<p>My S is trying to decide on his two Freshmen dorm choices. He's going to apply to Wall but doesn't want to put down Butler, the Honor's dorm as his second choice. I think he's afraid it will be too isolating and that it will be more fun in either Monroe or Sharp. Any advise or suggestions?</p>
<p>LuckyMe - I had dinner with a current freshman at Tulane when I was there with my D for Honors weekend in March. He is Honors student also, in fact he is a DHS recipient. FYI, we essentially met through CC, so this wasn’t someone I knew from before. Anyway, he picked Monroe for exactly the same reason, he wanted the “typical” freshman experience. I am not sure Wall is actually typical in that sense, btw, but I think it sounds awesome. He confirmed that the dorms are pretty much as you would think, that Butler is quieter and more “academic”, but he said it certainly wasn’t like they didn’t have fun! He also said that while sure you meet a lot of people in the dorm, you also meet a lot in class, at meals, and in activities that you choose to be in, and those people might live in any dorm. That didn’t limit getting together at all.</p>
<p>Bottom Line, Monroe and Sharp (virtually the same, really) are certainly more boistrous (ok, don’t laugh I couldn’t think of a better word) than Butler or Wall, it is also more distracting in each. All a matter of personality I think.</p>
<p>Your note caught my eye because my impression about which dorm is more isolated is the opposite of yours. I’m just a dad who’s visited the school exactly 1 time so take everything I say with a shaker of salt. Between you and me I may be the one who has the wrong impression.</p>
<p>That said, the following summarizes what I know about the dorms:</p>
<p>My daughter is an honors student who will be an entering freshman this fall. Standing in line for lunch during our visit we chatted with a current upper class student. He told us that Wall kids tend to be more isolated than any other. When we took the campus tour our tour guide gave us a similar impression.</p>
<p>I did a quick search on CC for “monroe butler wall” and found comments like the ones below, but even these are just three more opinions. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>-Kochampolska
3/23/09</p>
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</p>
<p>-jmichael
1/8/09</p>
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</p>
<p>-TrojanTransfer?
12/18/08</p>
<p>Hopefully other CC members will post some more replies for you and the picture will become a little clearer. Maybe your son could contact Tulane Housing. Here’s a link:</p>
<p>[Tulane</a> University : Housing & Residence Life](<a href=“http://housing.tulane.edu/index.html]Tulane”>http://housing.tulane.edu/index.html)</p>
<p>Your son could probably also get more information from the Tulane Admissions web site where he can “Meet Tulane Students” and “Facebook Us Here.” Here’s a link:</p>
<p>[Tulane</a> Admission: Meet Tulane Students](<a href=“http://www.admission.tulane.edu/students/index.php]Tulane”>http://www.admission.tulane.edu/students/index.php)</p>
<p>Winchester - that post should be preserved for all future Tulanians. Excellent excellent summary. Thanks.</p>
<p>Great review post of the freshman housing options. I have heard, from many current students at numerous schools, that suite living hampers ones ability to socialize and meet people in a dorm. Especially if the student’s nature is to self-isolate even a bit. With a hall bath, one has to come out of his/her room for more than just entering/exiting the building and by nature, community is built. If my D enrolls at Tulane, she’s going to wiat and apply for Wall as a sophomore because of these factors. So now she needs to decide between Butler, Monroe, and Sharp. I agree with those who have said that there’s virtually no difference between Monroe and Sharp.</p>
<p>My S1 lived in Butler his freshman year - albeit several years ago. He wouldn’t have described it as quiet. (Maybe in comparison only.) He found it very social and made terrific friends there.</p>
<p>I love reading these posts! I attended Tulane (when it was Newcomb) when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. No such thing as coed dorms–and my first 2 years there, girls had “hours”–i.e., curfews. Freshman year was JL–NO AIRCONDITIONING!!!</p>
<p>OOPS-- I got so excited about no air conditioning, I “sent” too soon. Nothing like putting on your makeup one minute, and the next minute it’s slid off your face–and don’t even get me started about doing your hair!</p>
<p>Sophomore year I lived in Butler, which was primarily a sophomore dorm–we thought we had died and gone to heaven! Air conditioning, and relatively fresh and new. Good times, good times.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your suggestions and anecdotes. I think my S would be fine in Wall since he’s quite social, never had a problem making friends. I believe he thinks living in Butler might isolate the honors students from the rest of the students and that Wall would just be a nicer place to come home to, so to speak.</p>
<p>fallenchemist-
Sounds like that young man you had dinner with was very helpful ;)</p>
<p>Nah, I just posted that to make his Mom feel good.</p>
<p>Hmmm… I hear he lent someone a sleeping bag that was never returned…</p>
<p>^^^ But I also hear the dinner was worth it ;)</p>