First Honors Weekend

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Thought it might be useful to have a thread where those of you, both students and parents, that went to Honors Weekend could post the good (hopefully great), the bad, and the ugly (let's face it, some stayed overnight in Monroe, lol). Seriously, I guess the things to hear about that I can think of would be:</p>

<p>1) Overall impressions
2) The program as it related to the students
3) The program as it related to the parents (especially if you could post what they had for you, I know parents considering HW II would like to know)
4) Your hotel and how it was
5) Where you ate and how it was
6) Anything else you can think of</p>

2

<p>1) Overall impressions Great weather. Great school. NO was everything I could hope for. Very supportive of undergrads. Everyone likes it there.
DS: “Seems like a fun school”, “If I go I’d try for Wall” (Wall was the dorm he overnighted)
<a href=“I’m%20surprised%20we%20got%20that%20much%20out%20of%20him”>b</a>**
2) The program as it related to the students Student Q&A session for students only was good. Lots of opportunity for interaction between students, professors, administrators and attendees. Girls far outnumbered guys this weekend.
3) **The program as it related to the parents (especially if you could post what they had for you, I know parents considering HW II would like to know)**Student Q&A session for parents only was good. Lots of opportunity for interaction between students, professors, administrators and parents. Good, honest answers to tough questions about safety, crime, drinking, drugs and academic slackers. Really with the accelerated grad degree options and dual/triple degree students.
4) Your hotel and how it was Chateau Bourbon @ Bourbon & Canal nice room at a great Expedia rate. Right at the edge of the French Quarter and the St. Charles streetcar line. Craziness was a short walk away (Bourbon Cowboy bar for example) but hotel was quiet and a world apart.
5) Where you ate and how it was
Note to fallenchemist: Thanks for the recs but I drastically overestimated my energy level after that red-eye flight!
Before I came I felt that a bad restaurant could not be found in NO and I stand by that.
Begneits & coffee at Cafe Dumonde; Fried Catfish, oysters, shrimp and Mahi-mahi at Oceana (Conti off Bourbon) Great service. Great food. No room for dessert! Breakfast at Camilla Grill Sunday morning (per FC) Pecan pancakes (Yum!), Good “American” old fashioned grill. Fried oysters and hush puppies (OH MY GOD I’D FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT HUSH PUPPIES!!!) at La Bayou on Borbon Street. Peach cobler was bland, but oysters and hush puppies more than made up for it. Fun place, great service. Last breakfast went back to Oceana: Cajun Sausage plate and a Dessert (fruit) crepe. AWESOME!!!
6) **Anything else you can think of ** DS is very non-commital (grrrr!!!). He will stay that way until he hears from the rest of his reaches (2 waitlists so far) in the next couple of weeks.</p>

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<p>Ok, I will report in!</p>

<p>1)Our overall impression was that it is a great place. The weather was fantastic for us Midwesterners. We even got alittle sunburn! The program was well organized. Staff was very helpful and knowledgable. Students were friendly and willing to help. We are so glad we went. Worth the time and money if you have never been to Tulane/New Orleans.
2) The program ran Sunday/Monday. Sunday was mostly a combined parent/student day. Monday they had the kids going to classes, registering and getting advising help. The personal advising was very helpful for my DD who had questions about AP credit, pre-med requirements, travel abroad and honors classes. Staff encouraged her to register for a few classes even if she hasnt committed yet. By talking to the advisors she figured alot of her questions out and now feels confident to finish/rearrange her classes when AP scores are in. Students were paired up with a host student if they wanted to stay overnight. My kid hit the jackpot as her host was what I call “her people”. Went out that night to dinner on Maple where kids usually hang out close to campus. She stayed in Willow but toured the other dorms with her host. Thought they were ok. She didnt like the fact that a student told them they get fined for all the damage done and it can add up. Decided Butler is the place for her! LOL. DD felt the academic rigor is there that she is looking for.<br>
3) The program for Parents was fine. Parents stayed with student on Sunday. First up was a warm welcome by the Tulane Jazz band. Next, it was off to hear President Cowen speak along with the head of the Honors Program, Scott Luongo. I have to admit I agree with the concensus that I have heard that Pres. Cowen is great! He seems to be fully involved in the university and spoke frankly about topics parents are worried about like drinking and drug use. After the talk, it was off to some panels that interested you such as travel abroad, student only panel, parent only panel, job help after graduation etc. I enjoyed them alot. Parents seemed to be hung up on the drinking issue. I am not. I went to school, I know what I did and lived through it. She will find her way. She is a smart kid. Parents in the group seemed to beat this to death. Students answering questions were honest that drinking occurs but we all know that dont we? It happens at all universities. They were quick to point out that kids do not go down to Bourbon Street alot. Too expensive and just not their place. Good to know. On Monday, it was more for the students so I had my DD do all her advising, going to class, eating in Bruff etc. early and I met up with her for lab tours, a tour of a Butler room and getting lunch. DD felt comfortable going to a second class that interested her so I hung out reading a book.
4) We stayed at the Best Western St. Charles Inn. It was a fine place. Average hotel but fine for a place to sleep. I dont think you can beat this location as it is right between the French Quarter and Tulane. We rode the streetcar or walked. Really convenient location. No need for a car which is good because driving looks like it could be a challenge with the streetcars if you are not used to watching for them. I might try the Hampton Inn next door to the Best Western next time just to see how it is.<br>
5) Saturday we got into town late because of delays so we just decided to wing it and jump on the streetcar and see what happened. We saw Palace Cafe right away so, as we were very hungry by then, decided to just head there instead of wandering. What a good choice!! We also made the trip to Cafe DuMonde that night. On Sunday, another Mom and I headed out to the Quarter after getting our kids squared away with their hosts. We wandered around and found a few places that had been recommended were closed on Sunday. Nola, Bayona(sp) were out so we ended up at Bacco. Another great meal. I am not sure there is bad food in New Orleans? If so, we didnt run across any. All food was great! </p>

