This page is about the things they don't explicitly/easily tell you about Stanford. The internet probably says this stuff somewhere, but like everything else you want to find, it's likely hidden. So here is the info, Aditi-style!
Gov-Co & Ricker Dining
Gov-Co (aka Governor's Corner, aka Neighborhood Magnolia, aka Neighborhood D, potentially aka Sterling Quad if you're a frosh) gets a lot of hate but is (honestly) the best neighborhood. The dorms all have nice terraces and balconies! I think dorms are underrated as a factor of which university you choose to go to. I'm already hearing my friends talking about renting apartments and finding transportation to uni, which is not an issue at Stanford since on-campus housing is guaranteed for all 4 years.
Ricker Dining, being one of the smallest dining halls and getting the least traffic, has great specials and always had donuts on the weekend. Ricker also has the bonus of its seating being open 24/7. This means the coffee machine, hot water, and a few other simple treats are always accessible. Note that most dining halls don't have access to their water or seating outside dining hours.
Speaking of Dining -- what does Stanford feed its students? Stanford food is… decide for yourself. Each dining hall covers for a restriction: nut-free, gluten-free, halal, and more. There is always rice and ice cream. (Unless the ice cream machine is broken.) There is always a salad bar, carrots and cucumbers, and pasta marinara (sauce served separately). Besides that, about 60% of the meal choices are vegetarian and 40% are vegan. Vegetarian menu items in circulation include potatoes (roasted & seasoned or mashed), mac-n-cheese, and a few stews (Okra, Potato). There are 2 soups at lunch (one vegetarian and one not vegetarian).
Cultural foods! There are sweet-potato-based noodles, malaysian noodles (they are basically Hakka noodles), chana/naan, hummus/pita, kimchi, pho, malaysian coconut something-something, and a few other cultural foods about once a month.
Fruits! They are always fresh and cut to decently small sizes.
Breakfast! Very few residents go to breakfast. There are bagels, cream cheese, an Acai bar, smoothies, croissants, muffins, chocolate pastries, and a few other cool items.
Dining dollars? Not very useful as far as I know. You can buy stuff at The Axe & Palm (TAP), at Olive's Cafe, and Late Night @ Lakeside (which is the dining hall for neighborhood Redwood/neighborhood R) but not at cafes.
Also, mealtimes exist. *Don't plan your classes during these times. They trick you into taking 11:30-1:30 PWR which is terrible!* Weekdays: 7:30-9am Breakfast, 11am-1:30pm Lunch, 5-8:30pm Dinner. Weekends, however, are different. 10:30am-2:00pm Brunch (I think) and 5-8:30pm Dinner.
Dorms (Gov-Co edition)
2-room double dimensions: 8ft * 7ft * 10ft (height).
Besides that, you have (with approx. dimensions)
bed twin XL (lofted 36 inches; bring a stepping stool or ottoman-stool if you are short)
desk 2*4 ft (can be extended on the back by a foot)
fridge 2.5*2.5*3ft (3 shelves inside plus 2 condiment shelves on door)
bookshelf 1*3ft (3 shelves)
dresser (20-25 t-shirts would fit in each drawer; 3 drawers)
Windows open to 2*5 ft rectangle with a sliding door, and there are black-out shades with beaded cords so you can set the shades at any level you want. The windows can be locked shut or open; there is a screen so bugs don't get in.
A heater which you can set to whatever temperature you please. However, you can't set the temperature, rather you must lay down on the ground and fumble with the dial and wait a few hours to test whether the temperature feels alright or not. Heaters are installed under the windows, on the wall, near the ground.
So what does a 2-room double look like/work? Visit this video. Gov-Co also has 3-room triples and a few 1-room doubles.
Campus
Biking to Main Quad from Gov-Co takes 3-5 minutes depending on if you are super fast. They say Gov-Co is off-campus. It's not actually that bad. Highly recommend a bike, though (and a helmet).
Engineering quad is *quite* close to Gov-Co, being a 2-3 min bike ride away. If you're an Engineering/CS student in Gov-Co -- awesome!
Clothing: I would reccomend rain pants because biking + rain + pants = soggy. Bring a light jacket or sweatshirt because it is COLD after sundown (roughly 5-6pm in Nov-Feb).
***DISCLAIMER*** Keep in mind, I'm writing this in 2023. Things may have changed!