<p>My D and I just got back from a wonderful visit to Tulane and New Orleans. I apologize in advance for the length of this novel but I wanted to share everything we learned. Let me first start off by saying she probably is one of the typical applicants that didn't know much about the school other than the fine reputation (probably through me - although I'm not sure if she was listening), filled out the application since it was easy and free, but if you asked her which schools were in her top 5, Tulane was not one of them. She wanted a rah rah school like Clemson or UGA or even to be near the beach at the College of Charleston. Fast forward to the spring...none of her top choices gave her any money with her acceptance letters, making them not good options for our family, suddenly pushing Tulane to the top 3 since she got a very nice merit scholarship and financial aid money to boot. She was very nervous to visit Tulane because it was her last school visit and she was hoping she'd really love it. She had not heard the hallelujah chorus anywhere else up to this point and was afraid that whatever Tulane was like, she'd be talking herself into it because where else would she go?</p>
<p>We arrived at DT too late for the intro and tour but just in time for the student panel. We really didn't know what to expect in terms of the look of the campus since you just see academic buildings on the website and grassy quads. We were very pleasantly surprised how beautiful and lush it was and how much character the buildings had. Based on things we'd read and heard, we were unsure about how the student panel would go, but we got some refreshments and went inside the LBC. If you looked at the panel, you wouldn't have thought they were very diverse - 4 white kids, 3 girls, 1 boy, all 4 in the Greek system, 2 in the same sorority - but surprisingly they all had very different stories to share about their experiences - academically, socially, culturally, as well as related to study abroad and community service. And all were from different parts of the country. One of the girls was even a transfer student and another admitted that Tulane was not her first choice - Vanderbilt was but she had gotten wait listed and was crushed. She eventually got in but decided to stay the Tulane route and has never regretted that decision. They had several things in common: all were very enthusiastic, absolutely LOVED their school, smiled a lot, talked at length about all of the vast intellectual, cultural and social experiences they had there that they didn't think they would have had elsewhere. And when asked by someone in the audience, they mentioned the schools they turned down which included Emory, Duke, Vandy, Wash U, UNC, UVA, Univ of Wisconsin and others.</p>
<p>Our next stop was Bruff for lunch. Apparently not all the DT groups go there, just depends on the size. I guess we were small enough. My daughter had a buffalo chicken wrap and a very fresh-looking salad which was delicious and tasted like what you'd get anywhere. I got a paella with portabella mushrooms with cream sauce which was so good I could have gone back and gotten another. :) When we first arrived, DT guide mentioned something about checking out the food behind "the wall." We totally misunderstood and didn't realize until we were leaving that there were other cook-to-order stations which seemed to include pasta. We learned from students that it can get repetitive but the food is still good. I had no complaints and liked the fresh options I saw - great salad bar and lots of non-fried options. They also have local food certain days of the week like fried chicken and red beans and rice. </p>
<p>At lunch, there were faculty, advisors and students who joined us. My D wants to go into pediatric physical therapy so she was very interested in speaking with the pre-health advisor. I believe this woman, who was very interesting, also taught a gross anatomy class which my D will have to take. She informed us that there are only 2 schools in the country where undergraduates can dissect a cadaver. Most only get to do on a graduate level but Tulane is one where you can experience this an an undergrad. My D thought that was awesome! (She didn't tell us the other school but after some searching online at home it appears to be University of Wisconsin).</p>
<p>After lunch there were several optional things we could take advantage of. We decided to take a tour of the one residence call - Patterson. It's a model room, not a "real" room but was actually very nice and the common area was just beautiful. Anything above the second floor has a balcony which is a very nice feature. When approaching the building, it looked like a motel with doors on the outside when in actuality those were the "back doors" that open to a common patio on the floor. My daughter actually really liked this dorm. It was very clean and even though we were on a "boy" floor, it didn't smell. (Sorry boys - most do. lol) Our understanding of the wellness component is this - they do programming that's related to healthy living like yoga classes and go kayaking together. Students who live here can't drink or smoke in the building but that is the case for all the dorms on campus. We were not told of any paper that needed to be signed indicating that the student would not drink or smoke period, if they were a Patterson resident. We met a few kids - guys and girls - and they seemed "normal" not earthy/crunchy as some on CC have been concerned about but it was only 3, so I'm not sure that is really representative of the whole place.</p>
