Here’s a thread to help prospective and accepted students learn more about the dorms at Tulane and to make more choices. I will post a chunk of information in the first post, and anyone is free to elaborate / ask questions in the comments!
First of all, to have a good visual of the dorms, here is a youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoOhmP-uiiOLw9HPrc5Uj2vLRYZAOlJMW
Now, here are descriptions of the five dorms that house only freshman:
Sharp:
A freshman-only building on the east side of campus. Very close to Monroe and the business school, decently close to LBC and Bruff.
Sharp is L-shaped, with seven floors on one wing and four on the other wing. The large connecting lobby area is the living room of Sharp Hall and the hub of activity for the community. Within the lobby is a pool table, large screen TV, and front desk.
All rooms are double occupancy with several community bathrooms on each floor. The rooms have standard twin beds with stationary bolster cabinets above, chests of drawers in the closets, and study lamps above the desks.
Sharp is known for being a social dorm. Often times this means it is also a louder dorm. To be frank, there is often people in the hallway, the bathrooms are much messier, and there is music blasting usually. But, everyone is friendly and welcoming, and it’s really easy to make friends and go out.
Sharp has one of the best outdoor areas. There is a sand volleyball court outside, as long as benches and a grill area. There are always people outside studying.
Monroe:
It is a twelve story facility that offers panoramic views of the campus and city (looks like a skyscraper). The hall is coeducational by wing and has both double- and single-occupancy rooms. The rooms have extra long bunkable twin beds with moveable desks and ample closet space.
Monroe is close to Sharp, the Business school, and is a little farther from Bruff than Sharp. Each floor has one common room that are different from floor to floor.
Monroe is known as the other social dorm, but the perception this year is that it is more welcoming and friendly than Sharp is, overall. The floors are close, and there are generally groups of people outside together. People tend to go out on Wednesday’s - Saturday’s in both Monroe and Sharp.
The dorm has insane views of the campus and city, but this year it is next to Business School, which is currently under construction, so the walkway to Monroe is forced into a detour almost, and the noise is loud.
Butler:
Butler is an eight-story, coed structure which consists of double-occupancy rooms for first-year students.
It is across the street from Bruff, so it has a great location.
Butler offers a unique combination of atmosphere and involvement. Residents and staff work hard to maintain an environment conducive to learning. Building-wide study groups, seven in-hall study lounges, and day-to-day interaction with other serious students provide an excellent academic and social support network for our residents.
Butler used to be the Honors Dorm, but now it has obtained a reputation as a social dorm, but not quite to the extent of Sharp and Monroe.
Wall:
The new Honors dorm. Wall is unique among Tulane’s residential facilities because in addition to housing undergraduates, it is also home to a faculty member and his or her family. This Professor in Residence will help the college residents to become more engaged in the intellectual and social activities at the University.
Wall is located extremely close to Bruff, but it is in the north corner of campus and is kind of far from classes. It has an awesome field/quad.
Wall is suite-style, which is very nice. This year, due to the large amount of freshman, many rooms became triples, which angered some people.
Wall looks like a hotel at a resort. It is really nice, with some hallways outside, and awesome flora.
The dorm is much quieter and has a more acamdeic atmosphere, with kids studying a lot, even on weekends. But, all dorms at Tulane are “social dorms”, because Tulane is a social school! So, I would say Wall has a good mix of serious and fun.
JL:
JL is an all-female hall, and male visitors in the building must be escorted at all times.
Many of the rooms are unique in character and do not have standard dimensions. The building offers features such as moveable Shaker-style wood furniture, lovely old-fashioned casement windows, high ceilings and mounted bookshelves. Many rooms have a sink and mirror in one corner.
Typically the “overflow” of girls who couldn’t get into Sharp/Monroe, but everyone who lives here ends up loving it. It is very close to the Boot and Newcomb. The rooms are huge, and there is a ballroom in the middle of the first floor.
There are also dorms that freshman can live in that are sophomore-mostly dorms:
Greenbaum:
Very close to the Boot, and at night you can hear the people at the Boot if you’re on that side of the building. The rooms are large and spacious, and they are suite style, which is a huge plus.
If you live in Greenbaum, then you’re part of the Living Learning Community there, which has various commitments/requirements.
The dorm has four balconies that connect the two sides of the building, the top one with a nice view.
Warren:
Mostly sophomores, but freshmen can live there. The rooms are very spacious and have sinks in them. Warren is close to the LBC and to Newcomb. There isn’t a desk person right at the door, which is nice because then you don’t have to swipe into the building.
Paterson:
Paterson’s unique floor plan features rooms that open off a central hallway, while others are entered from an external balcony. Rooms located on a central hallway are double occupancy with community bathrooms. The rooms on the external balconies are four-person suites with a shared bathroom. Paterson is equipped with moveable, Shaker-style wood furniture, extra long twin beds, and is coed by interior floor or by suite in the exterior stations of the building.
Paterson lies in between Wall and Sharp, so it is centrally located and very close to Bruff, and it shares the field /quad with Wall.
Paterson is also a Living Learning Community.