<p>I can’t even imagine living in dorms like that.</p>
<p>Yes, Sonoma is known somewhat for having nicer dorms, but they’re nothing like High Point’s.</p>
<p>Just checked out the Highpoint U website- the mean ACT is 22, 70% in the top 1/2 of HS class- sounds like a lot more than academics is important to the students…</p>
<p>Wis, it is currently a school that the average student can get into. I think that the average ACT score is a 21. They seem to take some C/C+ students in addition to B students.</p>
<p>60’s Students - I came to avoid the draft
70’s Students - I came to get a better job
80’s Students - I came for the babes
90’s Students - ???
00’s Students - I came for the dorms</p>
<p>Guess I could use some help with the 90’s.
- I came 'cause I wasn’t doing anything else?
- I came so I could become a Hedge Fund manager and get rich?
- I came so I could understand whether Science could really be redefined to include the paranormal?</p>
<p>I don’t know why people get so worked up about this…its just a different way for a school to distinguish itself - marketing and American ingenuity at its finest. To me, having palatial dorms as a tool to attract students doesn’t seem much different than schools that have major sports teams/stadiums/join major athletic leagues in order to bring in more applications.</p>
<p>Not an example of a college at its finest- different isn’t always equally good. Proves it does matter where you get that college degree. Let’s get more about how the rest of the dorms have changed since the parents’ generation went there.</p>
<p>Back in the mid-late 60’s, the bed linens in our all-girl dorm were changed once a week by the university maid service. I don’t remember bringing towels from home, so it is possible they were given to us every week also. Freshman year I was in a double – each side of the room had a bed, a desk and a closet. The telephone was down the hall, and you knew that you had received a call if a button in your room changed from black to white. Bathrooms were down the hall.</p>
<p>We had curfews, later on the weekends, I don’t remember what time, and no boys were ever allowed in our dorm rooms. When a boy came to take you out, he told the person at the front desk and that person buzzed your room. I remember visiting a boy’s dorm room, so somehow the rules weren’t as strict for boys.</p>
<p>There was a TV in the lounge on the main floor. The dorm was pretty big, and I only remember the one TV. I don’t remember any other lounges, except that main one.</p>
<p>I don’t recall kitchens where we could cook anything, although there were vending machines with candy, milk and the like.</p>
<p>Back in the 30’s when my H’s mom went to Vassar, she mailed her dirty laundry home and received clean laundry back in the mail. I don’t know if laundry facilities weren’t available or what.</p>
<p>From what I have seen of today’s dorm rooms, they are the same in size, but quite different in the amenities - phones, computer hook-ups, AC in some, some suites with bathrooms, lofted beds. And of course, the extras are much nicer - lounges, work-out areas, kitchens.</p>
<p>I went to a small school … one dorm, one academic building. Almost everyone lived off campus after freshman year, and there was plenty of cheap housing available. My dorm room was small, with a mustardy color of yellow on the cinderblock walls. I had a bed, a desk, and a built in wardrobe/closet. There was a sliding wooden door between my room & that of my roommate (it could be locked), and a phone in a “chute” in the wall that could be accessed from either room. No long distance … there was a pay phone on two of the 4 floors, if you wanted to call l/d. The cafeteria food was awful. If you wanted a healthy option, they had a salad-in-bowl … iceberg lettuce, processed turkey & ham strips, and processed American cheese strips. No fresh fruits, no fresh vegetables … just the institutional stuff (fruit cocktail, canned peaches or pears, overcooked canned veggies). No cooking facilities in the dorm. No a/c, of course. Study rooms in each hallway, with a couple tables & chairs (nothing else). There was a tv in a large common room at the dorm entrance, with a couple ugly, uncomfortable couches & chairs. No one watched tv, anyway … too much work + no decent tv shows (pre-cable days, folks). Our 5-floor student center had a small bookstore, the student cafeteria, the “pay” cafeteria, the school offices, a bank, and a bowling alley (that was cool). We had a gym & a very basic weight room (with table tennis table) in the back corner of the basement of the academic building. We also had a softball field & a makeshift football field. Intramurals were HUGE on campus (no real sports teams), and the gym & fields were well used. Once upon a time, someone donated money & students tried to get a pool. Instead, the administration built a carrillon. The open grass next to the carillon tower was always referred to as the “pool.”</p>
<p>Today, my alma mater has very up-to-date dorms … more than one! Some are apartments, which is nice for the students. I hear that the food is actually edible now. There is a/c. There is an awesome rec center (with a swimming pool!). There are new labs (no more machine labs in the basement). Of course, with what the school costs now, they OUGHT to have nice amenities! :)</p>
<p>We just toured High Point several weeks ago. Most freshman do not get the apartment style dorms. Most freshman are in suite style dorms (2x2 with shared bathroom). Very nice - but not super fancy. The mens dorms were not as nice as the girls. Honestly, I would expect a private university to have nicer dorms. I think the issue is not the dorms. I worry that there might be too much other fluff (pool/hot tub). My real issue with this university is the surrounding area and crime. I think the valet parking is a safety issue - not more fluff. They don’t want the students walking from the parking lots to the dorms at night. I believe the valet parking is only offered after a certain time. </p>
<p>I too was worried that the only concern were the amenities offered to the students. However, there seems to be a major push to improve academics. Their reputation is growing. Most students we talked to were very happy at the university and impressed with their professors and the school’s president in particular.</p>
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<p>As it should be, IMO.</p>
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<p>Hey New Hope, I think I can help with that list.
90’s Students – I came to put off getting a job.</p>
<p>;-D</p>
<p>One of the biggest factors in my oldest son’s “challenges” at college was the fact that he lived off campus. (long story - dorm deposit mixup). So on-campus housing was a given with son #2. He is in one of the newer apartment style dorms. No valet parking, no free ice cream. 
But it IS very nice, and nice enough that he may want to stay for 4 years rather than move off campus. I’d really like him to stay on-campus.</p>
<p>Now comes son 3. He is looking at both these schools, plus some others. I am sure that if he goes to the state u with “dorms like dungeons” (princeton review top 10) he’ll want to move off-campus ASAP. If he goes to nice dorm u, he’ll stay on campus longer. So I actually think that it IS a valid factor to consider. Not the deciding factor by any means, but something to consider.</p>