[chrisBob]

The extra features are all based on how US students choose a school. Here undergrads go to the school with the beautiful student union, the gym with a juice bar and climbing wall, and want to live in a room near the nicest 24 hour dining hall with made to order stir fry and sandwiches. Having granite countertops in the dorm room also helps.

This is just how the select the specific university though. The target group of universities will probably be something like "City school in the North East", "Private college with small class sizes", or "Ivy with good greek life".

As a contrast ask a Chinese person how they pick which university to go to in China. You will immediately get a confused look and the answer: "The highest ranked one you can get in to". My co-worker couldn't even imagine picking based on anything else.

[seanmcdirmid]

Which one? PKU? Qinghua? Shanghai Jiaotong? It is not such an easy choice anymore, and the universities in Beijing have poor facilities compared to Shanghai, making it difficult for them to attract shanghainese to come here to Beijing to study.

Even chinese students these days want heated and air conditioned dormitories, a shower in their dorm (at least on their floor! Definitely not in a separate building), and clean water to wash with. Or screw it, the ones that can will just go to some 2nd or 1st tier school in the U.S. or UK anyways so they aren't wasting their time.

[mikebelanger]

I like how you're insinuating that current Chinese students are acting entitled by wanting heating and air conditioning in their dorms. Whereas in Canada/US, heating/air conditioning in dorms is considered a basic :P We really are spoiled in the West.

[bruceb]

He is not saying they are acting entitled. Just saying it is a change from the past when they were ok accepting what we would consider lower standards as they didn't have much choice.

[mikebelanger]

Oh I see, I guess I was just struck by the difference in expectations of students in the west and even (some) of the ones in China - and I leaped to conclusions from there.

[seanmcdirmid]

For the older generation, ha, but the younger generation has higher expectations.

[namlem]

Tons of dorms in the US still have no air conditioning.

[seanmcdirmid]

imagine some place hotter than Atlanta without AC. That damn Yangtze river line: the north of it gets heat in the winter, the south of it gets AC in the summer, it isn't as accurate as you'd think.

[amateurpolymath]

I can imagine it. Went to a university in Florida that had dorms without AC.

[pconner]

I don't think amenities are that big a factor in college choice. For people I know, price and prestige of the school are weighted way more than other factors such as location or quality of the school's buildings.

[jeffreyrogers]

It depends on the environment you're in. At my college everyone came here because of the prestige (and generous financial aid). At my high school people chose schools based largely on size, location, perceived fun, etc. if they couldn't get in to a top tier school. In my hometown people chose based on closeness to home, whether it was a party school or not, etc.

[makeset]

Amenities, even granite countertops, are at least of some actual personal use. Applications to a local college apparently doubled last year because their football team was on a winning streak.