Compare that to some of today's college dorms. Maybe dorm life today might give some insights into why some colleges' sticker prices are nudging $70,000 per year.

I like to keep tabs on the latest trends in dorm life, so I did a little research and found an impressive number of links to articles about “luxurious" campus residential facilities. I thought I would dazzle you with some of the details about them.

Keep in mind as you read about these living quarters that choosing to go to a school just because it might have a feature or two (or more) in their dorms that appeals to you might not be the best reason to enroll in that school. You would never do that, would you?

One of the more interesting articles I found about dorm luxury is 15 College Dorms with Crazy-Awesome Amenities. It portrays upscale (sometimes way upscale) student living quarters that you may overlook when visiting the schools mentioned. Let's take a look at some of the high-life highlights.

The Fastweb article begins with quite an impressive prelude:

Why live in a cell-like dorm when you can have the comforts of home? Or, perhaps even, an upgrade from home.

Many of these dorms are more luxury resort hotels than typical college residence halls.

Some schools have one ultra-fancy dorm (specified), while others have dorms that are so luxurious, we couldn't pick just one.

Chances are that students living on campus at any the following schools are living the dream.

Here's a selection of five from the (sometimes surprisingly unexpected or even relatively unknown) 15 examples cited:

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“High Point University Residence Halls —

Students who don't commute are required to live on-campus until senior year, but you don't hear many of them complaining about the policy.

Swimming pools, hot tubs, a first-run movie theater with free snacks, an arcade, putting green and free ice cream truck are among the amenities available within this university's lavish facilities. Plus, one residence hall is pet-friendly.

Honestly, all of the residence halls at High Point are awesome.

For example, there is Centennial Square, the upperclassmen facility, which is comprised of 50 town homes.

The school's website details that “each town home consists of a double occupancy room on the first floor, four single bedrooms with semi-private bathrooms on the second floor, and one single bedroom with a private bathroom on the third floor. Some amenities include; shared living area, dining room, full-size kitchen (which includes a dishwasher), and laundry room in each facility, as well as access to the Centennial Square Center, which includes learning commons, study space, recreation facilities and post office."

For first-year students there's Finch Hall.

“The rooms are double and single occupancy and are arranged in suites; rooms in Finch feature a connecting bath with a walk-in shower. Each floor has a common lounge featuring pool tables, air hockey tables, plasma televisions, and comfortable furniture to study or just relax."

There's an on-campus steakhouse, 1924 Prime Steakhouse, where students are able to use their meal plan points to enjoy a weekly five-course meal.

There's also the “Campus Concierge." Which provides, complimentary GPS units, Kindles, iPads, TI-89 calculators and, of course, a dry cleaning service.

Learn more about residence life and High Point University's awesome amenities here."

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“St. Leo University's Residence Halls —

At Saint Leo, you can appreciate the wonders of nature by peering into a 2,100-gallon aquarium, which was featured on Animal Planet's Tanked.

When you need to unwind or take a break from studying, there's a relaxation room with “nap pods," which play soothing music to help calm student stresses.

Common areas also include a fitness room, a game room with pool tables, pinball and foosball tables and video games.

Want to get some sun and exercise in on a beautiful day? An outdoor sand volleyball court is located between Henderson and Benoit Halls.

Learn more about the perks of residence life at St.Leo University here."

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“MIT's Simmons Hall —

Simmons Hall at MIT is the place to live. Not only is the building known for its architectural awards, it contains lounges with huge TVs, PS3s and Rokus for streaming music or movies.

Additionally, most floors have their own dining hall, movie theaters and laundry rooms. And, for when students get really stressed, there's a giant ball pit to play in.

Discover residence life at MIT here."

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“Washington University in St. Louis' South 40 —

Students are sure to get a good night's rest on the TempurPedic mattresses included in each dorm room.

Plus, who wants to do their own laundry? The dorms have a student-run laundry service dubbed Wash-U-Wash, which picks up student's dirty laundry and washes it for them within two days.

Learn more about Washington University's South 40 here."

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“Colorado State University's Academic Village —

Specifically built for first-year engineering and honors students, this building featured single and double rooms with their own bathrooms.

The dining hall offers theme menus, like Stone Hearth Pizza and Mongolian Grill. When students need to relax, they can gather in the fireside lounge, perhaps while they check online to see if any of the high-tech washing machines are free.

Learn more about residence halls at Colorado State University here."

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It's hard for me to believe the level to which college dorm living has improved since my days of the windowless cinder block “lounge," complete with a complementary (and crummy) candy machine. So, enjoy modern higher education!

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Be sure to see my other college-related articles on College Confidential.