<p>As I read a topic about Branner, I was wondering what Wilbur Hall is like? That's where my S will be next fall....I'm sure all the dorms are great, especially much better than anything I had in the late 70's/early 80's (ancient!!). My S is cool about it all...takes things in stride, but I am curious...sorry, I can't help being a mom...but I PROMISE, I won't meddle!! :)</p>
<p>Any word on Wilbur? (Trancos?) Room size, bathrooms, etc? He is happy to hear there is a piano in the lounge.... thanks for any news...</p>
<p>Pretty much every room in Wilbur is the same. It will be a one room double, not particularly small but not particularly big either. One bathroom per hall.</p>
<p>Wilbur's as vanilla as vanilla gets when it comes to room type. Trancos itself is a four class dorm, so he'll be living with upperclassmen.</p>
<p>Cool! He was hoping to be in with a mixture of frosh and upperclassmen...he is very mature (much more mature than his mother, that's for sure!) and easy going about things. I know he'll do great...I'm just not so sure his parents will...we're going to miss him like crazy! :)</p>
<p>Any more info about Trancos from anyone? Bathroom set-up? Etc? Just wonderin'....</p>
<p>I'll be in Wilbur as well. :)</p>
<p>From what I've heard, rooms are okay--not small, as the rumors sometimes state, but not really spacious. Apparently Wilbur is very social, always tons of stuff going on, and freshmen tend to be very spirited/enthusiastic. All lounges have a piano, I believe.</p>
<p>
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Wilbur's as vanilla as vanilla gets when it comes to room type.
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</p>
<p>What does that mean?</p>
<p>Plain vanilla. Nothing special. No crazy setup, just one (probably) symmetrical room. Wilbur doesn't have a whole lot of variance in room size like some other dorms do.</p>
<p>If he lives on a coed floor, which I think is all there is for guys in Trancos, the sink area will probably be coed with a sex-segregated with urinals, stalls and showers. The shower area is probably a used-to-be gang shower that now has curtains erected to give each person a private shower space.</p>
<p>^Yup pretty much agree with docketgold. Standard rooms (check ASSU</a> Draw Guide for pics and other info) and people are generally social but seeing as he's going to be in Trancos and not an all frosh wilbur dorm probably not too crazy. I've personally never lived in Wilbur (nor to be honest do I plan to :) ) but lots of my friends have and its not bad. The rooms are bigger than those in other dorms like Lag dorms (I lived in one of those mini doubles my freshman year!) but nothing to die for. As far as freshman dorms its pretty good.</p>
<p>Terrific link... thanks, superwizard! </p>
<p>It's helpful to see pics...looks like a nice place.</p>
<p>When I went to college eons ago, my first dorm was an all-girl ancient dorm building that went back to the 1800's....brick and ivy and all that went with it. With 3 girls in a small, stuffy room...so this looks like a luxury resort comparatively! </p>
<p>Plus, any place where you can run in and get your food without having to cook it is pretty cool in my book. Hmmmm...maybe I need to go back!?</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best....man, orientation's just a month away! Cool/ack! :)</p>
<p>Yeah its not a bad place to live. I'm not sure if I've ever even been to Transcos but honestly all of Wilbur pretty much looks the same. </p>
<p>Yeah don't worry Wilbur food is decent (honestly I don't eat there very much) and their brunch is pretty good. Better yet there are 2 other dining halls (Stern and Manz I really don't count Branner because I hear the food there is atrocious though honestly I've never eaten there!) and late night is open in Stern till 2:30am which is really close to Transcos...</p>
<p>Trancos is switching to one all guys one all girls and one coed floor. the all guys is 1st girls 2nd and coed 3rd floor.</p>
<p>Sorry for sort of hijacking the thread, but I have a few questions that are more related to Stanford this fall than Wilbur hall.</p>
<p>1) I'm under 18 so I have to fill out my residence agreement on paper. On the paper residence agreement I don't see how to change my meal plan (19 meals/wk are way too much). Do I have to call Stanford, or is there a way to do that on Axess, or do I have to first send in the paper agreement and then change it on Axess?</p>
<p>2) How are the dorms in Stern, specifically Larkin? Is it "vanilla as vanilla gets" or something else? Also, how is the food, I've heard some pretty bad things about it, but I'm not sure its true. And lastly, for those that have lived in Larkin (any of you out there) how is the dorm vibe? I've been looking at our facebook group and I have a feeling that this year will be wild which is a good thing :)!</p>
