Money is not an issue for me. I really want to attend TU because of its great science department and it would best prepare me for med school, but I am afraid of not fitting in as a Muslim Arab. I do not want to be surrounded by the party nature and hookup culture of Tulane (I’ve seen it happen on campus). I was thinking of attending LSU then transferring to Tulane my last two years, but I heard that transfers are not always guaranteed and the courses are not as rigorous at LSU, so they may not count? Does anyone have any information about this? Also, if I go to tulane and find myself very uncomfortable, transferring “down” to LSU would ruin my chances for med school. Any advice?
ACT:28
GPA:4.7 (weighted) all Honors and IB courses
Medical schools want a high overall GPA, a high science GPA, high MCAT scores and a medically related EC to demonstrate that you might know what you are getting yourself into. Also, you can major in anything you want. While Tulane is a great school, please note I did not include that medical schools only want students from the highest rated colleges. Pre-medical course work is essentially the same wherever you go. If you do well at LSU, you should be fine. While I cannot comment on the cultural differences between LSU and Tulane, I suspect you will find a group of friends that share your values wherever you attend. Good luck!
Personally, I think your starting premise about Tulane is completely false. There is just as huge a party and hookup culture at LSU, if not bigger. After all, the academic stats on average at LSU are far lower than at Tulane. The key at Tulane will be to find the large group of people that are not into drinking and partying (and there are many, many of these at Tulane) and simply be a nice, accepting, social person who can enjoy their company. If you come off judgmental, then you will have issues at either school. If they seem judgmental of you, then they need to be educated. In other words, don’t go in looking for an argument or a fight. Give them the benefit of the doubt starting out.
Of course you will be “surrounded” by the party culture to some extent. Again, that would be the same at virtually any college. Just find your group that shares your interests in doing things other than drinking and hooking up and you should have a wonderful career at Tulane. You can also immerse yourself in a variety of service activities.
If you are really that concerned about the culture of Tulane then I would go to LSU. Personally, I would go with the school where there are lots of northeasterners who feel social pressure to be liberal and accepting of people from diverse backgrounds (that would be Tulane), but that’s just me. Trust your gut. You’ll get into med school if you do well at either school. All the best.