<p>I have to commit to a college by May 1, and right now I am unsure of whether to send my deposit to Pitt or Tulane. I am wait-listed at Vanderbilt and will go there if accepted, but for now it is between these two.</p>
<p>At Pitt, I will already know plenty of people. It would also be significantly less expensive, even with a large scholarship at Tulane. I like the sports scene there, and the school spirit. The Cathedral of Learning is a great building and provides a very nice setting for learning. Of all the people I know who went there, none have had a complaint. I would probably be living in honors housing, which would be a bit of a hike down the hill to class. Also, when I visited, the campus seemed a bit too urban. I want access to a major city, but I prefer the campus to be isolated, like it is at Tulane and even more so at Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Tulane has a bit of a better reputation, but seems like a bit of a party school. I have heard plenty of complaints about Bruff Commons, and when I ate there, it did seem disorganized. I would also probably be living in honors housing at Tulane, though other housing options have been recommended to me. Sports at Tulane are pretty weak for Division I, and the football team is extremely out of place playing at the Superdome. New Orleans is a more interesting city than Pittsburgh, but Pitt has more programs in the city. NOLA is a great place for music, which is one of my primary interests, but not necessarily a deciding factor. I liked Tulane's campus and climate more than Pitt's.</p>
<p>I'd appreciate any help. Right now I am undecided for my major. Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m from PA. The costs with scholarships from each college would be about 27K for Tulane and 21K for Pitt.</p>
<p>All things being relatively equal, go with less expense.</p>
<p>If college athletics are important, you’ll never get that experience back. Ties to college teams are made at the undergrad level and are a lot of fun to retain through out your life as an alumni. You can always go to schools without good sports for grad school, where there won’t be as much time or interest in it among your peers at that point anyway. But it is always fun to be able to cheer for your school no matter where you are in life.</p>
<p>Honestly, the reputation of Tulane is negligible, or nonexistent, over Pitt, and it won’t mean a thing if you apply to any graduate programs. This year in US News, Tulane is #50, Pitt is number 58. The differences in the metrics that separate them are minute. There are other rankings that have Pitt higher. In the [Times</a> Higher Education world rankings](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/top-400.html]Times”>World University Rankings 2011-12 | Times Higher Education (THE)) out of London (which is actually more familiar to the rest of the world outside the US), Pitt is 59th in the World and Tulane is 201st.</p>
<p>Pittsburgh has a decent music scene, and although it can’t compare to NOLA, it is still a major city. Pitt itself does host one of the best annual [jazz</a> seminars](<a href=“http://www.pitt.edu/~pittjazz/seminar.html]jazz”>http://www.pitt.edu/~pittjazz/seminar.html) in the country (assuming Jazz is your thing if you are interested in NOLA). And yes, Pitt is more urban, but it is also adjacent to one of the [largest</a> urban parks](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenley_Park]largest”>Schenley Park - Wikipedia) in the country, so it is easy to escape that urban feel few for a few hours. Also being adjacent to another major university is a plus for music and other events, etc, as is being close to a lot of music venues.</p>
<p>Tulane and Pitt are both excellent schools and there is really no bad choice here. But with things being relatively equal, like I said, I’d take the $24,000 in savings over the four years of your college.</p>
<p>wgcmp101, thanks a lot for that post. My parents are leaning towards Tulane, but much of what you said means more to me than it does to them in this decision. This is going to be a very difficult decision.</p>
<p>This is sort of picky, but you like the climate of New Orleans better? I’ve lived in Louisiana for pretty much my whole life, the weather here is pretty bad actually. Really unpredictable and usually pretty humid/sticky/etc. There aren’t really 4 seasons, it’s either really hot, kinda hot, or kinda cold.
The area around Tulane is also really dangerous. I hear about robberies, attacks, etc. all the time there. New Orleans is pretty crime ridden.
Hope i helped</p>
<p>louisvuittonbaby- Having lived in Pennsylvania my whole life, I’m tired of really cold winters. Considering I wouldn’t be spending much of summer in New Orleans, for the most part I would be experiencing the more pleasant times of year, temperature-wise. I don’t mind the rain. Also, during my visit to Tulane, they said it was reputed as one of the country’s safest campuses, and the Garden District did not seem like one of the more dangerous parts of town.</p>
<p>My impression of Tulane is that it has a more defined campus than Pitt and that the Garden District is safe, but that New Orleans generally has a lot of crime. My cousin went to Tulane and loved it, but he was an artsy kid escaping a small town in the South so it was paradise for him to explore his literary aspirations there. He could not have cared less about sports and was oblivious to the fraternity/sorority culture there.</p>
<p>Sounds like you have several great options!</p>