<p>Hey everyone.....I was recently accepted and was wondering if I could get some info on some of the freshman housing options.</p>
<p>I know to truly capture how different each of these places are, I'm going to need to see for my self down in New Orleans, but any extra info or pros/cons not listed on the Tulane website for Monroe, Paterson, Sharp, or Wall would be great.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I’m just a prospect myself, and I’m sure an actual student, parent, alumni can provide more info, but as far as I know: Monroe and Sharp are the “social” freshman dorms (and party dorms), Paterson is the “wellness” dorm, and Wall is very campus-involved with a nice community feel and larger rooms. A professor and his family live in the building.</p>
<p>That’s correct, Monroe and Sharp are the social/party dorms. Monroe has been renovated, Sharp has not. Sharp has more people per floor, so if you feel your best bet for making friends is interacting with a bigger group of people, then choose Sharp. If newer carpeting and smaller groupings are important, choose Monroe. Wall is beautiful like a hotel but since two rooms share a bathroom it doesn’t have that “we’re all in this together” feel. Don’t forget J Lo the girls dorm, the folks who lived there swear it is the best option as well. So there are no significantly “wrong” choices. I can’t speak to Butler, but Fallenchemist may well weigh in on that dorm.</p>
<p>I’m a guy, so I don’t think J Lo would work haha.</p>
<p>but Thanks, this is some helpful info.</p>
<p>Thanks roaming, I can do that. I kind of held off responding because the person didn’t mention Butler, and it is overwhelmingly populated by students in the Honors Program. But you can live there even if you are not in the HP, usually because you room with someone that is. It is probably the quietest dorm, and it is a very traditional hall bathroom style dorm. Coed by floors, I think. It isn’t the most modern, but my D seems to think it is perfectly fine. She has gotten to know people on her floor especially, so it sounds pretty social. Of course most of them have the HP in common, and I know there are events from time to time just for them. They are building a new dorm right next to Butler, I saw them starting the foundation when I was there a week ago. So that will be a bit of a hassle for a while probably, although the workers and trucks and all will come off of Willow I would think, which keeps them out of the way. But it might get noisy from time to time.</p>
<p>Just to comment on Josephine Louise (JL or as you funnily said, J Lo), it is a neat dorm. It has always been just women, and it is not cookie cutter like a lot of the others. The rooms are often different from each other, sometimes just a little and sometimes a lot, and it just has a different feel about it I think. It is great for someone looking for a more “old-fashioned” experience. But since you are a guy it doesn’t matter, other than of course that is where a lot of the girls are!</p>
<p>Yeah, I figured I shouldn’t ask about Butler as I wasn’t invited into the HP, but Butler seems like a pretty nice place to live.</p>
<p>I would have found the invitation for HP in the acceptance letter, right?</p>
<p>That’s right.</p>
<p>There are a couple of ways to find roommates other than having them randomly assign you. Tulane has their own on-line program (Roommate Finder or something like that), and there is a Facebook page for it. These will both get going in a big way after the April 1 deadline I guess. So if you find a roommate that is in the HP and you both request Butler first choice, you have a shot at it. I wouldn’t get too hung up on it though. If you are looking for a bit of a quieter place than Monroe/Sharp, Paterson is worth considering. You do have to agree that you will be substance free, at least at the dorm. That includes tobacco. I have heard different stories on how much this is enforced, so I don’t know, but I would go in assuming that it is as advertised. I do know they just replaced some carpets and stuff recently, so at least it might feel a little newer as well. It is near Wall, kind of tucked away behind Bruff and McAlister Auditorium. And of course you can apply to Wall. You have to actually apply for it by writing an essay or something like that.</p>
<p>With the new McAlister Place opening soon (all pedestrian, used to be a through street), I would think both Paterson and Wall would be nice places to have a little quiet time yet have great access right to the LBC and all. Of course Tulane not a huge campus anyway, so no place is really out of the way.</p>
<p>Yeah, all of the dorms sounds like they are very unique. I’m planning a trip down to New Orleans, so I guess I’ll be able to see in person how these dorms are. I’m not completely sure if I would rather have the social environment or the quiet setting, because I like both, but I guess I’ll find out.</p>
