I went to a pool party there once a couple of years ago. College Station apartments are really big on throwing pool parties. Fun times. :)

Lavish? These are still student apartment complexes. Most of the crap they advertise either
A. Doesn't work, or
B. Is in such demand that you can't even use it (ex: exercise rooms, tanning beds)

Campus Lodge sucks now that it's 4 years old.

We have one complex here (i think it is owned by college park) where you get free membership to a local golf course (which is a pretty big deal).

Freshman year I lived in the oldest dorm. Originally it had sections A-F (i think) but when I moved there all sections other than A had been condeemed and torn down. My room was essentially a cinderblock cell with a desk and a sink.

Sophomore year I lived in the ghetto (at least ghetto for Clemson). $250/mnth for a 9x14 room. The complex had no amenities what so ever. The sink dripped, the toliets stopped up, the washer and dryer broke, etc.

But I wouldn't trade living those two places for the world! It was FUN. We didn't have to worry about damaging stuff. Spill beer on the carpet... no problem, it blended in with the multiple stains already there. Accidently kick through the wall (um, yeah this really happened)... no problem, just tell the landlord the hole was there when you moved in.

Then I transferred schools and had to live at home. :(

I'm just baffled at the pricing.... the apartments at SFSU charge, last I heard 850 a month to share a bedroom and don't have any extra amenities except cable.

Its the same in Gianesville. I'm going to a pool party this weekend there for Florida VS. Tennessee. :D

I just moved into a campus suite. It's still "dorm living", but it's been really really nice. 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, kitchen, dining area, and a living room. My bedroom is as big as my entire dorm room was the past 2 years. It seems that colleges are moving towards the "apartment" style dorms, realizing that they're essentially more efficient than the cinder block halls. Bethany College's Cambell Village has been EXTREMELY influential in attracting new students (they're almost pushing 1000 is what the rumors are). OC just (meaning last week) broke ground for a new dorm that will be 2 students to a suite w/ 1 bathroom and the barracks style dorms that were meant to be temporary (20 years ago...) are going down. The college REQUIRES students to live on campus, in campus housing, for 2 years, unless housed by parents or commuting from a 30 mile radius. Problem is, the freshman class has been growing exponentially for the past 3 years, leaving little to no housing. So this has forced OC to send people off campus and into apartments that are off campus (in a plan) and to house freshmen in a Bed and Breakfast and in a hotel. Not efficient, and it doesn't make for very happy students or parents. So perhaps campuses moving to suite/apartment style for students is a good thing...

Incidentally, I worked at a "900 a month for a single" apartment complex with a pool and a tanning bed and an exercise center. NEVER again. I was the lifeguard, and the shit I took from people made me absolutely bonkers. What part of "YOU CAN'T DIVE INTO 4 FOOT OF WATER" is not clear? And the drinking that was allowed by the management (now you wanna talk about risk management!!!) drove me bonkers. Saturday and Sunday (when I was alone there, no other workers were working or on call) people would spend the ENTIRE DAY drinking there, from 10 am to 9 pm. GAAAAAAAAAAH!

Not that weird... developers have architects create a standard design, with minor variations in trim and other items that may be required per state and local building codes.

LA Living is expensive as well!
I know for my boyfriend (who goes to USC), he actually got a better deal living in a really nice downtown apartment complex (with a huge apartment, rooftop pool overlooking the city, and glass-walled exercise room also overlooking the city) than in the housing in the neighborhood around USC. He still pays around $750 to share a room...

My parents wanted to do the same thing that Delt Alum did for his daughter - buy a nice condo, then rent it out after I graduated. But that was when I was going to go to a different school - it really wasn't feasible at Pitt.

I'm not wild about the luxury apartments while in school, because I think graduates are faced with enough sticker shock/reality checks when they get into the real world, without having to deal with what their paychecks will cover, as opposed to what Mommy & Daddy's can cover.

I have friends who lived in the Gainesville Campus Lodge and the USF Tampa Lodge. The apartments are HUGE and the amentities are awesome. They're one of the few furnished apartments that come with a queen size bed (and a room that's big enough to fit it!).

I admit that these luxury apartments were the reason I never lived in the ZTA house. Why share a small room and closet with another person when you can have a huge space (and bathroom!) all to yourself?

The new trend at UCF is to have your parents buy a house and then rent out the rooms to friends. My friend that I lived with last year did that. After living in apartment complexes for years, I definitely have to say that the house was a much better experience!

I would have to agree with you that this describes the vast majority of cases. I'm not in college any more but I have a cute 'vintage' apartment (with the prettiest stained glass windows in the spare room) and my landlady is on top of things, when I call her it's taken care of ASAP.

That's been going on in Colorado for quite a while. A good friend owns houses in both Boulder and Ft. Collins where hid kids go or went to school. It is much the same dynamics as the condo we bought -- although we didn't buy a multi-bedroom one like a lot of people did. In retrospect, that would have made sense, but we didn't want to spend the extra money (even though rent might have paid the mortgate entirely.

It turned out well anyway.

These complexes are amazing (in comparison to traditional dorms). Heck, these sound nicer than what I'm living in now and I'm 31 yrs old with a masters degree. I lived in an apt-style dorm in college, but it was nothing like the ones described.

I'm chuckling over the comments about the sticker shock these students will face when they are no longer on their parents payroll. I was watching a show today on MTV and these kids were crying and being total brats because their parents wouldn't buy them a new car for their 16th b-day - one girl expected a Versace dress for something (maybe prom - I missed that part). I'm guessing they will pitch a fit if their parents don't put them up in a Trump Tower when they go off to school. :) I agree with the poster who said they are in for a shock when they can only afford a 400 sq ft apt upon graduation - and in some parts of the country, they may be sharing that with someone because its so expensive. Some of my best college memories are from doing something (or living somewhere) el cheapo - we were all in the same boat and had to figure out how to have fun on minimal or no cash. What ever happened to those days?
And looking back, it taught us a lot about money mgt, etc.

This thread is over 12 years old and I know of so many universities' perfectly decent dorms that have been razed since that time and replaced with really fancy ones. Some colleges feel like they can't attract great students without them. :confused:

There's a great two-year college in the state that now has a dorm that looks like a Disney hotel. Huge lake with a fountain in front--and why?

Carnation, how old is that two-year college and have they always had dorms available for students?

In our area there are no dorms at the two-year school, and in the really old days it was more commonly referred to as a commuter school. It's truly still a commuter school, with the bonus of online classes.

I don't believe they have any plans for building student housing, as there are many available apartments/condos/etc. for attending students who feel the need for same. However, our two-year school has been vastly improving old, and building new, infrastructures over the past dozen years while expanding the library, arts center, and sports complex.