<p>In general I thought it was such a beautiful area and school. Parents asked if students felt safe and I have to say I felt safe all the time in the areas I was in. I am sure you have to be smart and know your boundaries. This is true no matter where you send your kids. I am not going to worry more there than I would at other urban schools like UChicago, Case, etc.
Some student spent alot of time bashing the dorms on another thread. My opinion is they look like typical dorms. Old and worn in some places but these kids will live through it I am sure. My daughter ate at Bruff and found it to have more choices than other schools she has looked at. She isnt worried at all about food quality.
My DD is 95% sure this is the place for her. You cant beat their Merit. It is very hard to pass that up in this economy and she knows that. She let me buy some “Tulane wear” so I think it is a go.<br>
Overall, I think anyone who is considering Tulane should visit and I am sure you will be as happy as we are that we did!</p>

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<p>Sounds great so far. I just wanted to comment on the fixation regarding drinking. I know Pres. Cowen says in his talk that it probably isn’t as bad at Tulane than at many rural schools where there is less to do in the “off” hours. I tend to believe this is probably correct, but at worst it is about the same. A few months ago This American Life, the NPR show, did a whole hour on Penn State and it was painted as barely short of a drunk tank, at least on weekends (which of course start on Thursdays). And I know the Elon thread has had discussions about the excessive amount of drinking. When my D visited Wash U, she told me that in one of the discussions among just students an upperclassmen told them that on the weekends “about half the campus is wasted”. Now I know that is an exaggeration for effect, but there you go. I picked those three because one is the Big State U rural school, another a small private rural school, and the third a very similar school to Tulane except that it is a tier higher and well known for being a tough school academically, so they compare/contrast with Tulane. In other words, it is in fact a very common aspect of college life nearly everywhere. I think one “problem” with Tulane (besides the obvious one of being in NOLA and the assumptions that go with that) is that because the weather is generally good, students aren’t just drinking inside and staying there, so people see it more. </p>

<p>Now back to regular programming.</p>

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<p>Fallen, I couldnt agree with you more. If a parent thinks that sending their child to a rural school makes him or her less likely to drink, they are mistaken. Parents have to know their kids.</p>

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<p>Note: I am a parent of a DD#2. We attended Honors Weekend on 3/14-15.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Overall impression: Excellent. It was very well organized and informative. Parents of DD felt very comfortable with the idea of DD attending. DD said she could “see herself there”.</p></li>
<li><p>The program as it related to students: Campus tour was led by a very personable freshman. I don’t think he was in the Honors Program. It was difficult to choose a table for the “Lunch With the Professor” session. DD chose an Anthropology table. The professor related well to both the parents and students. For the Sunday afternoon concurrent sessions, DD chose three subject oriented talks: Jazz Archives, Architecture, Linguistics. She didn’t attend the current student sessions. Parents attended the first two. The one on Jazz Archives, in particular, was excellent. Student host was most gracious and energetic. She was an RA in Patterson. DD got to meet several of her friends and discuss dorm life. On Monday, DD spent well over an hour with the Academic Advisor. As a result, she now knows far more about the curriculum than any of the other colleges she is considering.</p></li>
<li><p>The program as it related to parents: The President is very impressive. At lunch, I spied a couple of professors sitting at tables alone and took the opportunity to leave the aforementioned Anthropology table to chat with them. (I felt sorry for them, but also felt that they might be particularly frank.) These other professors (despite the lack of attention by the prospies and their families) felt positive about Tulane. They had each been there about 10 years and felt that the school was moving in the right direction and that, over the years, the students had become more serious about their studies. We left DD after the second concurrent session and came back on Monday only to pick her up after her academic advising session. (I’ll explain below.)</p></li>
<li><p>Hotel: La Maison Marigny B&B at the far side of the Quarter. Proprietor is a Tulane MBA alumnus. He was very interactive and knowledgeable. Excellent accommodation.</p></li>
<li><p>Dining: OMG. Our choices were guided by our older DD (#1) who moved to NOLA last year. Here are the highlights:</p>

