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Post by DeeMoney on Jul 12, 2024 7:27:35 GMT -8
This is a post from an alum whose son will be attending college in a year and as we look around am becoming very disappointed in what is being required by SDSU. So feel free to move this if needed, but I have to vent.
The mandating of students to live their first two years on campus is ridiculous as is, its just a money grab disguised as a 'creating the whole student' nonsense. Making an adult live on campus to attend a public school is an overreach and shouldn't be allowed. But now I am finding out that freshmen are not allowed to have a car while living on campus?!?! How are they to drive to work? To drive to the beach? To drive home for the holidays? Not only is this an overreach but we are stunting the development as adults. ASININE!
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Post by pbnative on Jul 12, 2024 7:56:08 GMT -8
This is a post from an alum whose son will be attending college in a year and as we look around am becoming very disappointed in what is being required by SDSU. So feel free to move this if needed, but I have to vent. The mandating of students to live their first two years on campus is ridiculous as is, its just a money grab disguised as a 'creating the whole student' nonsense. Making an adult live on campus to attend a public school is an overreach and shouldn't be allowed. But now I am finding out that freshmen are not allowed to have a car while living on campus?!?! How are they to drive to work? To drive to the beach? To drive home for the holidays? Not only is this an overreach but we are stunting the development as adults. ASININE! The school charges a much higher rate for 1st year students as well (like $5k), plus require a meal plan that's another $6k. My buddy had a son whose 1st year at SDSU was about 6 years ago. Can't remember, but my buddy was so pissed with the dorm room he was seriously considering having his son go JC for a year. I think he ended up demanding a bigger room or room with only 2 students. I think it was about $20k for the school year, for The dorm room stuffed 3 people in a room designed for 2 people max. It was literally a 10' x 10' box. To me that is a MAJOR fire and Life safety hazard and I have no idea how SDSU gets away with that. 1 side had a double bunk bed, the other had an upper bunk bed with a desk and dresser below. there was about 4' between the beds, and 2 cubby closets on the wall by the front door.  |
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Post by panammaniac on Jul 12, 2024 8:20:56 GMT -8
Many universities are starting to require first year students to live on campus. Apparently some studies came out demonstrating that students who live on campus do better in school. In reality, it has a lot to do with money, but I wouldn't discount the studies either. Having attended a closely knit school like NMSU where everyone lives either on or near campus, it does make a lot of sense as compared to commuter schools in California where many of your classmates are commuting an hour to school and working one or two part time jobs.
As most of you know, I'm a San Diego kid who went to NMSU. My daughter is starting at NMSU next month. NMSU is also requiring freshmen to live on campus now. They're giving exceptions to kids who live in Las Cruces with immediate family, and married students living in town with their spouse. NMSU is also a huge freaking campus with a lot of available housing. They aren't cramming 3 people into dorm rooms designed for 2. They have entire villages of 2-bedroom and 4-bedroom student apartments with living rooms and full kitchens. Freshmen have to live in the "classic dorms," but they can move to the apartment villages after their freshman year if they want. Most of the "classic dorms" are also relatively new - most of the ones that existed when I was in school have all been torn down and replaced. The one my daughter will be living in is only about 5 years old. NMSU even has entire neighborhoods of little bungalow homes for married students and students with children. SDSU doesn't have the luxury of almost endless land to build on. It does seem irresponsible and short sighted for SDSU to go to a "must live on campus" policy when it apparently doesn't have the space to house on campus without packing too many people into too small of a space. Maybe that should have waited until Mission Valley was built out a bit more?
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Post by Cwag on Jul 12, 2024 8:23:25 GMT -8
Yes, this is why so many kids end up with huge student loan debts that they pay massive amounts so interest on for decades. Now dorm rooms will always be just that and it's certainly a right of passage for us all to suffer through.
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Post by aztecfred on Jul 12, 2024 8:25:36 GMT -8
Seems that any student housing at Snapdragon IA years away??