<p>3) Is there a way of getting out of PWR first quarter, since I was assigned it for this quarter? I was planning on taking Math 51, IHUM, Physics 45/46, and Econ 1A first quarter. Obviously that was the maximum 20 units but with PWR I would have to cut out one of my classes. Also, if I find 20 units is too hard and I have to take PWR I'd have to cut out 2 of my "wanted" classes which would put me behind some more. </p>
<p>Thank you a lot and I'm really sorry Job=Mom for hijacking your thread for a moment!</p>
<p>1) You can change your meal plan within the first few weeks at dining.stanford.edu, under Students --> Manage your account. They haven't put it up yet, but once the school year starts you should be able to.</p>
<p>2) I lived in Larkin my freshman year and loved it. I can't really say what the dorm vibe is like because it varies year-to-year depending on the freshmen and the staff, but I can answer the more concrete questions...</p>
<p>As for the food, it's not so bad for the first couple of weeks. And then... it starts to repeat itself and you'll start hating it. So yes, after a while I really didn't like it. Even to this day, I cringe when someone says that they want to eat at Stern Dining. But, I still loved my freshman year so it's not as if hating Stern Dining was that huge of a deal.</p>
<p>The actual dorm in Larkin is pretty normal...nothing fancy. Simple one room doubles, just like Wilbur. Nothing much to look at from the outside. There are two lounges, which is pretty sweet because the way it was set up my freshman year was so that one had all the games and stuff and the other was a nice study space with a piano, but things might have changed...</p>
<p>3) You can petition to change the quarter that you've been assigned PWR at UAL</a> - PWR Courses and Registration . You'll get more info on this once school starts. </p>
<p>Also, if they don't end up letting you switch, having PWR in the fall isn't so bad . You not only get it out of the way, but finishing PWR1 makes you eligible to take a PWR2 introsem in the Winter/Spring and actually finish your PWR requirements by the end of freshman year!</p>
<p>Oh and to superwizard who claimed Branner Dining was "atrocious" without ever eating there -- I can say that I ate at Branner pretty often in the past and their food is quite the opposite -- it's actually pretty damn good. Their selection is smaller simply because they have fewer people coming in each day, but I would argue that this actually improves their quality. I mean, I don't know of any other dining hall that has a made-to-order Panini Station...</p>
<p>When I said that Wilbur was plan, I meant that in terms of the building, facilities, amenities (if one would deign to call them that), etc. The people, in all likelihood, will quite interesting and will make for the highlights of your time at college.</p>
<p>No dining hall is that bad. Some people will claim that some are better than others, but it's all a matter of personal preference really. The food does start to repeat itself, however, and that's what really starts to wear on you.</p>
<p>@Cervantes: </p>
<h1>1: Don't take 20 units your freshman year fall quarter. If you really want my reasons for not doing that I'll give them to you, but I'm just going to save myself the time now and tell you that's a really, really bad idea.</h1>
<h1>2: While it's possible to get out of your assigned quarter for PWR, it's hard. You'll have to petition the PWR people and go through a whole bunch of rigmarole, but it is possible. Do it at your own risk, however. My recommendation would be to just do it and get it out of the way. Take Bloom's class if he's still teaching it. You'll love the guy.</h1>
<p>No worries, Cervantes! Thanks for being so polite, though....sounds like your mama taught you well! :)</p>
<p>I am so excited for all of you, what wonderful opportunities await! Unasked for advice: Enjoy EVERY minute of your college experience...even when you get tired of dorm food and studying your brains out. Time flies and before you know it, you'll be on the treadmill of life; managing a household of your own, and making the food and paying for it, so enjoy while you can!! </p>
<p>Think of your college experience as having fun learning and working hard, preparing for your future while having bathroom maid service and food prepped for you...wow almost like an educational resort!! And lastly, don't forget to keep in touch with your parental units!! :)</p>
<p>Enjoy and best wishes, everyone!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Pistachio, docketgold, and Job=Mom! Since I should avoid taking 20 units my first quarter, I'm planning on taking Physics 45/46, IHUM, PWR and an EE intro seminar which comes out to 16 units. I decided on putting off Math and Econ for later because they are offered at different times during the year, but Physics won't be offered until Fall again.</p>