<ul>
<li> Saturday dinner: Parkway Bakery & Tavern, 538 Hagan Avenue for Po’Boys. Excellent. It’s a little out of the way, but said to be one of the best for this type of meal.</li>
<li> Sunday breakfast: Elizabeth’s Restaurant, 601 Gallier St. Really good. I had the stuffed french toast (with strawberry cream cheese). Many other good choices.</li>
<li> Sunday dinner: Cafe Amelie (in the quarter). Excellent. Beautiful courtyard for al fresco dining. I had the Muffaletta sandwich.</li>
<li> Monday lunch: Willie Mae’s, 2401 St. Anne St., for fried chicken (what else?) We were going to leave the campus early anyway (for an afternoon flight). The 40 minute wait was worth it. To die for.
Warning to the uninitiated: By the end, all of our GI tracts were a bit “off”. Older DD #1 (now a maven) says that NOLA is also called “The Big Queasy”.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>Other random thoughts:</p>

<ul>
<li> The bars on Frenchman Street (at the edge of the Quarter) have excellent local bands and may not be as crowded or rowdy as other places.</li>
<li> Parents who tire of the campus activities may like all the shops on Magazine St.</li>
<li> Older DD gave us a tour of the lower 9th. It’s shocking how few homes have been rebuilt in 5+ years. What is going on there?</li>
<li> It was very stressful for DD to attend this event. We left the house at 4:30 AM on Saturday and returned at 9:00 PM on Monday. Two flights in each direction. DD felt she could not afford to miss more than one day of school. Homework, tests, and papers just keep coming. The colleges’ expectation that the applicants take a challenging senior year curriculum make it very difficult to drop things even for a few days. By the end of the trip, DD was exhausted and anxious. So some of the positive feelings of the experience were attenuated. I, for one, think that the kids are entitled to a breather and don’t see anything wrong with a slightly easier senior year. Why have we evolved a “system” that places them on such a treadmill?</li>
</ul></li>
</ol>

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<p>Agree with you that it is stressful for the best students. I guess the upside is that the AP credits she will likely get will make her college career (at Tulane we hope) less stressful.</p>

<p>I can answer your question about the 9th ward. If it were up to many of the authorities, it would never be rebuilt, because it will always be a flood plain. Even if the levees never breech again a bad hurricane would be worst there. It is a lousy place to have people living, but some people refuse to leave because that is their home, which I can totally understand. It is a very tough situation.</p>

<p>Glad you had such a great trip though. Thanks very much for the report.</p>

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<p>My second visit, and the second time I’ve heard Cowen’s (excellent) stump speech. One major difference between Nov. and now is that he seems to have dropped the part where he discusses Katrina and hurricanes. He indirectly talked about the challenges NOLA faces, but in Nov. he talked at length about Katrina and the evacuation plans. </p>

<p>I think he was right to make the change. Time to move forward and not dwell on something that is ancient history to most of the students listening to his speech.</p>

<p>I was a little disappointed in the campus. It looked fine, but Spring is a little late this year, and the color is barely visible. I found myself telling my wife “in two weeks this will all be blooming,” and “these bushes will all be red any day now.” Nothing can be done about it, but it was her first visit, and I was hoping she would be overwhelmed instead of just impressed. On the other hand, the weather was perfect, so better a late spring than a weekend of pouring rain.</p>

<p>The best seminar was the one conducted by the Dean of the Architecture School. You came out of it with the firm belief that Architecture is is the most worthwhile and personally satisfying thing a person could ever do with their life, the Architecture Students are Tulane’s elite, and the rest of the campus exists just to support the School of Architecture. He is inspiring.</p>

<p>FYI, I chatted very briefly with a couple of the Admissions people, and it was so apparent from their comments that whether or not an applicant has visited Tulane is a MAJOR factor in their decision to admit/deny/waitlist. They made it clear that if an applicant has visited Tulane and NOLA, they know their chances of actually turning that applicant into a member of the freshman class skyrockets, and they track this information very carefully.</p>

