Considering an ILE, ESF, and/or FroSoCo? Review this Guide to Special Frosh Programs

Now that you're at Stanford, we'd like to introduce you to some of the many acronyms you'll encounter during your time here: ESF, FroSoCo, ITALIC, SLE are programs that offer different ways to structure the start of your Stanford career. We’ve chosen to highlight these specific opportunities because there are both key similarities and major differences between them. 

After reading the Approaching Stanford Handbook and the Thinking Matters Catalog, some of you may already know what housing and program options appeal to you. For others, it’s a difficult choice given the many options and relatively short timeframe. Here’s a handy guide that compares and contrasts a subset of your Freshman year options:

AN APPROACH TO THIS DECISION

We know that making decisions around your Thinking Matters and first-year housing preferences can be tough. This is the first of many challenging decisions that you’ll need to make during your Stanford career. Luckily, this sort of thing gets easier with practice!

1.  Do your research: Read about your different Freshman year program options in the materials we send you, including the Approaching Stanford Handbook and the Thinking Matters Catalog.
2. COMPARE: Pay attention to what attracts your interest. Consider the elements that are unique to particular programs, and whether specific options meet your interests, needs, and goals for your time at Stanford.
3. Contact: Crowd-sourcing for more information and feedback can be useful as long as you keep in mind that some aspects of a program may not remain constant from year to year, so someone’s prior experience may not ring true for the future. The Undergrad website is full of information as well. 
4. Rank: Ultimately, if one of these options is appealing to you,  rank accordingly on your Approaching Stanford Forms. 

Really, there is no bad option here  – so once you’ve made your selections, don’t mull over  what could have been.  And if turns out that you don’t get selected/assigned to your top choice, know that it will work out just fine. There will be plenty of opportunities to shape your path. 

Comparison Chart

Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive chart, and you are not required to participate in any of the programs below. 

Learn more about Residential Programs at Stanford