Students 

Apply for SF State on-campus housing beginning March 4

New residence hall, reduced-rate housing program available to first-time freshmen 

With a new residence hall scheduled to open in August, San Francisco State University will have an all-time high of 5,200 beds on campus this fall. The applications for on-campus housing for 2024 – 2025 opens on Monday, March 4.    

The value of living on the San Francisco State campus goes beyond the five-minute walk from bed to class, providing furnished rooms and shorter leases than the standard 12 month off-campus housing choices.  

A new reduced-rate student housing program for first-time freshmen also launches this fall. The first program of its kind in the California State University system, it will provide reduced rates for 725 students in any of the four residential communities available to first-time freshmen who meet the qualifications to receive a Cal Grant A or B financial aid award.  

“Living on campus is the best deal for SF State students without a doubt,” said Jeny V. Patiño, associate vice president for Housing, Dining and Conference Services. “It is a one-of-a-kind social experience for each student, helping them to foster personal growth, academic success and ultimately a faster path to graduation.”  

Based on SF State institutional research, students who live on campus are more likely to take additional units each semester and have a four-year graduation rate that is 58% higher than students who live off campus. Additionally, first-year students who live on campus achieve a grade-point average 10% higher than those who live off campus.  

“Folks are motivated with school. Everybody’s main goal is to get through school,” said Josue Mendez, a Kinesiology major who has lived in two of the residential communities at SF State. “We give each other lots of help to succeed. I’ve never gotten an unwelcome feeling here.”  

Mendez, from Sacramento, says he met most of his friends through living on campus. When he isn’t playing basketball at the Mashouf Wellness Center (a free fitness club for students), he and his friends enjoy sharing music, food and trips on public transit to the Haight-Ashbury, downtown and other parts of San Francisco.  

“You get a lot of community,” Mendez said. “Just roam the halls and people have their doors open playing music. I’ve been introduced to music I never thought I’d like. It’s just magical.”  

New housing and more 

The New Housing Community at West Campus Green is a 751-bed building rising six stories high and covering 120,000 square feet. Each floor averages 12 “pod-style” rooms, each housing three students. The pods also include a shared all-gender bathroom and study and lounge spaces.  

The new community is accompanied by another new building that will house the Gator Health Center and a residential dining commons opening in early 2025. The project is supported by $116 million from California’s Affordable Student Housing Grant Program.    

SF State’s residential communities 

Altogether, SF State offers nine residential communities in three neighborhoods on campus.  

  • Mary Ward Hall and Mary Park Hall, which both opened in 1960, are traditional residence halls for freshmen. Rooms are double occupancy with common bathrooms, a community kitchen and lounge spaces.    

  • The Towers at Centennial Square is a 16-story high-rise with one- and two-bedroom suites for freshmen and sophomores. Rooms are double or triple occupancy with a private bathroom, kitchenette and a living and dining area.  

  • Towers Junior Suites is a five-story building with partial suites. Rooms are double occupancy and include a private bathroom. 

  • The Village at Centennial Square, which opened in 2001, features two- and three-bedroom apartments for transfer and international students. Rooms are single or double occupancy with a private bathroom, full kitchen and a living and dining area.  

  • Manzanita Square, built in 2020, is a mixed community for sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate and transfer students interested in living year-round. This community offers apartment-style living: private bathrooms, full kitchen, and a living and dining area, with single and double occupancy available. The eight-story building also features lounge and study spaces, a gym and a community courtyard.  

  • University Park North was built in the 1950s as the Stonestown Apartments before being purchased by SF State in 2005. It is a mixed community for sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students. It has apartments of one, two and three bedrooms. Rooms are single or double occupancy with private bathroom(s), a full kitchen and a living and dining area.  

  • University Park South, enmeshed with the Parkmerced apartment community next door to campus, is for sophomores, juniors and seniors. It has apartments of one, two and three bedrooms. Rooms are single or double occupancy with private bathroom, a full kitchen and a living and dining area.    

A Village at Centennial Square building in the foreground and the Towers at Centennial Square in the background 

The Village at Centennial Square (foreground) and the Towers at Centennial Square

Students will move into their new campus residences at SF State in mid-August. Apply early for on-campus housing, as spaces are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.    

Learn about on-campus housing and apply online. 
 

