<p>During my senior year I constantly browsed College Confidential for help and information about the schools I wanted to attend. I just finished up my first semester at Tulane and I love it so far! I thought I could be a resource towards seniors- or juniors- who are thinking about applying/attending Tulane. I will try and be as real and honest towards all your questions and sort out the admissions "fluff" about the school. Ask away!</p>
<p>"MODERATOR'S NOTE: Per CC policy, anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread." - FC</p>
<p>As noted above, CC has a policy of not allowing single viewpoint threads. Since the intent of this thread is clearly to get the students’ point of view of life at Tulane, and also since I am rather ubiquitous on this forum otherwise, I will try to stay clear of this and let the students respond. I have always wanted and asked for more student input anyway, so that would be great. Thanks @texasteen and any other current students that want to chime in, freshmen or otherwise.</p>
<p>Oops on my part, I had not known that was a part of CC. But of course I welcome anyone else’s input! Just wanted to be able to share what I have learned over one semester! </p>
<p>What was the biggest surprise or disappointment about Tulane? I will be visiting in March and will be deciding between my state flagship UMich and Tulane. I’ve grown up on UM’s campus, think my recent alumni mom pushing me in a stroller, attending camps of all kinds etc . My parents are leaving the decision to me without pushing me one way or the other. </p>
<p>@96blue I would say the biggest surprise would be the size of my classes. I really hadn’t believed the % class sizes blah blah blah and was pleasantly shocked by it. This semester my largest class was 80 people (Calculus 1) and my smallest 11 (English) and the rest 15-25 people. The small sizes could also be a factor in Tulane vs. UMich. My biggest disappointment was and is the math department. My professor and TA had no communication whatsoever and often our prof would tell us what was on the quiz that week and it would be totally different than what our TA gave us. Another section had been taught the entire semester with a calculator but were not allowed one on the final and were given no notice. A student is now petitioning the department. I had previously taken Calculus in high school and I think the class would have been extremely difficult if I had not. </p>
<p>On a different note, I was also deciding between my public school (UTAustin) and Tulane. I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship so they were about the same price. I ultimately decided on Tulane because of New Orleans & weather, the small classes (compared to 500 person Into to Psych at UT), and just how friendly and different the people are here. I think visiting will definitely help in your decision! I went to destination tulane and had an awesome time even though I committed the night before haha. From what you say UMich might seem like what you know/am comfortable with, and the visit could either reaffirm your love for UMich or introduce you to a new possibility at Tulane! Good Luck!</p>
<p>I’m actually a current student at Tulane as well, but I am actually transferring to a different college. If @texasteen does not mind, I can also answer questions from an upperclassmen’s point of view.
Good luck to all applicants and congratulations to those admitted! </p>
<p>Can you address how big a part fraternities play in Tulane’s social life? Seems that there are more women involved in sororities than men in fraternities. If true, why?</p>
<p>@stressed97 the social life is very plentiful! I’m not going to sugar coat it- I live in Monroe which is a very “social” dorm and much of it especially during the first month is based around going to parties and bars- but i have made friends countless other ways through clubs and classes and my floor so it definitely isn’t all through partying! I am always doing somethig with friends be it going to brunch on Maple or shopping on Magazine street its easy to do things and make friends! </p>
<p>@albclemom Fraternities tend to host parties towards the beginning of the year to gain interest from the incoming freshman boys. My guy friends have gone to “rush events” throughout the fall semester even though its technically spring rush. The guys definitely had to put in work to meet guys in fraternities that they wanted to join. Also the fraternites are much smaller size wise - think 70 guys where a sorority is around 200 so it seems and actually are more women involved than guys! </p>
<p>@albclemom
Greek Life at Tulane is actually pretty significant. As of last spring, 40% of students are involved in a social fraternity/sorority. If I recall correctly, 600 freshmen women rush every year, and roughly 500 complete the process and join a sorority. On the other hand, I believe it is 350 freshmen men formally rush a fraternity and ultimately around 275 will join a fraternity. This is because sororities have more space for new members to join. Most fraternities will have roughly 25 new members while sororities it tends to be around 60-70 I believe.
Joining a fraternity/sorority is not essential for a social life at Tulane, though. Many students (60%) find other social outlets. But Greek Life is still big presence on campus.
