of spirit for bball and womens volleyball. i've never gone to an away game, so i don't know. i would venture to say not as many people go, but that's a guess.</p>

<p>but we've won the directors cup like 37924 times in a row, so we def have things to cheer for.</p>

<p>If you want to take 20 units/quarter I strongly recommend that you start that winter quarter of your freshman year. Take it easy first quarter because getting used to college life and the quarter system does take some time. </p>

<p>For a co-term.... I talked to one guy who's doing a co-term for EE and he said that you want to maintain a 3.7 GPA at least. At that point I don't know how competitive it is, but I would guess that it is not <em>that</em> bad. You can also apply year after year starting in I believe sophomore year.</p>

<p>The competition for co-terms depends on your major. Some majors take everyone who applies, while others like EE are as competitive as regular graduate admissions.</p>

<p>oh yeah marlgirl and im_blue...just answer one question and leave the rest to me. jp.</p>

<p>I'm a grad student, so I can't really answer a lot of questions about undergrad life, since we're pretty out of the loop. Besides, I didn't want to hijack your thread ;p.</p>

<p>haha. i see i see.</p>

<p>Everybody seems to mention Freshman physics or freshman chem.....are these requirements for people looking into liberal arts? Or computer science?</p>

<p>That is just because they are both really hard. I would say Chem 31X, Physics 61, and Math 51H are probably the three hardest classes designed for freshman first quarter (someone please correct me if you disagree). Not a requirement for liberal arts or comp sci (although you do need to take one natural science class course at some point in your 4 years at stanford, doesn't have to be a chem of physics class though). Freshman physics is only bad if you do 60 series (the advanced series for potential physics majors). Chem is especially difficult if you take 31X as in one quarter you get through the material in both 31A and 31B. Chem you need for bio, pre-med, etc.</p>

<p>I don't think Chem 31X is that hard relative to Math 51H and Physics 61. There's more material to keep up with, but it's not any harder than 31A and 31B.</p>

<p>i think 31X is somewhat harder than 31A/B. it doesn't go as in depth as A/B, but i think the exams are harder and the pace is obviously a lot faster. but i wouldn't say 31X is the same as A/B.</p>

<p>If we've had AP Chemistry in high school, would you recommend taking Chem31X, or instead taking 31A and then 31B? (I'm planning to be premed next year, but also considering double-majoring, so I'm thinking about how to fit everything in).</p>

<p>If you've had AP Chemistry, you should be fine with Chem 31X. In fact, if you get a 4 or 5, you could skip 31X altogether and enroll in 33 (organic chemistry). But since 33 is only offered in the winter, it might be a good idea to take 31X as review if you can fit it into your schedule.</p>

<p>I got a 5 on AP Chem (I also took General Chem at a community college), so I'll probably sit in on 31X and then enroll in 33 in the winter.</p>

<p>I believe some med schools require that you take a general chemistry class in college. I think that's why so many people take 31A and 31B or 31X instead of just skipping to 33.</p>

<p>so at stanford, is there any rush to sign up for classes -do you have to fight to get the one you want? is there a seniority system?
and also, what would you guys say is the actual class size ratio? the viewbooks all say like "less than 14" but is that actualy true?</p>

<p>also, should i get a cingular phone or are there other companies that get reception?</p>

<p>also, (sorry this is very scatterbrained) has anyone on campus seen "brokeback mountain", and if so, what's the general attitude towards it? what would you say is the song that everyone's got on their IPod?</p>

<p>thanxxx</p>

<p>so at stanford, is there any rush to sign up for classes -do you have to fight to get the one you want? is there a seniority system?
and also, what would you guys say is the actual class size ratio? the viewbooks all say like "less than 14" but is that actualy true?
- In my experience, there's no rush to signup for any large lecture classes, since they never fill up, but some small seminars do. They're big on the shopping period here, so a lot of people don't sign up for classes until the first or second week of classes anyway. There's no seniority system in the online computer, but individual classes may apply seniority if they have to cut enrollment.</p>

<p>also, should i get a cingular phone or are there other companies that get reception?
- Definitely get Cingular, which is the only service on campus. Verizon gives you maybe 1 bar and only if you're outdoors. Spring has worked OK for some people but it's still not nearly as good as Cingular.</p>

<p>laptop wise- pc or mac? thanx for taking all this time to answer questions!</p>