<p>Even though we are from New Orleans, if son is lucky enough to attend Tulane, we would really like him to live in the dorms. </p>
<p>Son will be majoring in Biomedical Engineering.</p>
<p>Is there an engineering dorm, or a particular floor in a dorm?</p>
<p>Maybe since there is no longer strictly an engineering college, is there maybe a science major dorm?</p>
<p>Also, anyone here living in Butler? We hear that's the Honors dorm now. Back when husband attended, 30 years ago, it was the girl's dorm. Interested to hear how it is now.</p>
<p>Hi again. First, there are no (academic) specialized dorms other than the honors dorm. An interesting topic for discussion, since some schools do this kind of thing, and I am sure there are various pros and cons. But in any case, not at Tulane.</p>
<p>My D is in Butler, because she wanted the quieter (notice I didn’t say quiet!) atmosphere it has the reputation for. (Yeah, yeah, prepositional placement). She likes it and has met friends with whom she has already gone exploring New Orleans. It was indeed a girls dorm when your husband and I were there. Now it is co-ed by floor. It has been updated some, but isn’t palatial by any means. Just as well, who needs to be hanging out in the dorms?</p>
<p>I am a freshman in Butler this year. While its quality pales in comparison to the recently built Wall (which gives students enormous suites), it isn’t a bad place to be. </p>
<p>Pros:
*It’s quiet. Several weeks in, I can’t say that there have been many disruptions
*As most of the residents are Honors students, there is a nice sense of being in an intellectual community here. It’s easy to find people with similar interests to you
*It’s near Bruff, which is our cafeteria
*It’s calmer. There aren’t nearly as many stories of students doing dumb things (i.e. ripping sinks off the walls) as you will find in the other dorms</p>
<p>Cons:
*The rooms are pretty small
*The building is old… Not much more to say about this one, but it definitely lacks some of the amenities of newer dorms</p>
<p>In conclusion, I am glad that Tulane offers Honors students this opportunity. However, I urge your son/daughter to apply to stay in Wall if they decide to come here. Everyone who lives there loves it.</p>
<p>Not that this is so important now, but I think Butler probably only has a few years left. Once they get this other new dorm built, I wouldn’t be surprised if Butler was slated for replacement.</p>
<p>I second iDebate’s recommendation of Wall. I live there this year and love it. I’ve seen Wall labeled on these forums as “antisocial” but that is simply not the case. The whole point of living in Wall is to get more involved with residential life on a completely unique level: everyone serves on a committee (or 3, in my case: academic development, community service, and health & wellness…there are about 3 or 4 other committees to choose from as well) and Wall has its own executive board. There are floor activities constantly (i.e. Wall 2 spaghetti dinner, Wall 4 mocktails, Wall 5 Rosh Hashanah party), and sometimes we do things off campus as a floor (my floor did Project Greenlight New Orleans for Outreach Tulane). The professors-in-residence are wonderful - Dr. Colombo teaches neuroscience at Tulane and his wife taught philosophy at Loyola…but right now she’s staying home (in Wall) with their beautiful 18-month old daughter (who attended the Wall Flunch today…see below). Anyway, I know other dorms also coordinate events and such for their occupants, but I just have to dispel the rumor that Wall isn’t social. Just because we aren’t cramped and on top of each other in tiny rooms and community bathrooms doesn’t mean we’re hermits or that we don’t get to know the people inside and outside of Wall.</p>
<p>Yes, a new residential college is scheduled to be built behind Butler…I believe it’s supposed to be ready for fall 2011. A recent Hullabaloo article said it’s going to be fashioned after Wall, including professors-in-residence and the requirement to apply to get in. Also, during Wall’s “Flunch” today (roundtable lunch with various professors in attendance…a new initiative by the Colombos), one told me that she believes Tulane is trying to make the transition to eventually having all dorms be residential colleges (in the same vein of Rice, Yale, etc.).</p>
<p>Tigerlily - nice post. I agree that to be antisocial at Tulane you would pretty much have to work at it. The idea that being at Wall would make that more likely is just ridiculous. Anyway, I just wanted to say that when Tulane got the bond approval that allowed for the building of this new dorm, they specifically stated in the press release that the 10-15 year goal was to have all dorms be residential college style.</p>
<p>i’m currently a freshman living in sharp and from what i can tell theres not really a bad dorm for freshmen. many of my friends live in butler and, for the most part, they like it. i’ve been in there several times and the rooms are pretty decent. i do know that not all the kids who live there are in the honors program (most are though), and many of them still go out and party, but its definitely quiet relative to sharp and monroe.</p>
<p>also, the sciences are pretty popular here (at least among my friends, though i personally am not in the school of science/engineering) so it wouldnt be hard to find a roommate who is in a similar area so that your schedules will align more and whatnot…</p>