Honors Weekend - How was it?

<p>For those of you, students or parents, who just returned from the first Honors Weekend, I would appreciate any comments as to your experience as we are attending the next one in mid-April. What did you like, dislike, anything you would you would highly recommend doing, not doing, etc. I would be interested in anything you can share as well as how, if at all, did it affect your perception of Tulane. Are you (or if you are a parent, is your son or daughter) more likely to enroll at Tulane? Thanks.</p>

<p>We attended Honor’s weekend last March and it was the deciding factor for my son. He enjoyed everything about the school except the food at Bruff. This year he found some more acceptable food options, but he is always requesting snacks for his dorm room.
Another attendee found value in the class registration because it gave her a chance to reflect on her major.
I would recommend going to Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter. The Beignets are great!</p>

<p>I will agree that Cafe Du Monde must be visited at least once. Another restaurant you can check out is Jacque-Imo near Tulane; the wait can be long (about an hour) and pricey (about $20 - 30$ entree) but the food and hospitality from there is very good! The bartender there even gave us a few cups to keep as souvenirs!</p>

<p>We just returned from honors weekend with our daughter. Tulane was her first choice before we arrived and she has now committed. Over all it was well done. We stayed at the Park View Guest house across the street from Tulane and found it to be extremely convenient. We arrived early in the day on Saturday and wandered around campus getting familiar with the feel of the university. We chose to take a taxi from the airport so we walked or used the street cars for our transportation around town and found that to be a great way to get a feel for NOLA. We walked to the Maple Street area for lunch and enjoyed the off campus restaurant area. In the evening we went to the French Quarter and enjoyed the culture and a good meal. Sunday morning the university president welcomed all the students and family with a very entertaining speech. After this it was time for a tour of the campus and then lunch with faculty members. This was a definite highlight. We were fortunate enough to sit at a table with Professor Feldmeier. Our daughter had a list of questions she had prepared which were answered beautifully. During lunch the assistant dean of Architecture, Wendy Sack, invited us to come back to the Architecture building for an informal information session. We had planned to go to a few presentations but opted to visit with the Assistant Dean instead. She was a wealth of information. We were given a tour of the studios and introduced to current students who conducted an impromptu question and answer session. This was also a highlight. Our daughter stayed with a third year Architecture student. She had a blast and came away with a good sense of student life as well as the rigor of her intended major. The next morning she went to breakfast in Bruff and then sat in on a class. She finished her day by meeting with an advisor and then scheduling classes. We caped our visit off with dinner at Jacque-Imo…so much fun!</p>

<p>maplevale - what a perfect visit! Aren’t the streetcars the best? Did you make it to Magazine Street at all? If not, then she has another treat in store for her.</p>

<p>So glad she loved it, I am a HUGE fan of what the School of Architecture is doing in conjunction with the city. It is simply fabulous.</p>

<p>BTW, I am also a great fan of Jacque-Imo’s, and there are a few dozen restaurants equally as good. When you go for move-in, try Dante’s for brunch. My D and I had a memorable time there.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to describe your experience. I do appreciate it.</p>

<p>My son and I just attended the Honors Weekend. I wasn’t really sure it would be worth it to attend but no doubts now! We stayed at the Best Western on St. Charles which was a short streetcar ride from either Tulane or the the French Quarter. Location was key for us since I knew we wouldn’t be spending much time in the room. The program Sunday was good. Even though my son has already enrolled, it did reinforce his decision. We were able to have lunch with one of the chemistry professors, and my son really enjoyed that. The afternoon gave him a lot of information about registration, course load and special programs.<br>
Monday was amazing! There were several “open houses” in the various departments. We attended the one at the School of Science and Engineering. There were several professors there greeting the prospective students as well as the dean and current students. My son was able to spend a time with many of them and got very, very excited about the fall and his classes. Everyone seemed interested in him and gave him valuable information about the various majors, how to get involved in research and also particular classes. We have made other college visits, and there is always a lot of talk about how approachable the faculty is. But aside from Tulane, we never did experience it. And just to emphasize that point, later that afternoon, we were sitting on a bench (the weather was absolutely glorious!!) and President Cowen stopped by to chat with us!! It absolutely amazed me that every one of the faculty and staff there were so eager to get to know my son and help him in any way possible. He registered for classes that afternoon and when he hit a problem in the process, everyone jumped in to help him!<br>
Monday night, while we were waiting to board our plane, another associate dean approached us (my son was wearing his Tulane shirt) and chatted with us as well, offering my son some more information about class selection!
From the time of our initial visit to Tulane last year, my son loved the campus, the size of the school and the programs. He loves New Orleans and thinks he will fit in to the lifestyle there. But we were “blown away” by the people there this visit.</p>

<p>I just wanted to add that the reason my son does not like Bruff is because he is a very picky eater and that the rest of the family enjoyed eating there. My son is not the type of person who you would think would end up in New Orleans, and he was drawn there by Tulane.</p>