Welcome to resort university

Careers and Colleges, Sept-Oct, 2004

Tough day at class? Then slip into the Jacuzzi or treat yourself to a massage and let that mid-term exam just drift away for awhile. In the competition to attract top students, colleges have been investing millions of dollars to add country club-style amenities to their campuses.

The recreation center at Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman offers "the largest Jacuzzi on the West Coast," capable of holding 53 people. University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh pampers students with massages, pedicures, and manicures. The University of Houston provides students with a multimillion dollar recreation and wellness center complete with hot tubs, waterfalls, and a 53-foot tall climbing wall featuring naturalistic cracks, flakes, ledges, and pockets to use for climbing holds. Students at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia can enjoy a round of golf on one of 35 golf courses from around the United States in a room-sized golf simulator.

Many dorms as well are going upscale with private bathrooms, kitchens, and high-speed Internet connections-all with maintenance provided by the college. Dartmouth University in New Hampshire is even equipping its students with VoIP (voice over the Internet protocol), software that basically turns your computer into a telephone and makes local and long distance phone calls free.

Who said college life was hard?