<p>Students everywhere were VERY friendly and helpful, in fact many stopped cell phone conversations to help us figure out where we were going and in some instances actually lead the way and put their caller on hold, which amazed us. There was never an end to students who wanted to tell us why Tulane was so awesome and why my daughter should go. There was an unbelievable amount of school spirit - which my D so craved - that was apparent in the Tulane-wear and the way the kids talked about Tulane. This was huge for my D. Several students even saw her carrying her "I'm a prospective student" folder and shouted across the quad - "Come to Tulane! You'll love it!" </p>
<p>We were able to get ourselves into every dorm - not because they weren't secure but because we'd wait outside until a student came. My D would ask if they lived there and they offered to take us to their rooms and apologized for their mess in advance. Each front desk person needed to be told by the resident who we were and at JL (the all girls dorm) we had to leave our ID's. At Monroe, they used an passcard and a push button combination entry system to get in. Felt very secure and I believe other dorms are going this route. We learned that besides the NOLA police, the Tulane police, which are not rent-a-cops, patrol a 5 mile radius outside of the campus. Additionally, the Loyola police (the campus is so close I thought it was actually Tulane) also patrol a 5 mile radius which happens to include Tulane so the area is well covered. We didn't see police all over but we did feel very safe!</p>
<p>There was only one student who told us she didn't really like Tulane. She admitted she was definitely in the minority and mostly everyone loved it there. She just felt like a liberal arts environment was not good for her and took complete blame for not making a good decision for herself. She said over and over that she was just a little weird and the place was not really for her. She wanted more stimulating and higher level conversations in classrooms and didn't feel like that was what she was getting there. She was a Latin American studies major.</p>
<p>My D had an opportunity to sit in on a class which to her surprise, she really enjoyed. It was an upper level class about child psychology. All of the students were engaged and each one participated at least once or twice in the discussion. There were about 15 students. Afterward, we walked down Broadway and got a look at the Greek houses and other school group meeting places. My D thought it was especially funny to watch the SAE brothers (presumably pledges) raking the beer cans out of the bushes! That was her father's fraternity house. :)</p>
<p>Although many students drink, we heard from lots that there are so many other things readily available that it's easy to find fun elsewhere on campus. We continuously heard that all of the clubs, organizations and dorms have their own programming so there is always something to do at night. They compared it to universities in the middle of nowhere, where the only thing to do is drink...at Tulane not only do they have all the school activities (Crawfest last week, a fashion show on campus to benefit a non-profit, etc) but they also have all of the culture, the museums, Market St, the levee, Audubon Park, Audubon Zoo, Jazzfest, etc...so the kids are never bored. The sidewalks everywhere were marked with chalk, advertising various students events which my D loved and reminded her of a big university like University of Maryland. </p>
<p>Many kids echoed what I've been reading here about the French Quarter and Bourbon St. They don't go down too much because it's expensive and very touristy but when they do go, they go in large groups so it's fun. We did hear that the kids like to go the the levee for bbq's and to hang out. There are also several soccer fields there so it can be great fun.</p>
<p>We were fortunate to have arranged meetings with students who went there who were not affiliated with the "admissions program." It was great to get a first hand account of what life is like at Tulane and it pretty much echoed what we had been hearing all day. We asked these students as well as many others that wanted to talk with us (and there were alot) what their community service project was and they were all quite varied and interesting. We also got to see Audubon Park, the levee, and Magazine St through a student which was awesome and we enjoyed immensely. </p>
