<p>I've been looking at the school website and the all the discussion posts here with increasing interest over the past few months. From the information I've gleaned this way, it seems like a great school for me--my scores are high enough to get a decent amount of merit aid, but not so high that I wouldn't find it a good intellectual fit, it's a good size, the campus looks beautiful, and I think I'd love New Orleans. However, Tulane's sort of different from all the other places I've been looking at, which are mostly small liberal arts colleges in New England and the West. Not to mention that I've never spent any significant amount of time in the South, let alone New Orleans. And though I'm quite interested in applying, I won't be able to see the school for almost a year, assuming I get accepted.
To those of you who have visited or are attending Tulane: What were your first impressions? If you came from far away (like me), was there anything important that you hadn't realized about the school/area? Is there anything else you can tell me?
Thanks so much.</p>
<p>I am answering as a parent so my response may not be relevant. I hadn’t realized that New Orleans is so much bigger and better than the French Quarter. The neighborhoods are interesting and quirky and almost all have some great restaurants/bars. Tulane is located uptown, across the street from a great park and feels more suburban–really more quietly urban, if that makes sense–than the downtown neighborhoods. I also didn’t realize until D1 (and now D2) landed there that going out just wasn’t that expensive compared to other great cities.</p>
<p>Also responding as a parent, but for me the responses from students when I asked how they like Tulane were consistently “I love it here”. Not “it’s ok” or even “I like it.” Every student I spoke to was passionate about the school and about the city. My son sat in on a class and that was all he needed to be 100% convinced about Tulane. He said the kids were so engaged and wanted to learn. (High school is more of a captive audience ;)</p>
<p>We also fell in love with New Orleans. We’re from NY and I can tell you it doesn’t really feel like “the South”. It’s about as close as you can get to being in another country without leaving the US. So culturally rich on every level…food, music, language, art…I’m envious that my son gets to live there for four years!</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>