<p>Hey folks, I'm considering attending UW, and the French House dorm has really intrigued me. What are some pros and cons people have heard/experienced? It'd be great to improve my French, but I'm also worried about missing out on some of the "college experience."</p>
<p>Your college experience will include this aspect of life, the rest will be the same. You will attend classes and eat with everyone else as well as join any activities you wish. Everyone will get their unique college experience, all different based on housing choices, course choices, activities choices. The French House will include other likeminded students who want to be immersed in French in their dorm. The other language houses are in the same dorm.</p>
<p>Pros are great location, nicely maintained home, like-minded housemates, and they have their own chef-prepared meals, BLD. Also many special events–films, lectures, guests, etc.
Cons–speaking 100% French.</p>
<p>Despite the above mentioned meals you don’t lose the privileges every other dorm resident has. You could eat elsewhere, etc. Not spending time in the House would defeat the purpose of French immersion, however.</p>
<p>The French House isn’t really a dorm, and from what I know usually people who live there aren’t freshmen, so I’d recommend against living there to start out. You could compromise in a sense by living in a Lakeshore dorm however, as this would leave you closer to the French House if you wanted to visit it.</p>
<p>Check out who lives there. It may be mostly upper classman and grad students. If this is up your alley that’s cool. Maybe not. </p>
<p>And yes, you can live in a dorm to get the Freshman experience and still visit the French House for meals, events etc… to work on your conversational skills. The French Dept. is awesome and when I took classes our instructors always encouraged students to visit the House. It’s an incredible asset.</p>
<p>btw- when told to check out something in Res Halls either email them or call them if the information isn’t found on their website. I found it easy to talk to them as a parent when I had questions.</p>