<p>I toured Tulane last Spring and fell in love with the campus, New Orleans, everything. I would love to go to Tulane, but have two concerns: </p>
<p>I know that Tulane has a rep for being a huge party school. Just how much/ how often do students party? I have never drank, done drugs, or partied in my life, and am worried that if the nightlife is too extreme it will be overwhelming for me or even maybe give me some anxiety. Does anyone know if there are nice cool people at Tulane who don't party/ don't party all the time? I do want to party sometimes, but not at such an extreme. </p>
<p>Similarly, I worry that I would not fit in with the types of students who go to Tulane. It's a shame because I am extremely in love with the school itself. Can anyone give a few words about the average types of students at Tulane? At least five people shook their heads and warned me how jappy Tulane is when I told them that I am highly interested in it; it has that reputation where I'm from. Thanks in advance! </p>
<p>Don’t worry about the party thing – at Tulane or, frankly, at any college. My Tulane kid partied a bit too much first semester, parties much less since then. My other kid went to a small rural conservative college for freshman year and partied like a crazy person. Now attends a big state U that (like Tulane) always makes the party school lists; totally loves the big school but doesn’t party much anymore. I will say that there are a lot of kids at Tulane who are pretty serious students and who need to maintain their academic scholarships to keep attending Tulane. So that size-able chunk of Tulane kids doesn’t have the option of being complete stoners.</p>
<p>On the JAP comment. Tulane statistically does have a large enrollment of J students – maybe like 25% or so. Which tends to correlate to the fact that Tulane gets a lot of students from NY and other parts of the northeast, as well as places like FL, IL, CA and TX. So the school is extremely diverse geographically – not nearly as southern as you might assume for a school in the deep south. </p>
<p>As for the P part, fwiw my kid trends more hippy than princess and loves Tulane. </p>
<p>When I first read the word “jappy,” I was shocked. I thought you meant Japanese students. Now I realize what you did mean, and I am still shocked. I understand you probably wouldn’t use the term if you thought it was racist or offensive, and probably people around you use it (I am curious where you’re from) - but to me, it IS very offensive. You’re referring to a spoiled materialistic person, but using the framework of Jewish people to describe them. Or are you specifically saying Jewish people are this way? Either way, I don’t like it. Sorry to criticize you here, but I decided I am not going to stand around passively when I hear these offensive things about Jews, or anyone. </p>
<p>To answer your question, tdragone, I know a few students who go to Tulane. One of them was placed in one of the big dorms known for partying, either Monroe or Sharp. He said the partying activity was over the top, and he was having a really hard time of it (this was last year, I believe). The other students I know there are new this year, and so far are very pleased with their dorms, their roommates, and their friends (none of whom seem to overdo the drinking, etc.). All of them were worried about the party reputation, but have met a lot of serious students who were similarly worried, and are not partiers! So I say, go to Tulane and help improve the sobriety quotient! They need you! Also, just investigate the character of each dorm, and try to choose one that has a calmer reputation.</p>
<p>As far as the bratty rich kid thing - most private colleges are overwhelmingly wealthy and white. There could be a sense of a ‘bubble of priviledge’ on any such campus. Public schools are often more diverse, economically and culturally. Tulane does emphasize service contribution, and in fact, it’s a graduation requirement, I’m pretty sure. So a lot of the students there are going to be very committed to the idea of generosity and altruism.</p>
<p>There are plenty of students who don’t party at all , my son being one of them. And from what I hear the constant partying thing grows old pretty quickly when you have papers due and tests to study for and presentations to prepare. There will still be those that party hard on the weekends but there is no way to be a constant partier and be successful at Tulane. You will find like minded people in your dorm, in the library, in clubs. And the same is going to hold true to just about any college . While there may be a % of students from wealthy families, there is also a large % of students who are not wealthy and on scholarship. </p>
<p>For future reference I would not use the term “jappy”, it’s rather offensive. I honestly have no idea why that is a factor when it comes to considering Tulane (or any college)??? Yes there are Jewish students at Tulane and ther are Christian and Muslim and many other religions. </p>
