<p>What do you think about Tulane University?</p>
<p>My daughter never did hear back from Tulane in that they lost her app. She finally herd from them in September. Go figure that. Apparently they had huge issues with a wild jump in applications and did not have the resources to handle.</p>
<p>Caltech. Was a top choice until campus visit. Campus looked totally lifeless. Breaker : All dorm coed. Off the list now completely.</p>
<p>Ablejoy,
Thatās too bad your son was turned off by Caltech. When did you visit? Does your son want an all-male dorm?</p>
<p>Same experience at caltech. Beautiful day, no one outside. It was right before finals, but I would have thought students would be studying on the grass. Nope, they were all in Starbucks. It could have been summer break, the place was so quiet.</p>
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From my experience this also seems to be a function of the size of the school ā¦ the smaller the school the fewer people out and about. At a prime class time (say 10-11 on a Monday) Iād guess very few students are out and about during the class time slot ā¦ however 5% of Michigan students is a lot people than 5% of Bowdoin or 5% of Caltech. I liked the LACs A LOT when I visited with my kids but they all feel pretty empty to me ā¦ and Iām guessing thatās because I went to a pretty big undergrad school (10k+) and am used to see more folks on campus at all times. Caltech is very small place ā¦ I would think the numbers hanging out at one time would be pretty small.</p>
<p>Good point. The campus was very small, felt more like a community college than a world renowned research U. </p>
<p>But we did find where all the kids wereāin the completely packed and completely silent Starbucks.</p>
<p>3togo,
Classes donāt start until 11. Study groups scheduled late at night are packed. so many positives about this school, I am sorry first impressions are so poor.</p>
<p>At least, now I know why the wormās first job was at Starbucks! What a great way to meet people.</p>
<p>Empty campus is probably can be expected for caltech given its extreme focus on academics.
As I stated deal breaker for us was dorm issue, they are all coed. Its all coed even at floor/section level too. We could even get info if there are separate bathrooms/restrooms/lockers for boys and girls.</p>
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<p>Exactly.
Thatās what Iāve been saying since Iāve been on CC.</p>
<p>If my daughter determined where to apply based on how many students we saw walking on campus, she wouldnāt be applying to any school. ;)</p>
<p>I didnāt realize there were colleges left with single-sex dorms. None of those weāve visited have them.</p>
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<p>Agree with Snowdog - this is going to be the case just about everywhere. Iāve found several schools that offer single-sex housing for women, but not a one that offers it for men.</p>
<p>Some Catholic colleges have male only dorms.</p>
<p>ablejoy,
There are 6 houses across path from each other. The 3 on south side were redone in 2006-7. One of these houses has many singles. Even in North houses, there are separate bathrooms, and some āsingleā bathrooms, for the shy. Many grad students chose Avery house, which is singles, but undergrads who donāt want to as social as the Houses are, live there. Caltech owns many apartment buildings around campus, which is another option.</p>
<p>The Houses have different personalities. During orientation week, you are assigned a room. You spend a day in each House, and rank them. You are allowed to veto. By end of week, between the House discussions and your list, you are placed in a House. Then you select a roommate. By then, youāve chosen different outings (amusement park, hiking, sorry but I forget the list of options), and orientation stuff, so you have a sense of some others. My son chose someone in his field, also a nightowl. If you develop friendships with some in another House, you pay $5 a year to join that House. Because these 6 HOuses are right next to each other, it is easy to study/play with others. </p>
<p>I could tell you more, but donāt wish to bore others. Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>A lot of schools Iāve seen have co-ed dorms but are single sex by wing or floor.</p>
<p>It seems strange that it is politically correct to have single-sex colleges but not so politically correct to have single-sex dorms in a coed college.</p>
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<p>I donāt think it has anything to do with political correctness. Instead, most college students want to live in co-ed dorms. It is supply and demand ā colleges try to give students what they want.</p>
<p>^ Yea, but what kids consider ācoolā is influenced by what they perceive to be politically correct, and demand is driven in part by what they see as ācool.ā</p>
<p>We saw over 8 schools with son #2 (Trinity, Conn College, Wesleyan, Vassar, Skidmore, Colgate, Hamilton, Union and 6 schools with son #1 (Williams, Bowdoin, Tufts, Amherst, Colorado College and Oberlin). Much of our list depended on DIII sports related issues, including facilities and coaches as well as academics. Son #2 had a very awkward interview with the Union coach and did not like the school so we scratched that off and son #1 disliked Tufts, partially due to the geographic layout, lack of fit with the student body, and team.</p>
<p>Overall, we were looking for the best academic school where they could continue to play their varsity sport. The library at Vassar is awesome. Boys being boys, they loved the dining hall(s) and athletic facilities at Hamilton and Colgate although they both chose other schools.</p>
<p>Purdue University has two large residence halls that are men-only and one complex that is women-only.</p>