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Post by mfaulkhof2011 on Jul 12, 2024 9:12:22 GMT -8
This is a post from an alum whose son will be attending college in a year and as we look around am becoming very disappointed in what is being required by SDSU. So feel free to move this if needed, but I have to vent. The mandating of students to live their first two years on campus is ridiculous as is, its just a money grab disguised as a 'creating the whole student' nonsense. Making an adult live on campus to attend a public school is an overreach and shouldn't be allowed. But now I am finding out that freshmen are not allowed to have a car while living on campus?!?! How are they to drive to work? To drive to the beach? To drive home for the holidays? Not only is this an overreach but we are stunting the development as adults. ASININE! The school charges a much higher rate for 1st year students as well (like $5k), plus require a meal plan that's another $6k. My buddy had a son whose 1st year at SDSU was about 6 years ago. Can't remember, but my buddy was so pissed with the dorm room he was seriously considering having his son go JC for a year. I think he ended up demanding a bigger room or room with only 2 students. I think it was about $20k for the school year, for The dorm room stuffed 3 people in a room designed for 2 people max. It was literally a 10' x 10' box. To me that is a MAJOR fire and Life safety hazard and I have no idea how SDSU gets away with that. 1 side had a double bunk bed, the other had an upper bunk bed with a desk and dresser below. there was about 4' between the beds, and 2 cubby closets on the wall by the front door. My oldest daughter, now graduated, went to SDSU. My youngest is at UCSB now. Pretty much the same setup with 3 in a 2 person room and no parking. If you can make the case at SDSU that you live nearby or have family you should be able to get a waiver to live on campus otherwise you are SOL. Parking is a problem on college campuses so that is why they limit spots to commuters after 2 years pretty much at most campuses other than ones with sprawling real estate. At UCSB, my now senior daughter lives on Trigo on the cliffs of the ocean with 6 people in a 3 bed/2 bath apartment with 2 parking spots for 6 people. She has never had a car at college and gets by fine. Uber can be your friend and many jobs within walking distance or via a bike. Really tough to fight this so if you don't feel this is fair go to school in the middle of nowhere with plenty of parking. |
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Post by PAC12 Aztec on Jul 12, 2024 9:18:23 GMT -8
This is a post from an alum whose son will be attending college in a year and as we look around am becoming very disappointed in what is being required by SDSU. So feel free to move this if needed, but I have to vent. The mandating of students to live their first two years on campus is ridiculous as is, its just a money grab disguised as a 'creating the whole student' nonsense. Making an adult live on campus to attend a public school is an overreach and shouldn't be allowed. But now I am finding out that freshmen are not allowed to have a car while living on campus?!?! How are they to drive to work? To drive to the beach? To drive home for the holidays? Not only is this an overreach but we are stunting the development as adults. ASININE! The school charges a much higher rate for 1st year students as well (like $5k), plus require a meal plan that's another $6k. My buddy had a son whose 1st year at SDSU was about 6 years ago. Can't remember, but my buddy was so pissed with the dorm room he was seriously considering having his son go JC for a year. I think he ended up demanding a bigger room or room with only 2 students. I think it was about $20k for the school year, for The dorm room stuffed 3 people in a room designed for 2 people max. It was literally a 10' x 10' box. To me that is a MAJOR fire and Life safety hazard and I have no idea how SDSU gets away with that. 1 side had a double bunk bed, the other had an upper bunk bed with a desk and dresser below. there was about 4' between the beds, and 2 cubby closets on the wall by the front door. I can confirm these are the typical rooms at SDSU for 3 students. I was asked to work on a project for SDSU on the dorms. The Maintenance guy took me to different rooms for inspections, measurements, etc. I was shocked at how small the rooms were and just a box. I asked if this is what the freshman rooms look like. He said that they were built and typically set up for two students. He followed up with now State is pushing 3 kids to a room and forcing kids to live on campus. This is 100% a money grab. He said that 3 young adults/college aged kids should not be stacked in these little boxes. My son wanted nothing to do with these dorm rooms. This is one of the reasons he did not attend SDSU. There were other reasons but this was definitely part of his decision. Also, all major colleges that we visited require Freshman to stay on campus and some even Sophomores depending on your major. State is definitely not unique to that but other colleges have WAAAAYYYY better dorms and campus living. |
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Post by Cwag on Jul 12, 2024 9:25:01 GMT -8
Sonoma State has great dorms!
