I am a prospective student for Tulane and was wondering about the student life. I received a large amount of merit aid and will be in the honors college. I know that partying is huge there, but is it necessary? In high school, I have not been part of the partying scene and prefer smaller group settings. I would like to go out on the weekends sometimes, but am concerned about not being able to find anyone still on campus if I stayed in. Are there enough people like me to make friends?
Also, I visited Tulane and there was such little diversity. Coming from one of the most diverse schools in the nation, it wasn’t something I was used to at all (I am white). Does anyone ever feel like there is something lacking at the school because of its total lack or diversity?
Last question is about environmental science. I am thinking about majoring in that. Does anyone what that program’s reputation is?
Partying: My D who just graduated recently was not a “partier”. She certainly went out with friends; dinner, theater, movies, concerts, or just hanging and playing games with these friends. There are always a large number of people in each class that are not there to drink themselves silly every weekend. You just have to find them. Just on CC there are always a dozen or so posts like yours every year. You people just need to find each other. I continue to say there needs to be a “People that don’t want to wildly party and are not ashamed of that” club. Then it would be easier to organize fun things like I mention above, or just hang out. But even without such a club, you just have to make a small effort to introduce yourself to like minded people. They are generally fairly easy to find.
Diversity: “Total lack” is a bit of an exaggeration, as Tulane does participate in the Posse Foundation programs from Los Angeles and from NOLA. It also has about a 7% Hispanic population. But it would be disingenuous to pretend that Tulane is very diverse, at least as far as race. 75% of the students self-identify as white. A somewhat balancing factor, possibly, is that many Tulane students are very involved in the New Orleans community, which is quite diverse. As to whether current students feel like that situation affects anything they feel about their experience at Tulane, only they can say.
As far as I know Tulane as a pretty good environmental science presence. I know they are very involved with the protection of the Gulf Coast/Louisiana Bayous environments and with the impact and clean-up from the BP oil spill, which is an ongoing effort. Tulane continues to receive funding for these studies of the impact of the spill, as well as for many other projects. There is also a major facility being built devoted to this area down on the waterfront, near the New Orleans Convention Center. http://tulane.edu/projects/rccenter.cfm But for real details about what is available to you as an undergraduate, I would write directly to Nick Altiero (altiero@tulane.edu), the dean of the School of Science and Engineering. He might refer you to a particular professor, but that is how I would start. Tulane professors in general, and Dean Altiero in particular, are happy to hear from prospective students and answer their questions, so don’t be shy about it. Ask whatever is on your mind. As long as he is in town, he will usually answer very quickly.
@fallenchemist Thank you so much for your response! I’ll consider the above information when it’s time to make my decision.