<p>ok, so i'm completely priveleged and excited to go to Stanford, and nothing will change that. with that said...</p>
<p>don't you guys agree that for $10,000 in housing, we should get better, even though we're freshman. i mean Stanford in one of the most prestigious universities in the world, but the housing is pretty bad compared to other universities that are no where near it's level.</p>
<p>for example, i recently visited a bunch of friends at UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio). Now besides the "univesity of texas" part, it's not really connected to the main UT in Austin (longhorns) in terms of academic level and so on. when i went into the FRESHMEN DORMS, i was blown away. they are spectacular. Now yes they are new, but still, take a look <a href="http://www.utsa.edu/Students/housing/facilities.cfm#chap%5B/url%5D">http://www.utsa.edu/Students/housing/facilities.cfm#chap</a> click on the "four bedroom units" and "two bedroom units" links to see what it looks like. it's awesome. and it looks smaller on the website than in real life. you can also click on the chisolm hall and university oaks links for more about those dorms and pricing (which is still cheaper than what we pay). i know it's a state university but still...</p>
<p>anyway, i think stanford should have something like this for us, given that we are pretty exceptional students. i know i sound jealous or bitter that UTSA has better dorms than stanford for freshmans, but that's not it. i just think that stanford, being the university it is, should have a better living evironment of all its students. and it has the land and money/endowments/grants to build new dorms without raising tuition (i'm pretty sure), so why not? UTSA completely deserves those dorms, i'm not saying they don't. but i believe stanford does too.</p>
<p>anyway, this post is kind of a calm rant. i could be stuck in a guy's bathroom stall and still enjoy living at stanford, but i think it's safe to say we all would prefer "four bedroom, two bathroom" suites with a kitchen and living room for freshmen.</p>
<p>$10,000? Where on earth did you get that from? I'm pretty sure it's $4,000 - 6,000 per year!!! Don't give us a heart attack now.</p>
<p>If by better housing you mean more space and privacy, then I wouldn't completely agree. Throwing a bunch of students together in perhaps tighter quarters than most will help us develop lifelong friendships and camaraderie with our fellow dormmates - something I think is more important than having your own shower stall and kitchenette.</p>
<p>Having my own bathroom and room would be SO much more comfortable, but I like the idea of walking down the hall with my toothbrush and toothpaste and meeting a floormate or two on the way. And having my own suite would be nice, but too lonely. Even with three other suitemates. That said, uncomfortable as it may be being stuck in tiny rooms with your whole floor sharing the same bathroom, at least it'll help you get out more, explore the campus, and form strong friendships!!</p>
<p>-this from the girl who initially thought communal bathrooms were perfectly horrid!!!!! :D</p>
<p>PS: I hear some of the Harvard dorms are infested with cockroaches.</p>
<p>Yeah -- college students have told me that in dorms with suites, the doors are always closed, and people just socialize within their suites... while in dorms with regular doubles, kids keep their doors open and interact with each other. I know which one I'd prefer... [and it's not the one my friends at Berkeley are gonna have :D]</p>
<p>told you rooms and board are $10,000, where'd you get $4000? haha. i wish. of course this is just the price tag, not necessarily what you pay with scholarships and loans.</p>
<p>well i guess the whole keeping doors closed thing in suites is probably true since you don't really have to leave your suite except for classes and events. i still think there should at least be bigger dorm rooms. but that's pretty much the only thing i can complain about for stanford...and maybe its price. haha.</p>
<p>oh, I was talking about the housing price irrespective of dining fees - room and board = housing + dining. Well, for $9000+, both the food AND the rooms better be good!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>It would be nice to have bigger rooms and bathrooms. And maybe little kitchen areas on each floor. One of my friends has those in her dorm. That sounds really nice.</p>
<p>Perhaps it's really expensive for Stanford to build bigger dorms because of the high land prices? Or maybe property taxes? I've heard the way Cal does property taxes is quite asinine so new buildings have really high tax while old ones are grandfathered in. </p>
<p>Still, if the rooms are bad we always have the lovely Cal weather.</p>
<p>^ You're paying for the weather! Also, the salaries are a bit higher in CA than TX. But seriously, I have lived in the DFW area for a couple of years now, and frankly, it sucks compared to California.</p>
<p>Yeah, I meant Cal as in California. Being an out-of-stater I don't usually talk about Berkeley so I'm not used to calling it "Cal". Anyway, I'd rather call it Berk. It doesn't just sound funny, it actually has an appropriate</a> meaning. Appropriate in a making-fun-of-Berk sense. Hehe.</p>
<p>and yeah, tx weather sucks. it's either really hot or really cold. not normal at all. i remember earlier this year it was 54 degrees for the high and the next day the high was 85 degrees. what? i love florida weather. even though it's humid, it's rains a lot and always has a breeze. never lived in cali priviously but i hear the weather is perfect at stanford.</p>
<p>The bay area is too cold. Although it is nice putting on warm clothes and leaving them on all day, rather than putting on jeans when it's 40 degrees outside in the morning and then having it shoot up to like 85 later that day.</p>
<p>Actually, compared to many schools Stanford has wonderful undergrad housing. You're also only taking freshman dorms into account, and the options are much nicer in upperclass years... but either way, Stanford rooms are definitely bigger, and the dorms cleaner and more friendly, than many schools, especially urban schools. </p>
<p>Also, google Branner hall... it's gorgeous. :-) (Biased, me? Uh-uh)</p>