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Post by DeeMoney on Jul 12, 2024 9:27:45 GMT -8
The school charges a much higher rate for 1st year students as well (like $5k), plus require a meal plan that's another $6k. My buddy had a son whose 1st year at SDSU was about 6 years ago. Can't remember, but my buddy was so pissed with the dorm room he was seriously considering having his son go JC for a year. I think he ended up demanding a bigger room or room with only 2 students. I think it was about $20k for the school year, for The dorm room stuffed 3 people in a room designed for 2 people max. It was literally a 10' x 10' box. To me that is a MAJOR fire and Life safety hazard and I have no idea how SDSU gets away with that. 1 side had a double bunk bed, the other had an upper bunk bed with a desk and dresser below. there was about 4' between the beds, and 2 cubby closets on the wall by the front door. My oldest daughter, now graduated, went to SDSU. My youngest is at UCSB now. Pretty much the same setup with 3 in a 2 person room and no parking. If you can make the case at SDSU that you live nearby or have family you should be able to get a waiver to live on campus otherwise you are SOL. Parking is a problem on college campuses so that is why they limit spots to commuters after 2 years pretty much at most campuses other than ones with sprawling real estate. At UCSB, my now senior daughter lives on Trigo on the cliffs of the ocean with 6 people in a 3 bed/2 bath apartment with 2 parking spots for 6 people. She has never had a car at college and gets by fine. Uber can be your friend and many jobs within walking distance or via a bike. Really tough to fight this so if you don't feel this is fair go to school in the middle of nowhere with plenty of parking. Or, give students the options to live off campus, but grant parking permits to only students in their second year. As long as they are allowed to live where they chose and have a car while attending school then limit their parking and they can find another place to park. If a student lands a job in East El Cajon, or Mira Mesa biking is not really an option, and uber is too costly. Forcing them to just be near campus, and now not have a vehicle with them, just because they attend school there is an overreach for a public university. |
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Post by RiffelBooks on Jul 12, 2024 9:38:23 GMT -8
Requiring freshmen to live on campus is an age-old practice at many universities. Requiring sophomores to do the same is a straight money grab. I'm surprised that SDSU even has enough rooms to go around, even shoving three students in a two-person room.
To answer the question in the title, I think we've all seen over the past few years that the only thing college leaders care about is money. The kids and their education suffers accordingly.
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Post by sdsudevil on Jul 12, 2024 9:40:59 GMT -8
If they would find a way to keep the dorm costs lower, then it wouldn't be as big an issue. Much of the reasoning is based on long-term analysis of student success and underclass fail rate trends, parking availability with respect to commuting students, immediate neighborhood response, and a drive to embed students into campus life. It started going that route when I was there (09-12), which is also when SDSU's academic profile began its upward trajectory and began to try and be a peer with top public schools. This isn't the old SDSU, and Alum parents will need to alter their preconception of what State used to be, or be smacked in the face with the reality of what State is now. Take the visits with the kids and be willing to say no to SDSU if it just doesn't work for what you and your kid want.
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Post by Ambivalent_Fan on Jul 12, 2024 10:51:30 GMT -8
Btw…studies have shown over and over that sophomores are far more “at risk” from behavior issues (like drug ODs and drinking problems) than freshman (who might suffer from homesickness)…this also forces kids to learn some real-world skills outside the hovering of mommy and daddy (a college kid I was interviewing recently ACTUALLY brought his mom to the interview)…
Also…there are other options with nice accommodations that are acceptable for “on campus” living (fraternities, sororities, and private dorms to name a few). They are just more costly in most cases…
San Diego State is trying to shed its reputation as a commuter school to enhance campus involvement.
