A Peek into Dorm Life at Stanford
This blog is part of a Photo Essay Assignment designed to capture the dorm life that Stanford students experience here at Stanford.
Written by: Shefali Tandon, Janessa Nickell, Andrea Sy, Charity Apelo
For incoming freshman, college can be a daunting experience. Seniors from high school suddenly find themselves on the bottom of the social totem pole, privacy is impossible, and the workload feels draconian at best. Easing the adjustment from high school life to college life is key to ensuring success at Stanford. Teenagers must cope with shared bathrooms, so-called “quiet hours,” lounge liveliness, and alluring dining halls all the while juggling IHUM reading and PWR papers. This guide will help students preempt these challenges and ease their transition to the next chapter of their lives.
Inside a dorm bathroom
One aspect of college life that prospective freshman tend to dread is the common bathroom. Often, bathrooms like the one pictured here, are co-ed. Students must overcome the embarrassment of morning-breath and messy hair while catching glimpses of their neighbors in the same groggy state. Students must also pick up the habit of wearing “shower slippers” so as to avoid the slippery, slimy floor of dorm showers. Although common bathrooms are regularly cleaned, they never seem to stay clean. Toothpaste stains, paper towel balls, and hair strands are permanent decorations in dorm bathrooms.
Students partying and playing loud music in a dorm room.
Wanting to sleep? Hoping to study? Think again. Because the dorm can provide a lively social environment, the concept of “quiet hours” can be something that students struggle to negotiate. For example, your neighbor could love playing rock music loudly. Not to mention the fact that the girls who live across from you host many parties, like the one in the photo below, adding laughing and yelling to the already high decibel of music.
Stanford students, taking a break from homework, relax in the lounge by playing some videogames.
Feel like taking a break from all the papers you need to do? Come on down to the lounge! The dorm lounge serves many purposes to the Stanford student. It can be considered the heart of the dorm where social events happen like House Meetings, movie screenings and many more. The lounge provides a fun atmosphere for interaction among dorm-mates. Try playing some Super Smash Bros. BRAWL on the Wii, starting a Ping-Pong Tournament with some of your dorm-mates or just relaxing as resident musicians exercise their prowess on the piano.
Hungry students choosing from the vast selection of food in Wilbur's dining hall
Is the freshman fifteen a myth or reality? For many freshmen, the fear of the gain of fifteen or more pounds during their first year of college is definitely a reality due to the temptations that dorm dining halls provide. With soda and frozen yogurt readily available and buffet style meals every day, freshmen may find it difficult to control what and how much they eat. Unlike home, there is no mom or dad to tell them no and many students often end up not eating enough vegetables or other healthy foods.
Many students must adjust to differences between college and home life. However, change is not necessarily bad. Overall, although dorm life has its own unique characteristics, it ultimately acts as a place where students are able to reach out and connect with each other. Having such a support group can help students make a successful transition to college life.
Comments
the dorm life at stanford seem like very nice with a very good ambiance. it is good to know how is the life out side courses!!
often we forget ,which even in Stanford, students have a "life" after school.
but sometimes during your examination, isn't it too hard to study?
and for clean : there is a specifical personal for that or it is students who clean successively?
Posted by: marie michelle | April 15, 2008 07:30 AM
During final exams and the week before (known as "dead week"), the noise level does get to be a bit distracting in your dorm. This is why many students study in the several libraries that we have dispersed around campus.
In dorms, there are personnel that clean the buildings once a day. There are other residences on campus, however, that do not have cleaning personnel and thus assign cleaning duty to students.
Posted by: Shefali Tandon | April 15, 2008 01:30 PM
Pass from the high school to the university is something really important in France too. You leave your parents and your easy life at home (mother cooking for you...). It don´t looks like really different in Stanford and in my university. We just don´t have dorm, we have individual flat. This is not really better for the noise because there is only students in the residence.
Beeing a freshman has been a really good experience for me, meeting new people, starting living on your one. you said that it can be dirty but I prefer a dirty bathroom than my mother asking me at what time I come back in the night.
Posted by: Gaelle | April 16, 2008 10:24 AM
Nice to know a little bit about another side of Standford from photos.
