The definitive ranking of residence halls at SDSU.
Coming into my freshman year at SDSU, I had no clue what to expect out of the dorming experience. I looked online everywhere for a rundown of the best and worst dorms, so I knew what the expect coming in. So to save all of the future classes the trouble, here is the definitive ranking of the halls at SDSU:
1. Granada
Granada is the best residence hall hands down at SDSU. The main reason that these rooms top the rest is that they are apartments. When you first walk into the apartment, there is a full kitchen with appliances. This is great for students who wish to cook their own meals. Granada has the best furniture at State, and the kitchen included granite countertops. The only drawback to Granada, as with all the other apartment style buildings, is that there is less social activity between floormates.
2. Piedra Del Sol
Piedra Del Sol is also an apartment style building. The apartments and rooms are roughly the same size as those in Granada, the only difference between the two is the furniture in each room.
3. Zapotec/Villa Alvarado/Tarastec
These are all ranked the same, because the quality of the apartments is nice, similar to that of Granada and Piedra, however these apartments are all fairly far from campus, making it a longer walk to and from classes.
4. Cuicicalli
Cuicicalli is divided into two different buildings, Tepayac and Tacuba. Both are the exact same layout. Cuic is a suite style building that includes a kitchenette with a full sized refrigerator. There is also a living room and two bathrooms. I like to call Cuic the mini apartments because you get the apartment feel while still being in a traditional residence hall. The only major downfall to Cuic is that because it is mostly freshman living there and it is divided into suites, it is usually harder to get to know your neighbors.
5. Zura
Zura was recently redone, and let me tell you, these dorms are beautiful. The modern design strays from the typical SDSU residence hall. The rooms in Zura are quads all in a traditional dorm style layout. There are communal bathrooms and balconies on the even numbered floors. There is a large common room to sit and relax in.
6. University Towers
University Towers rooms are like mini suites, with a bathroom connecting two dorms. This dorm is usually filled with athletes and international students because it includes housing over breaks. One of the largest downfalls of living in UT is that it is a fairly long walk to campus. Below UT, there is a restaurant on meal plan called UTKitchen. From the perspective of someone not living in UT, this was one of the best places to eat on campus. I did hear that people who live in UT get tired of eating at UTK all of the time just because it is so close.
7. Maya and Olmeca
I lived in Olmeca my freshman year, and Maya has the exact same layout. These buildings are what you think of when you imagine the quintessential dorm experience. In Olmeca there are all doubles, and in Maya there are doubles and triples. There are communal bathrooms that can get nasty, which is to be expected because there are 40 people sharing one bathroom. These dorms make it very easy to become close friends with your floormates. There is a common room with a couch, a chair, and two tables. It was a good place to hang out at the beginning of the year to start to get to know each other.
8. Tenochca
Tenochca, or T-Nasty as it is referred to by students, is a traditional style dorm building with double and triple rooms. These dorms are often called T-Nasty because of the gross communal bathrooms. The elevator in this building is also very rickety, so if you live on the second or third floors, take the stairs.
9. Chapultepec
Chapultepec, or Chappy, is not actually the worst quality dorm, but it is so far from everything that it makes it very difficult to make friends who don't live in Chappy, because who wants to walk that far just to sit in a dorm? The rooms in Chappy are doubles and triples. There are communal bathrooms, and a common room. Chappy is exactly one mile from the Cuic dining hall, making it hard to go and use swipes if you have the meals plus plan. The only great thing about Chappy is their market. Because they are so far from everything, the school decided to give them the best market on campus to make up for all of the walking. They have the Chappy Grill inside that has the best Mac and cheese on campus. They also make a mean breakfast burrito.
