San Diego State University - Campus HousingCollege Prowler2.31

Campus Housing:

C

(explain this grade)

Comparable Schools'
Campus Housing Grades:

Quick Stats

Undergrads Living on Campus

15 %

Freshmen Required to Live on Campus

No

Number of Dormitories

7

Number of Campus-Owned Apartments

3

Best Dorms

  • Chapultepec
  • Cuicacalli Suites
  • University Towers

Worst Dorms

  • Tenochca
  • Zura

College Prowler Take

On-campus housing at San Diego State is an area that needs great improvement. While there are other options available for those who do not want to live in the traditional dormitories, those that do end up living in dorms such as Zura and Tenochca are genuinely displeased. Zura Hall is regarded as the worst living option, followed by Tenochca and University Towers. Dormitories at other schools are in much better condition, and the ones currently offered by the Office of Housing Administration are extremely outdated. Currently, there are no plans to renovate the dormitories anytime soon, but hopefully the administration is noticing what other schools are offering and they will soon change their mind. In the meantime, Cuicacalli Suites offer a much more pleasant experience if you are lucky enough to get in and wealthy enough to fork over the extra cash.

Compared to other schools, San Diego State is far behind in the quality of its standard dormitories. The school needs to update its dorms or it risks losing students to other apartment complexes and housing facilities. Even though the quality of these traditional residence halls lags behind, it is still the place you want to be if you’re looking to meet lots of new people your first year at school. Living in the dorms is quite an experience, and I think that everyone should do it for a year regardless of the quality of the facilities. Cuicacalli Suites and Piedra Del Sol Apartments offer a much nicer environment, though meeting new people is not as easy as in the traditional residence halls. Overall, the school has a lot of options, and one of them is sure to appeal to you. But even with a variety of living options, campus housing is in need of major improvement.

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Students Speak Out

Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:

mattsdsu says:

San Diego State University 2013

Business

Zura

B-

Not the nicest looking dorm but definitely the most fun. There is always something happening at the "zoo."

Campus Housing: March 20, 2010
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Anonymous says:

Cuicacalli Suites is very nice,...

Cuicacalli Suites is very nice, but you don’t get a genuine dorm experience. Chapultepec is located far from campus and the other dorms, but everyone who has lived there loved it.

Campus Housing
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Anonymous says:

Oh the dorms. The dorms are...

Oh the dorms. The dorms are seriously a good place to start. You meet most of your friends and acquaintances there, and it’s just an experience no one should miss out on. The dorms are bearable like a Motel 6, but nothing extravagant. Still, the dorms are the best!

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Anonymous says:

Some dorms are good, some are bad....

Some dorms are good, some are bad. Cuicacalli and Chapultepec are by far the best dorms. Stay away from Zura and Tenochca. If you want to learn a lot and study hard, bunk in the LLC.

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Anonymous says:

The dorms are definitely a good...

The dorms are definitely a good way to meet people. Chapultepec, or Chappy, is one of the best dorms, and it is located by all the facilities. The only downside to Chappy is that it is located away from the other dorms.

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Interested in
San Diego State?

Facts

What You Get

  • Bed
  • Cable TV
  • Chair
  • Desk
  • Dresser
  • Ethernet connection
  • Hanging closet
  • Local phone calls and voicemail
  • MicroFridge

Room Types

  • Apartments
  • Doubles
  • Mini-suites
  • Super-singles (single room with two closets and a couch, desk, dresser, bed, and table)

Also Available

  • Substance-free living options, special-interest housing

Cleaning Service

Janitors clean public living areas and bathrooms daily

Dormitories

Chapultepec Hall
Floors: 11
Number of Occupants: 540
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles, super-singles
Study lounge, recreation room, TV lounge, community kitchen, laundry facility, recently updated furniture, access to Cuicacalli Suites swimming pool

Cuicacalli Suites
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 686
Bathrooms: Shared by suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
In-house dining facility, convenience store, Aztec Grill, swimming pool, sand volleyball court, extended quiet study, substance-free floors, Honors house

Maya Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 200
Bathrooms: Shared by floor
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Doubles
Freshmen Living and Learning community, laundry room, study room, recreation room, TV lounge, 24-hour computer lab, community kitchen

Olmeca Hall
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 200
Bathrooms: Shared
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Doubles
Freshmen Living and Learning community, laundry room, study room, recreation room, TV lounge, community kitchen

Tenochca Hall
Floors: 8
Number of Occupants: 380
Bathrooms: Shared
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles, super-singles
Central TV lounge, community kitchen, laundry facility

University Towers
Floors: 9
Number of Occupants: 560
Bathrooms: Semi-private
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Mini-suites
In-house dining facility, swimming pool, private parking

Zura Hall
Floors: 9
Number of Occupants: 585
Bathrooms: Shared
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclssmen
Room Types: Single, double
Multi-purpose room, central lounge, meeting room, community kitchen, laundry facility, and one TV lounge per floor

Campus-Owned Apartments

Piedra Del Sol Apartments
Floors: 4
Number of Units: 66 units
Bathrooms: Private
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Apartments (2-, 3-, and 4-person)
Special Features:Entertainment center with a big screen TV, surround sound stereo and a billiards table, gas barbeque grills and a picnic area in the center courtyard, technology center, hot tub, laundry

University Towers
Floors: 9
Number of Units: 560
Bathrooms: Semi-private
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, upperclassmen
Room Types: Mini-suites
In-house dining facility, swimming pool, private parking

Villa Alvarado Apartments
Floors: 2
Number of Units: 90 units
Bathrooms: Private
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen, transfer students
Room Types: Apartments with two double bedrooms
Faculty-in-residence, 10 MB Ethernet connection, local telephone, voicemail and cable services at no additional cost

Did You Know?

Each of the residencies on campus carries a name with an ancient Aztec meaning. Chapultepec means “the hill of the grasshopper.” Cuicacalli means “the house of song.” The Maya and Olmeca halls of the LLC refer to the respective ancient civilizations. Tenochca is synonymous with the Aztec people. Villa Alvarado represents one of the Aztec’s “golden cities.” Piedra Del Sol literally means “house of the sun.” The true meaning of Zura is mysterious with interpretations ranging from a pigeon to a dove.

Most Recent Contributing Author

Name: Brennan Wasan
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Major: Communications

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