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<p>So I think I’m the first student to reply to this, but that means I can say a little more about the overnight.</p>

<p>1) Overall impressions:
I really liked it! I loved campus, it was so beautiful out (everyone was saying that too) and the campus looked nice and college-y. (Which, yes, is important to me) The Honors Weekend was very well run and organized. My mother/grandmother left after the tour, so I was alone for about a day on campus but I never felt lost or confused or anything. It was very organized and they literally could’ve dropped me off or sent me on a plane from Milwaukee. The school itself seemed great in terms of academics.
2) The program as it related to the students:
It was extremely informative. Not in a bad way-I wasn’t bored or anything, but I learned a lot. There are three sessions on Sunday, and my favorite was the student panel-it was interesting to hear the questions and not worry about parents listening in, so different questions were asked. More about what people did for fun, and good/bad parts. We didn’t focus on drinking all that much during that panel, surprisingly, although I think as students we’re pretty well aware it goes on and not too concerned about it.
3) The program as it related to the parents:
My mom liked the parts she was at and overall thought it was well done. She had no desire to really hear any of the sessions or come the next day, so she left but felt good leaving me.<br>
4) Your hotel and how it was:
We stayed at the Embassy Suites in the Warehouse District. It was nice. We walked about six blocks and caught the streetcar on Sunday with no problem.<br>
5) Where you ate and how it was:
Saturday night: Creole Skillet, about two blocks from our hotel. We were all exhausted and just wanted somewhere close so that’s where we went. The food was delicious.<br>
Monday lunch: Cafe Du Monde, which was delicious.<br>
Monday dinner: Hard Rock Cafe. Yes, it’s a cop-out from true New Orleans food, but my grandma just wanted something familiar and so did my mom and we ate there. It didn’t stop it from being delicious.
Tuesday lunch: Court of the Two Sisters, in the French Quarter. It was delicious, we were at the jazz brunch and it was good food and the courtyard was very pretty and the music was delightful.
6) Anything else you can think of:
I stayed overnight in one of the dorms that’s identical to the one across it, with Bruff inbetween them, I don’t remember what they were called. It was nice enough, essentially a dorm. My host was very nice and pretty well matched-she was graduating as a BME and I plan on going into some kind of engineering. We ate in Bruff (dorm food, basically) and then walked around uptown mostly, she showed me things around there. Around 10:30 we got back to her dorm and she was studying/writing papers and I read. Please know, though, that she did offer to take me somewhere else, but I was exhausted and I also knew she had to study and I felt we’d done enough, and she was by no means a bad host.<br>
I loved that I registered for classes. I liked seeing my whole schedule and knowing that I got the classes I wanted and I don’t have to register later if I do go there. I also found out a lot about AP credits and love that I don’t have to take my Lang test to try to get a five for Tulane, unlike everywhere else. I did talk with a financial aid counselor as they had walk-in appointments and while she couldn’t tell me about my award or anything it calmed me down a little bit and I’m not even sure why. </p>

<p>So, in conclusion, Honors Weekend was really really good. I’m so glad I went. While it didn’t automatically propel Tulane to the top, it definitely solidified its place, especially considering I applied having never been to NOLA. It is very well run. I have to wait for financial aid from Northwestern and Tulane and hear back from Williams, but I could see myself at Tulane, and I was happy about that. My college decision will be very hard, but I guess that’s a good thing. So, for any of you on the fence, go to Honors Weekend!</p>

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<p>Hi oxymoronicalgem - That’s the problem with you great students, you have too many outstanding choices! I am glad Tulane made a good impression on you and is still in the running. Even if you do choose one of those other great schools, it is nice for us Tulanophiles to know that students with top credentials such as yourself hold it in similar regard to those other, higher rated institutions. It becomes increasingly clear that Tulane is very much moving quickly in the right direction.</p>

<p>Very nice report, thanks.</p>

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<p>BTW, I am guessing you stayed in Irby, and the one across that is the same is Phelps. Definitely older dorms, I would say at least 40 years old, probably more.</p>

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<p>1) Overall impressions. I thought the weekend was great. It was very well organized, with plenty of different options to participate in.</p>