It looks clean from the photos, good job, keeping it.
Posted by: Lydia Liu | April 16, 2008 10:36 AM
Are the exams in standford really so strict as i've heard?
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Posted by: wgctvybms rikuhgbf | December 24, 2008 09:00 PM
great to know a little bit about another side of Standford, like the photos a lot, great work,
Andy
Posted by: wow goud | January 4, 2009 01:00 PM
This looks fantastic, i wonder if you have an outdoor table tennis table?
Posted by: Paul Brick | March 21, 2009 07:37 AM
hey,i didn't know we could dorm as cuples now i reaiiy want to go there!!!
Posted by: monica | April 3, 2009 07:59 AM
hey,i didn't know we could dorm as cuples now i reaiiy want to go there!!!
Posted by: monica | April 3, 2009 07:59 AM
hey,i didn't know we could dorm as cuples now i reaiiy want to go there!!!
Posted by: monica | April 3, 2009 07:59 AM
hey,i didn't know we could dorm as cuples now i reaiiy want to go there!!!
Posted by: monica | April 3, 2009 08:00 AM
Looks like a pretty good guide for newcomers to the college!
Posted by: Acai | June 9, 2009 07:50 AM
Yeah, it looks quite appealing!
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Posted by: Jam | June 24, 2009 12:15 AM
wow, thats really happening??
http://the-bathroom-accessories.blogspot.com/
Posted by: nemesis | June 28, 2009 08:20 AM
hey,i didn't know we could dorm as cuples now i reaiiy want to go there too!!!
Posted by: Rolex | July 10, 2009 09:09 PM
very good post, i remember my college days...
Posted by: Acai | July 26, 2009 05:07 AM
Thanks for the insights into dorm life. Really makes me want to go back to school.
Posted by: Start a Catering Company | August 13, 2009 12:52 AM
wow... I didnt know they party in Stanford! I thought they are all really serious!!Do they even Dog Walking walking there?
Posted by: LilyM | September 9, 2009 03:58 AM
Awsome life!
Who knows college can be so much fun??
I have recently found this company giving out free insurance quotes in a party! That was awsome too!
Posted by: MarthaS | September 11, 2009 03:17 AM
Wow, I didn't know that they shared co-ed bathrooms there. Interesting. eFusjon
Posted by: Acai berry | September 14, 2009 02:25 PM
Well, this is the reality of a dorm life! You should have experienced dorm life in the Philippines and like wow! and ugh! at the same time. You wanna go through college? Better get comfortable with it and furthermore, try to think about positive things you can do rather than the negatives ones and life will be easy for a dorm denizen...
Posted by: Grow Afro Hair | September 17, 2009 06:36 PM
Wow.... That rally sounds cool.....
Posted by: Acai Berries | October 31, 2009 01:32 AM
And often people that have a game room that would accommodate a ping pong table, like to have a billiards or pool table as well. That type of room just screams for family fun! With the use of a table tennis conversion top you can enjoy both games in half the space.
Posted by: table tennis conversion top | October 31, 2009 06:12 PM
I can't get over the coed dorms. Sure, we had COED floors but NEVER shared bathrooms.
I'm glad that was not an option for me as a freshman. I would NOT have gotten any work done, at all.
Posted by: Buenos Aires teaching English | November 1, 2009 10:06 PM
Common bathrooms...that's one way to ward off the dreaded Freshman 15.
Especially if your suite mates are hot.
Posted by: life insurance company | November 1, 2009 10:10 PM
A great insight into hows students life at Stanford!
But is this thing with shared bathrooms really true?
Well after all I guess one has a really good time at Stanford!
Its always good to remember those happy student years! ;-)
Posted by: Joey Auto | November 9, 2009 02:47 AM
For the money they pay it is not surprising they have all of these comforts
Posted by: ping pong table conversion top | November 11, 2009 11:59 AM
That buffet looks nice, I think I would gain 15 pounds too
Posted by: ping pong table conversion tops | November 11, 2009 12:02 PM
looks like fun. a bit crowded, but that's the way college kids like it
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