<p>Your college experience is what you make it. You decide when, if and how much you want to study, party, etc. Good luck, y son is loving Tulane!</p>
<p>College is what you make of it - part of becoming an adult is making choices. No one can make you go party if you don’t want to participate in that activity. Tulane is like any other college so there are people who party and people who don’t. Also just because people go out doesn’t mean they are drinking and such. A lot of people “party” by just going to the many different activities New Orleans offers - drinking is not required. </p>
<p>At first most seem to party because they are “free” of parents and in a city know for parties. It gets old fast and also you can’t party if you want to keep up your grades. Many people there are on scholarships so they have to maintain good grades if they want to keep their scholarship (which most need to attend).</p>
<p>The diversity (money, religious, ethnicity, etc) at Tulane is one of the reason we chose Tulane. It offers an opportunity to meet and experience new ideas and people whereas a lot of other universities don’t have this broad make-up of people. If you aren’t open to this type of environment then Tulane may not be a good fit for you. Go to the college that will fulfill both your degree requirements and where you will feel comfortable with the people and experiences the university offers. Set yourself up for success by not having any misgivings about the university before you even start there.</p>
<p>I don’t think the term is derogatory of Jews in general. It describes a certain humorous stereotype of American Jewish culture that has been lovingly engrained in the entertainment business by self-deprecating Jewish comedians to be pretty ubiquitous. Think of “The Nanny” or “Private Benjamin” or the self-centered materialistic culture that “Baby” in “Dirty Dancing” was trying to rebel against. </p>
<p>The history of the rise of Jews in America, though mostly successful, was not without it’s unintended side-effects, and the “princess” syndrome was created when husbands and fathers with new money doted lots of fine jewelery on their wives and daughters, etc. Over the last 40 years or so, many Jews have become self-conscious of the stereotype and have actively tried not to produce or be so-called JAPs. Nonetheless, it’s a funny smile-producing stereotype that many families apply to relatives and really shouldn’t be taken as derogatory to the Jewish people any more than the expression “Tiger Mom” should be viewed as derogatory to Asians in general. </p>
The original context, as a warning, leads me to believe that this was indeed intended as derogatory term. It might not always be offensive, but the term is best avoided unless you know your audience.</p>
<p>@NROTCgrad @dolphnlvr6 @hanaviolet I will briefly address my use of the word “jappy” now and will address everyone’s kind input of information and advice later. I did not mean anything against Jewish people. I am Jewish myself. Where I’m from in NY, the word is thrown around regularly to describe people who participate in a certain type of social scene. There are people who are not even Jewish who act “jappy” and are called so. There are people who are not religiously Jewish who are called so as well. It is not as much of a racist term where I’m from as much as it describes a behavior, just like what @ClassicRockerDad said. The reason it was used as a warning to me is because I am not part of this type of social scene, as I previously mentioned, and am prone to social anxiety. I apologize for my use of the word and for any miscommunications; I should have thought more carefully. </p>
<p>tdragone, my D is a freshman at Tulane and she mentioned that the first time the entire class was together she was a bit overwhelmed. She didn’t realize how many people 1600 really is. With those 1600 students you will find like-minded groups of kids. And, while 1600 freshman seems like an awful big number, it is amazing to see how many she has met and friended in a weeks time. Whether you are at Tulane or elsewhere you have to be open to meeting all kinds of kids.</p>
<p>@tdragone, your apology is accepted (at least by me) and I can cut you some slack because you are just starting out your adult life. I used to use the same term that you used, and I completely understand the tongue in cheek nature with which you perceive and use it. However, unfortunately, you will find that there are people out there with intentions that are not so tongue and cheek who will seize upon the implicit permission you give them to use that word – and indeed that perception and stereotype – in order to justify and promote true anti-semitism. There are enough problems on campuses all over the country with people hiding behind criticism of Israel in order to promote implicit anti-semitism. Let’s not give them even more terminology and stereotypes to do so. The word is best avoided.</p>