<p>2) The program as it related to the students. It was very informative and fun. I met a lot of great people, many of which I had previously “spoken” to on Facebook. We had lunch with the head of the neuroscience department. She was very friendly and explained a lot about the program and gave us her email address if we had any questions. I met with an advisor who was wonderful in helping me set my schedule in accordance with the pre-med/creative scholars requirements. I sat in on a chem class on Monday. After class, I introduced myself and thanked him for allowing me to visit the class, he was very friendly and personable. My overnight in Wall was a lot of fun, no thanks to my host who was horrible. She spent the time saying how Tulane wasn’t her first, second or third choice; She doesn’t like Tulane at all; She’s not into the whole school spirit thing; She hates the whole residential living atmosphere…I could go on and on. We went to dinner with some people at Fresco’s, which was nice. After dinner, she just wanted to stay in the room. I had a friend who was hanging out with a bunch of people a few rooms down from her and after much urging she came with me. Although she lived just a few doors down from this kid, she didn’t know him (not a very social girl haha). The others were great and so much fun, as was my host’s roommate. In the future, I hope they don’t have her serve as host. Since I was secure in my decision to attend Tulane, her negativity didn’t sway me. However, if someone was on the fence, I could definitely see her comments impacting someones decision. Everyone else I spoke to seemed very happy and must have heard the words “come to Tulane!” over twenty times from students.<br>
3) The program as it related to the parents. My mom thought it was really good. She attended two of the sessions (study abroad and pre-professional advising) with me. She went to the parent’s panel while I attended the student’s panel. She thought the kids were pretty diverse both socially and academically. Other than the parents obsessed with the alcohol questions, she thought it was pretty informative. She spoke to a few of the parents, and ending up going out to dinner with them in the French Quarter on Sunday evening. Other than the few moments when her eyes welled up with tears at the thought of me going, she was very happy.</p>

<p>4) Hotel. We stayed at the Maison Dupuy in the French Quarter. Although we spent very little time in the room, it was very nice. </p>

<p>5) Food. Saturday. Breakfast at Cafe Adelaide. Lunch at Johnny Po’Boys. Dinner at Arnauds. All were fantastic.</p>

<p>Sunday. Breakfast at the hotel. My mom ate at JW Fins in the French Quarter. It’s her favorite so she was very happy.</p>

<p>Monday. I ate on campus breakfast and lunch. Dinner at Deannies. The line was very long, but the food was good. I love their barbecue shrimp and crawfish etoufee.</p>

<p>And, of course, we had our fill of beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I’m definitely going to be hitting the gym often this week. haha</p>

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<p>Thanks Gabby. That’s almost shocking about your host. Not that it is shocking to find a few that are not happy at Tulane, that’s normal. But that she would volunteer to be a host. Weird. Glad it didn’t spoil your time.</p>

<p>I can’t remember if there were review cards to fill out at the end, but I would definitely mention something to admissions about it, along with the positives. I know it feels kind of yucky, but as you say someone that is not as decided as you might get her in April and that would just be wrong. Think about it, but if it feels wrong to you that’s understandable too. Not an easy thing to do. But clearly she is not performing within the intentions of the program. Who knows, maybe she just had a really bad mid-term report.</p>

14

<p>We were also at the First Honors Weekend, and I remain confused concerning my kid’s choices. While I love NOLA and have been many times, if you focus on the academics, I am so far only mildly impressed. Great class sizes, interested professors . . . but there was quite a variation from current Honors Students about the rigor of the program. If you are sceptical about USNWR rankings, which I am, how do you REALLY compare schools, academically???</p>

15

<p>Yes, there were review cards to fill out, and I did mention it. I don’t understand why she would volunteer for it either. Her roommate was great and wanted to host, but didn’t get anyone. Very odd, considering there was a waitlist. But, as you said, it did not put a damper on my good time.</p>

16

<p>There were review cards for parents and students, but the students got a t-shirt and (aluminum?) water bottle when they turned theirs in.</p>

<p>confusedmom2: That’s a really tough question, although I really like the comments in Princeton Review’s 371 Best Colleges book. You really have to think about how your D/S would fit. Some schools have brilliant nobel prize winning professors that are more interested in research and working with grad students and won’t even look at an undergrad. Some have professors that can barely speak english, but know their subject inside and out. Some kids do better in a public school “tech” environment where they are basically on their own, but others benefit more from closer relationships with their professors and counselors. Heck, when I went to school the only time I ever saw my counselor was when I was ready to graduate… “Hi, can you sign this now?”.
Like I said, I really like the comments in Princeton Review’s 371 Best Colleges book, but nothing beats a visit to a school like Honors Weekend.</p>

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<p>Gabby,
Surprising that someone would offer to host a prospy and wasnt feelign connected to the school. Thats a shame.</p>

<p>I am keeping a list of all the restaurants. I only have 2 more years to hit all these places!</p>

<p>AVHSdad-
Small suggestion-- call it NOLA, not NO. You’ll be a “local” in no time! :)</p>