<p>And there’s no way of getting into the HP without the initial invite?</p>
<p>I’m not completely concerned with it, but it seems like a nice program for academics and other activities.</p>
<p>You can get in after freshman year if you have a 3.6 GPA. Not sure if automatic or still more of an application process, but you definitely can get in. I don’t know your stats, but I would say in general that if you are borderline for HP, you can wait until after May 1 when they know who is coming and who is not, then write Dr. Luongo (head of the HP) and see if they would take you. Then he would know if the target they have for HP participation (10-15% of each incoming class I believe) has been met or if they have some open slots.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks a lot fallenchemist.</p>
<p>I probably didn’t get in to the HP because of my test scores…but I still got a scholarship.</p>
<p>My stats summed up are basically:</p>
<p>New York
Male
Highly ranked public school
Class Rank: 5 of 250 (Top 2%)
GPA: 98.6 out of 100.0
SAT: 1300/1600
A lot of ECs and Volunteer work</p>
<p>Yep, I would say probably your SAT’s. I would say if your first semester grades are awesome and you can show lots of AP’s, it would be worth checking with Dr. Luongo in May.</p>
<p>Ok, I’ll probably check in to that if I decide to go to Tulane.</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>any idea if they assign rooms on a “first come, first served” basis? S just signed the acceptance, sent a deposit and requested dorms - does this put him at the top of the list for his first choice (monroe)?</p>
<p>I suspect he will have no trouble getting Monroe. I think chances go up if he has a roommate picked out and they both list Monroe as first choice. But even if not, I would sure think they would otherwise put early birds at the top. But since Monroe is one of the two big freshman dorms, he should be fine. They were putting new stuff in Sharp also when we were there for orientation in June. Not sure of the details.</p>
<p>I agree with Fallenchemist, Monroe will not be difficult to get into. The housing process for the open dorms is a bit of “first come, first serve”. My experience: HP kids get first crack at housing, my S was an HP, asked for Sharp then asked to switch to Monroe and was told he couldn’t switch since he had already made his request. He lived in Sharp and really enjoyed it, he met a lot of guys that he still rooms with (he is third year and off campus now) but it was noisy and in dorm parties were sometimes difficult to escape.</p>
<p>It can get raucous in Sharp and Monroe, make no mistake about it.</p>
<p>People are certainly free to disagree, but other than the view on the city side from the top of Monroe, I really think there is very little difference between the two.</p>
<p>Correct me though, if one is not HP, nor female, nor particularly interested in “wellness” are there any other options? He only put Monroe first because the housing site said that it was more recently renovated.</p>
<p>I think you are right 3bysmom. As I recall the renovations I saw in Sharp were just some new sinks and things like that. Without an equivalent of JL, the options for the guys are fewer. There is Wall as another option, although the number of slots is limited. When I was there freshmen could stay in Phelps, but apparently now it is primarily 2nd year and transfer students. Same with Irby, but it was always that way.</p>
<p>Getting quite specific here, but for those familiar with the dorms:</p>
<p>Monroe and Sharp are both the “social dorms”. From what I’m reading here, it seems they’re both pretty similar. </p>
<p>Between a “social” dorm and a “wellness” dorm, I would definitely go with the social dorm. However, I’d prefer the less intense of the two. Would it even be possible to make that distinction, or could you call one even a little less rambunctious than the other? Would you Monroe would be the less wild of the two just due to the fact that, as someone said, it is less densely populated than Sharp?</p>
<p>I’m a current freshman living in Monroe so I can definitely offer some insight. </p>
<p>First, as far as I know, the housing preference you submit with your deposit means nothing. Starting around May or June you’ll get instructions on making your actual housing and roommate requests and you have the ability to change them up until the deadline. I haven’t heard of anyone getting priority in housing choices either.</p>
<p>Regarding Monroe and Sharp, there isn’t really a distinction between the two in terms of partying. My floor on Monroe is pretty quiet, I’ve never had any problems with it, but others are pretty loud. It totally depends on what people you end up with. There’s a variety of people in Monroe and Sharp too. It ranges from people who haven’t gone out once this semester to people who go out every night. It’s never boring here though. </p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions!</p>