<p>Well this is cool ! Tulane</a> University - The Insider: On-campus residents get new amenities Free laundry service on campus. No more coin operated machines. And free premium tv channels too! Wait-- they will be studying, not watching tv! :)</p>
<p>BONUS! They all get a free microfridge now too!!! “In addition to the new laundry setup and the free premium cable channel, a Tulane recycling bin and Safe Plug MicroFridge have been added to every residence hall room on campus”</p>
<p>I talked to my S, a rising Sophomore, about these free Bonus stuff and he started humming George Jefferson’s song: We are moving on up to the East-Side…! life is good at Tulane. Good Job, Tulane Management !!</p>
<p>Of course, these all started just after DS graduated…
Oh well good that Tulane has so much resource to provide such services for free.</p>
<p>LOL, I was thinking much along the same lines, Stonebridge. My D won’t graduate for 1 or 2 years (BTW for those of you that follow my posts to some degree, I just got back from JFK where I retrieved her after she spent almost 11 months in Beijing. It was every bit the wonderful experience one hopes for from this aspect of the educational experience), but she will be living off campus for the remainder of her time at Tulane, so she (we) missed the freebies as well. But I agree with you, it is a good step for Tulane to have taken. I am assuming that some of the schools they compete with do the same thing, but I have no idea if that is true or if this is something completely innovative on their part.</p>
<p>^^actually never heard of this anywhere…so Tulane is setting the bar very high!</p>
<p>Stonebridge-
Didn’t realize our kiddos were classmates! When I told him about these new perks, he wondered why all this cool stuff happened right after he graduated, but then again he hadn’t lived in the dorms in several years.</p>
<p>I’m sad that Aron students won’t get their own mini fridges 
LOL</p>
<p>While these are nice perks, it’s unrealistic to believe that they will be “free.” The costs will be absorbed/rolled into fees somehow. (Kind of like “free healthcare.”) Still a nice move.</p>
<p>DS, a rising high school senior, will be applying to Tulane in the fall.</p>
<p>LOL, of course nothing is really free, it is a convenience more than anything. Along with more new dorms, a new dining hall, extending the pedestrian plaza all the way across Newcomb Place, and many other major and minor initiatives taken by Tulane, it adds to the overall “great vibe” at the school and keeps it competitive with schools like WUSTL, Miami, Vandy, etc.</p>
<p>For example, I know when my D was looking at schools we heard many times (and she experienced) that at WUSTL the dorms were really nice and that the quality and variety of food was tremendous. It was also more expensive, but still it really helped make for a happy student body, as well as making a fantastic impression on prospies.</p>
<p>Now to be fair, no question that Tulane has the advantage of being in New Orleans and so there are choices outside of Bruff that are world class without costing a lot of money, but one cannot do that all the time. I hope when they build the new dining hall next year and finish it in two years (I think that is the time table), they can also somehow take the quality of offerings up a notch. Not saying it is bad now, but there were schools I visited with both my kids that were amazing. And being in New Orleans, Tulane should really have the best in the country. Or so it seems to me.</p>
<p>wow – I want to go to Tulane!</p>
<p>No - wait - I can’t - I’m too old :(</p>
<p>I don’t think this news will excite DS (applying in the fall), but since he will eventually have to do his laundry, he will appreciate it at some point. </p>
<p>Really want to find time to visit before apps…</p>
<p>No, it isn’t really exciting. Like I said, a convenience, especially given the expense of schools like Tulane already. But it is details like this repeated many times over that help make the atmosphere of a place so much better. Of course, one still has to get the big things right!</p>
<p>I hope you and your S can visit as well. If you can, try to build in an extra day or two just for New Orleans “stuff”.</p>
<p>We’ve been to New Orleans before (during Mardi Gras) but another taste of the city would no doubt be fun. Of course he’d be looking at it differently this time. I want him to be excited about all of it to write that “why Tulane” essay!</p>
<p>As a side note, when I looked at schools with DD, only the SUNY schools had free laundry. She joked that that was the only good part of the schools. Ok, she wasn’t joking. Was desperate to get out if NY!</p>
<p>It will be good that you visit at a different time than Mardi Gras. NOLA is like a completely different city during Mardi Gras.</p>
<p>I liked your D’s joke about the SUNY schools, made me chuckle. Of course, a few of the SUNY schools are pretty good. Are they suffering budget constraints like most others? I would think they must be.</p>
<p>fallenchemist: Neither of my kids are able to get beyond the middle-of-nowhere locations and snowfall at SUNY schools (so I don’t pay too much attention to their budget concerns). Especially when there are so many other options, budget permitting (that’s why I am so focused on merit aid for DS). If finances permit, how could you even compare Tulane and Binghamton (even with the free laundry at Binghamton)? DD was thrilled to get waitlisted at Binghamton because we would have really had to consider it. She is now going to be a happy junior at Delaware. As for DS, he’s got some OOS publics on his list as less expensive options if merit aid doesn’t pan out at his top choices - one that would be a great match and another where he would possibly get merit aid and get into the honors college.</p>
<p>When I think of the “free” laundry and micro-fridge, it reminds me of the “free” food on cruise ships. It’s all added in somewhere.</p>
<p>wow, where’s the new dining hall going? </p>
<p>too bad i graduated a couple years ago! i stayed in the dorms for the majority of my time at tulane, except for my senior year. i would have loved free laundry. quarters are a pain!</p>
<p>[Dining</a> Services announces new features in planned dining hall - The Tulane Hullabaloo : News](<a href=“thehullabaloo.com”>thehullabaloo.com) Planning to put it where Phelps house is/was</p>
<p>I guess they will do it in such a way that Bruff will remain while they build the new one, then once that is done I am assuming they will replace Bruff (and Irby?) with another new dorm. I would think that has to be the plan.</p>
<p>Also worth mentioning that the proposed IZD mentioned in the article, which would have affected building the new stadium (which was the reason it was proposed) is essentially dead. The councilwoman that was pushing it agreed to withdraw it at the next council meeting.</p>
<p>Are the laundry machines in the dorm now “free” as in no quarters or card needed? The website still talks about quarters or using your card.</p>