<a href=“http://www.tulanehullabaloo.com/archives/article_2967a361-1065-57c1-9256-e0ed6c108bce.html”>http://www.tulanehullabaloo.com/archives/article_2967a361-1065-57c1-9256-e0ed6c108bce.html</a></p>
<p>@stressed97
There are so many ways to meet people, especially during the first few weeks of school! You will become close to the people on your dorm floor very quickly. You meet people through classes and clubs. A lot of people also make friends through Greek Life, but that happens in the spring. </p>
<p>@redpoodles
I am not a vegan so I am not entirely sure. I know that there is a vegan club and they sometimes make food and give it out for free on the quad. I believe the Hillel Kitchen has vegan options, as well as the salad bar in the LBC. I would reach out to the vegan club though and see what kind of programming they have in that regard. </p>
<p>@redpoodles @hugoblack mentions a bunch of great options! there is also Le Gourmet which accepts wavebucks that i find to be a much nicer salad bar than Bruff’s. It also sells other healthy foods in a little market they have. There is a vegan section in Bruff but its not anything special. </p>
<p>I will interject here that Tulane is building a new dining hall, which I think will be ready for use starting Fall 2016, although I definitely am not sure about that date. Now add to that a statement made by President Fitts in a recent communication, in which he specifically comments about the food needing to be upgraded. I take that to mean both quality and choice. I have to say I was quite surprised that he chose to highlight that topic, and very pleased. For a school in New Orleans, there is no excuse for the food served at the school not to be considered among the best in the country when compared to other universities.</p>
<p>So while I realize that is still somewhat “theoretical”, both the plan to build the new dining hall and the comments by President Fitts are real. So I thought you should consider that.</p>
<p>How’s the overall intellectual atmosphere at the school? I’m not talking necessarily about the whole “party school” stereotype (I feel like every school’s a party school if you want it to be), but do most students have balanced priorities? Also, do you find that students feel pressure to excel for the sake of their GPA or do most of them seem to have a real passion for learning? I know these questions are pretty subjective but it’s always nice to get a new viewpoint. Also, do either of you have any experience with the Honors program, and if so, what are your thoughts?</p>
<p>@hugoblack what influenced your decision to transfer?</p>
<p>@ejs371 I have found that it 100% depends on who you associate yourself with. I would say that living in a social dorm has definitely made it seem more party oriented than say Wall or Butler, but I have friends who are party- oriented and friends who are learning-oriented. I personally have noticed that although people go out on weekend, they are also the ones involved and active in their learning and classwork. I have found that it is super easy to find people with the same priorities and myself. I don’t ever get judged for staying in to study for a test instead of going out and everyone understands that grades are a priority. It is super cliche but the work hard play hard is a very big part of the culture at Tulane. I think freshman year most students are filling requirements so much of it could be “GPA” learning rather than interests, but I love hearing my upperclassmen friends talk about their studies and their passion makes me even more excited for my major specific classes. I’m not sure how they do it now, but this year was the first year the “Tulane Scholars” was created and I applied but did not get accepted, although I still think it is a wonderful program! I have friends in it and it just seems like more opportunity with professors and seminar classes. It is different than the Tulane Honors Program I am 99% sure.</p>
<p>@fallenchemist that is true! sadly to go where the Newcomb Institute used to be. It is intended to model “the Commons” at Vanderbilt University. I heard 2017, but either way I’ll be stuck with Bruff for the next two years unfortunately. </p>
<p>I hear you, @texasteen. You are probably right about the date, I only hear bits and pieces. As far as the Newcomb Institute, I understand about the loss of the old house. Lot of history there you might not even be aware of. I’ll send you a PM later. But the bottom line is the Institute is thriving and is now split up in 3 buildings. When they build the new facility next to the art gallery, it will allow them all to be in the same place with much better technology. Sometimes one has to sacrifice a bit of the past for the overall good, and that is hard for me to say. I love history and architecture. But Tulane is a smallish campus with few open building spaces left. Given a choice between something as great as the NCI moving even further ahead plus getting a much needed and better dining facility vs. giving up a building that just doesn’t meet any current needs, I think they are making the right choice. Especially given the key location of that building.</p>
<p>Bruff could be better, for sure. I don’t think it is awful by any means. Average probably is a good description. But it really should be great. When my D was looking at schools, we visited some where I was just stunned at how excellent the dining facilities were, both in atmosphere and food quality. Tulane is finally going to catch up in this area. Clearly what has helped balance that situation is that there is so much incredible food available all around the campus, a short walk or streetcar ride away. You just can’t beat New Orleans for amazing food. God I am missing my fried oyster po’ boys right now.</p>
<p>@ejs371 I’ll answer your questions that @texasteen did not.
The Honors Program is great if you take advantage of it. The Honors Program offers honors classes which are more in-depth and offer greater interaction with the professor. Additionally, you can complete an honors thesis your senior year, and thus graduate “with honors” on your diploma. Generally, the students in the Honors Program are more committed to their studies. Definitely try to live in the honors freshman dorm, Butler, if you can. There is a GPA requirement, but it is really not that high (3.6).
I decided to transfer for two reasons mainly. Tulane does have a lot of partying: it usually ranks top 20 party schools in the nation in most party school rankings. Tulane students take pride on being a nationally known party school. Being in New Orleans, Tulane does attract students that are interested in the party scene, and it shows in the student body. I do know a bunch very smart students that transferred out solely for the reason above.
I also personally could not find a major that I enjoyed. Larger state schools have tons of majors, which I did not consider as a senior in high school. </p>
<p>@rach345
It depends how many AP classes you bring in. I know a few guys who didn’t bring in any AP credits, had bad registration times, and did not get any of the classes they needed. I believe one ended up taking summer classes just to catch up to everyone else. As long as you bring in at least 6-9 credits you shouldn’t have a problem though. Most intro classes are big and have plenty of spaces. </p>
<p>I will just add that within the Honors Program there is a subset of students that are selected (after applying) to the Tulane Scholars program. This is about 75 students who are particularly dedicated to scholarly work and benefit from, to quote the web site,
</code></pre>
<p>There is another program for 20 women per year called Newcomb Scholars that has similar characteristics.</p>