<p>Forgive my ignorance, but what is APO?? Is it a sorority? Also, is it not easier to make friends through your ‘dorm-mates?’ as well… thank you!</p>
<p>Am guessing its Alpha Phi Omega? A service fraternity</p>
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Often it is, but there are plenty of people that make friends through clubs, people they meet in class (especially people majoring in the same field), at Bruff… A lot depends on how outgoing you are.</p>
<p>Easier said than done for a lot of people, but just introduce yourself to people that you think you might like for whatever reason. The more you internalize the fact that almost everyone there at move-in day is feeling the same anxieties in varying degrees, the more friends you will make. Some will work out, some won’t, but most people like to meet other people and make new friends. Give it a try.</p>
<p>While I agree that most Tulane students like to party, I am not convinced that the “Tulane Culture” only revolves around Thursday Nights @ F&Ms, etc… Tulane truly embodies the “Work Hard, Play Hard” motto. So yes, Tulane kids do party. But they also are very motivated and engaged in the classroom and very actively involved in volunteering and various intellectual pursuits. So…maybe I’m just an outlier on this board, but I’ve had the best experience possible at Tulane and can say the same about 99% of the students that I know.</p>
<p>My H went to Tulane, and I went to UMiami. We can totally relate to the OP’s statement about meeting the same person over and over. Both schools have similar student demographics, and if you were not raised in that culture, it can be a shock to you. But we both eventually found friends of like interests and, even though we have very many unhappy memories from our college years, we both have very cherished friends that we never would have met had we not gone to our respective colleges.</p>
<p>We had always assumed our son would go to Tulane, but they closed the engineering department. He instead went to a nearby state school, in a neighboring state. Though there is not as much drinking as his instate flagship, there is some. But there is a big Greek culture, and if you’re not a Greek or a football nut, there’s not much to do. Tulane has movies on campus, concerts are plentiful, and you can take the streetcar to lots of places in town other than the French Quarter. </p>
<p>I would advise you to stick it out, give yourself time to make friends, and if you don’t make friends, at least try to enjoy the nonsports activities Tulane offers. My H worked at the radio station and met his friends there. He enjoyed going to concerts at McAllister, and he enjoyed taking film classes. </p>
<p>As for career after college, Tulane still is a respected name, and I don’t know what your future goals are, but if you don’t intend to just go home and work at daddy’s business, go ahead and get that Tulane name on your resume. If you’re looking to work in your state in the future, then go ahead and go back to YOUR STATE school.</p>
<p>Slight correction to the above. They scaled back the engineering dept after Katrina, but they didn’t close it. My DS just earned his degree in Chemical Engineering. They are rebuilding the engineering program, adding courses and building an addition onto the building for more classroom, office and lab space.</p>
<p>^^^Glad to hear that, jym. Yes, there are still engineering majors offered, so you’re right, I shouldn’t have made such a blanket statement. Mechanical engineering (son’s major) and computer engineering (husband’s degree) are no longer offered. Of course, they would keep chemical engineering. Oil companies in Louisiana donate a lot of money to Tulane and it would be surprising if they would close that one, though it is a shock that there is no civil engineering, as far as I know, when our city desperately needs civil engineers.</p>
<p>But, back on track, I do hope the OP will give it time and find his niche and explore the beautiful areas of New Orleans, our parks, bayous, and culture, which do not involve drinking.</p>
<p>They are in the process of slowly rebuilding a Computer Science program, currently in conjunction with the math dept, IIRC.</p>
<p>But I digress. Agree about the many wonderful things to do in NOLA. Hope the OP had the opportunity to explore and enjoy.</p>
<p>^^^Good point, and not really a digression.</p>
<p>A large company is opening an office in NOLA, and it will involve computer science. I am glad to hear that Tulane is reintroducing that major so it can produce a work force to fill a need in the area. </p>
<p>For the OP and others considering leaving Tulane, you may want to look into exploring that opportunity so that you can get as much benefit from your Tulane experience as possible.</p>
<p>Between a state school (except Berkeley, UCLA, UNC, Michigan, etc.) clearly Tulane is a much, much better option. I’m just not sold it’s the brand name some of the people on this claim. Nevertheless, I guess my job search after graduation will be the gauge of that.</p>
<p>Frankly, outside of the very top schools like Harvard, Stanford, etc. brand name tends to be a more regional thing. Tulane is somewhat exceptional because of the significant geographic diversity of the students, especially from the Northeast, but even with that it has more cachet in the South. To my point, I think we would all agree that U Chicago and WUSTL are great schools, yet outside of academia many people from outside of the Midwest think the former is a public school and confuse the latter with everything from George Washington University to the University of Washington in Seattle.</p>
<p>Other than the alumni network, it depends far more heavily on your own networks, making a great impression in the interviews, and having a strong track record going into the interview, no matter what school you attended. That is one reason among many that I think it is much more important that a person really picks a school they feel great about on many levels, not just “how is this school going to help me get a job”. The better experience you have at a school, the more interesting person it will help you be and hence the better you will interview, interact with your colleagues, etc. Outside of a few very specific jobs, people don’t hire automatons.</p>
<p>I have the same problem…I had to choose between tulane and my state school and i choose Tulane b/c of its location…however…it would have been more practical for me to go to my state school b/c it has many more majors for me to choose from and is more diverse…I dont party much and sometimes feel like im not taking advantage of being in New Orleans…and it is a bit excessive…how about hanging out at loyola?..the student body is more diverse and a lot of them are locals that can show you a different side of New Orleans than the “Tulane Bubble”…what’s wrong with ur state school?..its probably way more diverse than Tulane</p>
<p>The trick is finding the right people to hang out with. I’m a rising sophomore at Tulane and I felt the same way my first semester.</p>
<p>agreed, you just have to find your niche. i felt the same way freshman year but by the end of sophomore year i was really happy. i think it’s quite common, at any school. many of my friends/people i know had a really rough time making friends their first year or so at school, no matter where they went. hang in there!</p>
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<p>FWIW, I don’t really think that lack of diversity is one of Tulane’s biggest problems.</p>