 

SFSU alumna Neda Nobari funds major expansion of Presidential Scholars Program

Above: Presidential Scholars Program recipients. Freshman Naseem Driadr, who is mentioned in the piece below, is second from the left.

Program focuses on supporting high-achieving first-generation, low-income students by fully covering tuition, housing

SAN FRANCISCO - Feb. 6, 2025 - San Francisco State University (SFSU) has announced that Iranian American businesswoman, community leader, philanthropist and alumna Neda Nobari (B.S., '84) has funded an expansion of the Presidential Scholars Program (PSP) that will more than double its size. The program supports first-generation, low-income students with high GPAs from the San Francisco Bay Area by covering the costs of tuition, housing, books and more for four years.

“Neda’s longstanding support for and service to the University has transformed our campus in so many ways,” SFSU President Lynn Mahoney said. “We are deeply grateful for her continued support which will change the lives of many students, especially those who face financial obstacles on their journey to a better future."

Graduating from SFSU with a Computer Science degree, Nobari has a profound passion for helping STEM students like she once was. Her gift will expand PSP by specifically supporting STEM students who will be named the Maryam Mirzakhani Scholars in recognition of mathematician and professor Maryam Mirzakhani. In 2014, she became the first woman and Iranian to win the Fields Medal, the most prestigious mathematics award.

"My hope is that these scholarships will prioritize students pursuing careers in STEM, fields close to my heart as one of the few women in my computer science cohort over 40 years ago,” Nobari said. “My goal is that these scholarships can further diversify STEM fields, benefitting students who most need the support to succeed.” 

SFSU received a $5 million gift from Nobari in 2016 to establish the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies and an additional $1 million years later. Since its inception, the center has provided rich and unique opportunities to study and explore the experiences, cultures and impact of the global Iranian diaspora to support its mission as an innovative academic platform for connecting transnational next-generation Iranian diaspora scholars. After a careful assessment of the most important needs of the University and students, Nobari has decided to redirect these funds to PSP to provide direct scholarship support.

As a proud SFSU alumna and lifelong advocate for education, Nobari has a deep connection with the University and has served many roles on the SFSU Foundation Board since its inception.

“Having served as an inaugural director, chair of its investment committee and board chair during its strategic planning process, I have developed a clear understanding of the University’s priorities and the growing challenges our students face. By repurposing my endowment, I am putting our students first,” Nobari said. “SFSU is very dear to me. I spent some of my most transformative years there, and because of its impact on my life, I want to continue giving back to the University and, most importantly, to the students.”

In 2020, Nobari was named the SFSU Alumna of the Year and was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. She also established in 2022 the Azar Hatefi Graduate Student Fellowship in Iranian Diaspora Studies, honoring her late mother’s legacy. 

Additionally, Nobari was pivotal in founding the Student Sustainable Investment Fund to provide students hands- on experience in sustainable investing and funding scholarships for students participating in that program. This transformational investment in the Presidential Scholars Program is also the culmination of her long trajectory of consistently supporting student fellowships and scholarships at SFSU.

About the Presidential Scholars Program

PSP, supported by the Division of Student Life, promotes exceptional learning and adheres to the highest standards of academic quality in the spirit of inclusive excellence. Each year, scholarships are awarded based on academic merit to an entering freshman cohort. The program not only provides financial support but also fosters a sense of community among the scholars through various events and cohort-building activities. 

Founded in 1995, the program currently serves about 20 students per year, with about four to five students in each class at any given time. With the additional funds from Nobari, the program will serve 30 additional students.

The program’s impact is often life-changing for students, including freshman Naseem Driadr, whose dream is to become a doctor. With this program, Driadr was able to overcome financial barriers to attend SFSU. 

Driadr and his brother are currently both in college on a pre-medicine track, putting a financial strain on Driadr’s father, who is the sole provider for the family. PSP alleviated some of the financial stress of sending two people to college at the same time. 

“This scholarship came at the right timing. I didn’t want to be a burden upon my family,” Driadr said. “If I didn’t get into the scholarship program, I would have probably chosen a community college. It would have been a very different route or I would have gone into a lot of debt for sure.” 

PSP also helps Driadr stay focused on his dream. “This scholarship helps me take my mind away from those financial things and focus on my schooling and do great how I'm supposed to be doing," he said.

Learn more about the Presidential Scholars Program.

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