@olieaa98
The general demographics of the students at Tulane and at Emory are probably similar. I haven’t really looked lately, but I would be surprised if the percentage of Jewish people and people from the NE were all that different at the two schools. In fact, here is a source regarding Jewish students that puts Tulane at 9th and Emory at 10th! http://www.hillel.org/about/news-views/news-views—blog/news-and-views/2013/08/21/2013-top-schools-jews-choose Can’t get much closer than that. As far as the rich part, I would venture to say that the average family income for Emory students is likely to be higher than for Tulane students. Why do I say that? Their sticker price is very similar, and Tulane consistently ranks among the leading schools for merit scholarships, making the net price less. I will see what I can find about Emory with regard to net price to students later, but I doubt they beat Tulane.
One difference is, as you say, the attraction of New Orleans. Tulane certainly has its share of preppy types, but I would venture fewer than Emory or Vanderbilt or Duke. Because besides New Orleans, there is also the strong emphasis Tulane places on service to others, and the two semester courses it requires that involve being out in the community combining academics and service. That attracts some different kinds of students as well. But I can tell you with great confidence that there are tons of academically serious students at Tulane. There are also a lot that like to party pretty hard. They are not mutually exclusive. I can also tell you with great confidence this will be very similar at Emory. You just might not see it as much if you were spending time at home that much more than if you went away to school. More on that later. But all schools have lots of partying. You take a bunch of 18-22 year old people that have little responsibility other than classes, lots of free time, and most have at least a reasonable amount of discretionary spending money and what do you think you are going to get? It is no more true at Tulane than it is at Harvard, Duke, WUSTL, USC, etc. That’s college.
If you look through my old posts you will see I have used my D as an example with some regularity. But in short, she is a top notch student (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Tulane) who had lots of friends that were more into academics and local culture such as bands, theater, art exhibits, etc. than crazy parties. Some straddled both worlds. She is now a graduate student at Stanford, after also being accepted to Harvard, Berkeley, Princeton and several others. So apparently Tulane did alright by her. She is not unique, Tulane has lots of outstanding graduates. I just saw an article wherein 4 Tulane grads were on the list of 100 most promising start-ups, or something like that. That’s pretty amazing when you figure how many are out there and the competition from schools like Stanford, MIT, Harvard, etc. The point is the academics, the smart students, and the environment to balance it all with an interesting non-academic life are all there. It is up to each student to take advantage of it.
Tulane does have some first rate programs in the areas you mention. If you are a top student and you are thinking about going in this direction, take a look at the Altman Scholars program in the business school. http://tulane.edu/altman/ It is very selective with only about 15 in each cohort. But the students that have been in it rave about it.
I can sympathize with your Dad, since as I said I have a D as well. But I frankly would have argued strongly against my D going to school close to home unless she would have made a very compelling argument. She had no interest in schools in our area so it did not turn out to be an issue, but going away to school is, for most young people, one of the most transformative times in their lives. You grow up fast, much faster than living at home or even near home. It is anecdotal, for sure, but I can tell you that even after one semester when I came home for the Christmas break, my high school friends that had gone to one of the local colleges seemed so immature to me. It was like they were still in high school. Maybe that sounds snobby, I don’t mean it to. It is just that real that your ability to grow into your adult self is enhanced significantly when you go away to school. That’s my humble opinion, anyway. And not just mine. There are tons of posts on here from parents whose comments all run along the lines of “When I dropped my child off in the fall they were still a child. When they came home after their first year, they were an adult”. Sometimes that first year was only first semester. Not being hard on your Dad, but I wonder whose interests he has in mind trying to keep you that close to home. Sorry if I am overstepping, but that is just my frank thought. I don’t know him, so maybe I am off base. The important thing is that going away to school is a big positive in personal growth if you have the choice to do it.
Long post I know, but you brought up several important aspects of choosing a school. I hope it helps a little. I imagine others will weigh in on some or all of this as well.