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Post by hoobs on Jul 12, 2024 10:58:15 GMT -8
If they would find a way to keep the dorm costs lower, then it wouldn't be as big an issue. Much of the reasoning is based on long-term analysis of student success and underclass fail rate trends, parking availability with respect to commuting students, immediate neighborhood response, and a drive to embed students into campus life. It started going that route when I was there (09-12), which is also when SDSU's academic profile began its upward trajectory and began to try and be a peer with top public schools. This isn't the old SDSU, and Alum parents will need to alter their preconception of what State used to be, or be smacked in the face with the reality of what State is now. Take the visits with the kids and be willing to say no to SDSU if it just doesn't work for what you and your kid want. spot on |
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Post by DeeMoney on Jul 12, 2024 11:06:14 GMT -8
Btw…studies have shown over and over that sophomores are far more “at risk” from behavior issues (like drug ODs and drinking problems) than freshman (who might suffer from homesickness)… this also forces kids to learn some real-world skills outside the hovering of mommy and daddy (a college kid I was interviewing recently ACTUALLY brought his mom to the interview)… Also…there are other options with nice accommodations that are acceptable for “on campus” living (fraternities, sororities, and private dorms to name a few). They are just more costly in most cases… San Diego State is trying to shed its reputation as a commuter school to enhance campus involvement. And this is part of the problem. Instead of treating these adults like adults, we mandate this en loco parentis and make them live in campus housing (with an RA and various regulations) in order to pursue a college education?! |
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Post by fowl on Jul 12, 2024 11:25:36 GMT -8
Pretty much every university requires what SDSU requires. I have a kid at a different school and they have the same policies as do all of the schools that we visited and toured.
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Post by aztech on Jul 12, 2024 12:06:28 GMT -8
Pretty much every university requires what SDSU requires. I have a kid at a different school and they have the same policies as do all of the schools that we visited and toured. Shall we go back to being called a commuter school? Absolutely not. That's the reason SDSU has built more student housing over the years. |
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Post by aztecdean on Jul 12, 2024 13:18:00 GMT -8
Every major college now requires at least freshman to live on campus and most without a car. They claim SDSU is a transit hub due to the convergence of the trolley & bus station. Freshmen who live in SDSU's service district (south of SR56) can opt out but SD County residents north of SR56 have to live on campus as well or go to CSU San Marcos. The doubles turned into triples is BS, but they probably get away with it because they are a state agency.
SDSU also realized years ago that commuter students have much less connection to the university and are less likely to donate in the future. For the record, I was a commuter, but I'm also a lifetime member of the Alumni Association as well as season ticket holder for football & basketball. I can't tell you how many times I've met SDSU grads around San Diego who only went there for class & immediately left, don't attend sports, donate, etc.
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Post by mySTRAS on Jul 12, 2024 13:19:41 GMT -8
The good 'ol days...
I transferred to State in the Spring of '92. Lived in Tarastec (sp) for a semester. Then they built Chapultepec... and sere starving for students to fill it. IIRC, my single room with meal plan was ~ $4k for the entire year.
As someone transferring from the Bay Area, I knew no one and was quite happy living in the dorms.
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Post by zurac315 on Jul 12, 2024 13:23:18 GMT -8
This is a post from an alum whose son will be attending college in a year and as we look around am becoming very disappointed in what is being required by SDSU. So feel free to move this if needed, but I have to vent. The mandating of students to live their first two years on campus is ridiculous as is, its just a money grab disguised as a 'creating the whole student' nonsense. Making an adult live on campus to attend a public school is an overreach and shouldn't be allowed. But now I am finding out that freshmen are not allowed to have a car while living on campus?!?! How are they to drive to work? To drive to the beach? To drive home for the holidays? Not only is this an overreach but we are stunting the development as adults. ASININE! Well, if that's what they are requiring these days it is not good at all. I lived most of my first two years on campus back in the early '70s but would not have wanted to have been required to do so and no car would have been a deal breaker. Do they really have enough dorms, etc., to require that? |
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Post by zurac315 on Jul 12, 2024 13:38:54 GMT -8
When I went to SDSU back in the early '70s I had a single room in Zura Hall and a car as well. I remember those tiny rooms with the two beds that most of my dorm mates had to deal with. Now they have three beds in there? That's nuts! I would have chosen to live off campus if I couldn't have gotten a single room. Progress is often not progress, right? That's how I got the name I use on this site. Zurac315. Zura hall, C wing, room 315. I thought it would be appropriate for Aztecmesa.  |
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