<p>Our male school friend from NJ talked about about school sports and how they were lacking but did say the baseball games are a lot of fun, the stadium is awesome and they tailgate in the parking lot. He also mentioned that the kids like to go the professional sport team games in the area but often times tickets are sparse and/or expensive. As a side note, he mentioned that some of his friends sold beer in the stadium and then were able to see the games for free which was awesome. He also mentioned that the last quarter/period of games, beer can't be sold so the kids would sit in the box seats and watch the end of the games.</p>
<p>Onto the food - dinner our first night was spent at a restaurant near campus where the kids go called Fresco's. The homemade soup was delicious and we split a portabella and chicken roll (which is sort of a crispy tortilla) which was excellent. We were too tired to get ourselves over to Jacques-Imo's for dinner so that will have to be on another trip. We took the street to our hotel which was the Maison St Charles. It was just fine and a really good recommendation although not super close to campus for those who want something closer. Was a 20 minute trolley ride - plus the wait for the trolley.</p>
<p>We went into the French Quarter after a short nap. I took my D to Bourban St. So she could experience it. She couldn't get over that adults were partying like New Years in the street and it was 10pm on a Tuesday night. We didn't see any kids. We made our way over to Cafe du Monde for a much needed beignet. It was to die for. Afterward we walked back to Canal to catch the street car. They don't run as frequently at night which was a bummer so we had to wait about 40 minutes but that was fine. We were out of the Quarter by midnight and the hotel ride back was only 15 minutes.</p>
<p>The next morning we took the street car to Camelia's for breakfast. We got there when they opened at 8am. It was awesome and the staff totally made our day. We tried the grits and our waiter added all sorts of stuff to it so we could try it the "authentic way." The whole group there was a hoot and could have been that turning point for my D. We left after taking photos with the staff and milkshakes in hand (yes at 8:30 in the morning.) They call them freezes. We had a black and white which was fantastic!</p>
<p>Since we had missed DT tour, we decided to go to the regular info session/prospective student applicant tour - so in essence we were with all the juniors. My D got to see the admission movie and hear all the questions that students ask when they are first starting out in the process. She missed this for most of her schools since they were all 12+ hours away and we only visited after she was accepted and only to those that gave her merit money. We heard the 23/24% acceptance rate for the 2014 class that others have reported on CC. Someone asked about the school's evacuation plan post-Katrina. The admissions counselor informed us that the evacuation plan was actually in affect when Katrina happened, in fact it was the first day of orientation which, at the time, was right before school started. She said all students/parents have an evacuation plan that is to be signed where they need to indicate what the student will do in case of an emergency - fly home (students would be bused to an airport where flights could be obtained), go home with a "local" student who lives in an area our of danger (ie Houston), or be bused to a safe area with the other students and stay overnight in a gymnasium/enclosed stadium. They have evacuated the campus twice since Katrina and the students came right back 2 days later. The students affectionately call these evacuations a "hurrication."</p>
<p>Our tour guide was fantastic and helped solidify what my D was thinking. She really loved this school and wasn't talking herself into it!! We had lunch on Magazine St. We got off the street car at Louisiana and walked a few blocks with a friend from home and he showed us around. The restaurant was called Raini and it was really great! I had a crawfish/shrimp/creole sub (although it wasn't called a sub) so I could experience a bit of New Orelans and it was delicious. At the end of the day, we made a b-line to the admissions office and cheerfully put down our deposit right there at Gibson Hall!</p>
<p>My D is excited to now be a part of the 2014 Class at Tulane and cannot stop smiling. I think we also now own half of the bookstore's apparel! (Really great bookstore, by the way.) I cannot recommend more highly to come see the school for yourself. I had heard from so many uniformed people that we should stay away and that New Orleans is a dump and to never send your kid there. I'm so glad we didn't listen! While that might be true in some areas, it certainly was not the case in any of the areas we had seen or near campus, and we were all over the place. </p>
<p>Thank you to all of the parents and students who helped us through this process. I cannot be more ecstatic that my D will be a student at Tulane this fall. It's truly a perfect fit for her in every way imaginable!</p>