<p>Frosoco is a dorm/housing option for freshman and sophomores there. You need to write an application essay to apply for it. It's on the west side of campus whereas most dorms are on the east side. Please use this thread to post more info on frosoco. I am an incoming frosh so I know nothing from personal experience, but here is info on frosoco from a a current frosh at stanford who lived in frosoco.</p>
<p>"What you said about Frosoco is very accurate. There is less partying here than other frosh dorms, and it is much more acceptable if you don't want to participate in the partying/drinking scene. Also, many Frosocoans are techies. Most people here are interested in computer science, engineering, math etc. This is very helpful when you are taking difficult math/science classes during freshman year, because you have lots of people to work with on psets! If you are a techie, you will also enjoy being around like-minded people. Also, everyone here is very focused on their studies. That being said, Frosoco is still social and has a strong sense of community. Instead of partying, most people just hang out in the lounge and talk, watch movies, play board or card games etc.</p>
<p>I will just break down Frosoco intro pros and cons:</p>
<p>Pros:
-Sense of community, everyone knows each other and is on friendly terms. At least from my experience there are no or very few cliques in our dorm, compared to other frosh dorms. The staff and RAS work really hard to build this sense of community by sponsoring dorm events and activities. That being said, every frosh dorm has a similar sense of community. The staff and administration at Stanford does a good job creating frosh events that help guide frosh through their first year and encourage you to get to know other frosh. No matter where you go, you will become close to the freshmen in your dorm.
-Money; Frosoco is technically a Freshman Sophomore 'College', so our dorm gets more money to spend on dorm events than other dorms. Over the year there are tons of subsidized (so free, or for a small fee) events for Frosocoans like trips to plays/musicals in SF, Cirque de Soleil, Monterrey, movies, NFL or MBA games, etc. All dorms go on Snow Trip to Tahoe Winter quarter, but Frosoco also goes to Yosemite during Spring Quarter. Also, the Dean of the College lives across the street and he holds dinners with professors every once in a while. For example, Condoleezza Rice is coming to dinner next week!
-Tutors: Frosoco has funds for a residential math and chemistry/biology tutor in addition to 2 writing tutors. Most other frosh dorms just have writing tutors. If you are going to take math freshman year, the math tutor will save your life (trust me). If you live in other dorms, you might not have a residential math tutor, but there are appointment tutors on campus.
-Two-room doubles: privacy.
-Living with sophomores: they are wise, experienced, and you can buy textbooks from them. There aren't a lot of other chances during your frosh year to meet upper-classmen. Also, sophomores have good advice about which classes to take, and which professors are the best.
-Good food. Our dining hall, Ricker, is one of the best on campus.
-Guaranteed housing for Sophomore year. If you wish to stay in Frosoco Sophomore year, you are guaranteed a spot. This is nice because most the close friends you make from your freshman year are in your dorm, so you can all stay together in Frosoco for sophomore year as well if you wish.</p>
<p>Cons:
-Distance: Frosoco is the farthest dorm from the center of campus. You NEED a bike if you live in Frosoco, or you will spend 10-15 minutes walking to class every day. Frosoco is very far from the library and the quad, as well as the other freshmen dorms. (It is close to the engineering quad and chemistry buildings however.) For this reason, it feels a little isolated from campus life at times. You won't get to know as many freshmen from other dorms since you live so far away; the other freshmen dorms are very close to each other.
-Social scene: Frosoco isn't as social as other dorms. People that like to be very social, go to parties, and meet new people every weekend generally aren't happy at Frosoco. Frosoco is very quiet on the weekends.</p>
<p>In regards to the application essay, it is not difficult at all to get into Frosoco. My year, everyone who applied to Frosoco got in. I didn't even apply to Frosoco, I just ranked it as my second choice and I got in. I don't think a lot of frosh want to write the extra essay for housing, so they don't apply. I would say half my friends here applied to Frosoco and wrote the essay, and the other half were just placed here.</p>
<p>Overall, I've loved my experience at Frosoco. However, I won't be staying next year. The distance, isolation, and lack of a social scene were important factors to me, and I will be living on East campus next year to try something different. Many of my friends will be sophomores in Frosoco next year, however. I think the sophomores next year will be very social and friendly. Also, the staff next year will be awesome! Some of the RAS are residents from this year. If you want to speak to people you could potentially be living with next year or next years RAs, let me know and I can give you their emails."</p>
<p>And another person about the acceptance rate:
"I'm genuinely not sure what the acceptance rate is, and I think it varies year to year. I've heard 50%, I've heard 25%, and I've heard that almost everyone who applies gets in. It would actually be nice to know haha, but I don't think they ever told us. "</p>