<p>I am seriously considering applying to Tulane next year. What do you guys think some of the major pros and cons of going to Tulane?</p>
<p>Itâs been my experience that many aspects I considered âprosâ were considered âconsâ by other people. For example, I considered âa no handholding place and the most geographically diverse university in Americaâ to be a major plus. Others saw the result of that âproâ to be a negative ⊠to wit âquite a few kids transfer to more supportive schools or to schools closer to home.â</p>
<p>So, itâs kind of hard to provide a definitive answer to your question without knowing what youâre looking for in a school.</p>
<p>Iâm from New Orleans, so Iâm kind of biased. Tulane is in a beautiful part of New Orleans, gives away a lot of merit scholarship money and has an awesome community service component as part of its curriculum. It was a safety school for my daughter, but I would have had no problem had she chosen to stay home and go there.</p>
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<p>I agree with New Hope that pros and cons are subjective terms. Most people love going to school in New Orleans, but some hate it. As far as pros (and granted some of these are a bit whimsical) there was a thread about the best things about Tulane that might give you a flavor. Note how linked Tulane and New Orleans are. It is fairly unique in that regard.</p>
<p><a href=âhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/687971-101-reasons-attend-tulane-university.html[/url]â>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/687971-101-reasons-attend-tulane-university.html</a></p>
<p>As far as cons, besides what has alredy been mentioned, well⊠OK I am too biased. Hmmm⊠Well, the football team isnât too good, neither is the basketball team (mens). Like any school, there are a few departments that probably could be stronger, although looking at the big picture compared to ALL other universities Tulane is very strong. But there are schools that have more competitive admissions and that are stronger in certain areas. I would say, though, that you even have to be careful about that. While some schools might be world famous in certain areas, it is because they have high level researchers or world reknowned authorties that actually do very little teaching, and in general the emphasis is on the graduate programs, not the undergrads. A huge pro for Tulane is that is is extremely undergraduate focused, while still doing research at very high levels (often world class) in almost all academic areas.</p>
<p>In the end, you have to visit for 2-3 days, go to classes, talk with students and profs (they are very approachable), and stay in the dorms a night or 2. Then you will know if Tulane is right for you.</p>
<p>Pros: professors are extremely accessible and mostly interesting; small class size allows for class discussion and participation - not just lecture; kids are very warm and welcoming - and intelligent; campus is manageable in size; tutoring and counseling is readily available if needed; environment is academically competitive but not cut-throat; the âchange the worldâ culture is sincere; the school is not static - it is constantly improving itself; New Orleans is fun
Cons: right now the whole campus is flooded (building a city below sea level probably wasnât such a good idea); as in any urban school you need to be concerned with safety; so many more girls than boys; not close to any major job centers so most opportunities are out of state; not that highly ranked, but improving</p>
<p>Pros:
-Great food, nightlife, festivals (jazzfest, freret mkt, po-boy fest, voodoo fest, ect.)
-Mardi Gras
-Certain programs are among the best in the world:latin american studies and finance are among the most notable. I have two finance degrees from TU and canât begin to express how well known Tulane is for its Finance program specifically and how much it has helped me in my career.
-Extremely Geographically diverse (this can be a con) 75% are from 500+ miles away
-No bitter cold, ever. </p>
<p>Con:
-Your friends from undergrad end up all over, which is nice in that you will end up with a place to stay in every major city in the US and a lot of cities around the globe but bad in that many will end up living/working far away. You wouldnât have this problem at a state or highly regional school.
-Football-wise, TU struggles because it doesnât reduce standards for athletes like other top schools do.
-Not the most school spirit for the Football team for this reason. TU has school spirit mind you, just for football itâs not at the level of a Vandy. Football is helpful in building alumni/networking events which is why I bring it up.
-It does rain a lot in New Orleans.
-Hurricanes cause evacuations but you have no real threat from harm or damage. âKatrinaâ damage was due to failed levees which have been rebuilt and reinforced. Donât worry about that.
-While Tulane does have enormous appeal to recruiters from all over, getting them to fly to New Orleans where theyâd only be able to talk to a school with 7000 kids isnât worth it to some firms. They can go to Boston and hit up way more schools with way more kids more easily. Ibanks and such do come down here, just not in droves.<br>
-Too much to do. There may be too many distractions at certain times of the year with Mardi Gras and Jazzfest to name a few but with some discipline youâll be fine.</p>
<p>Best of Luck and PM me if you want any specifics!!</p>
<p>Also, one more note about recruiters is important. Just because not everyone wants to fly down to Louisiana for recruiting doesnât mean that TU has no recruitment events in other cities. The business school for one has Networking/Recruiting Events in Houston and NYC annually. They may have more that Iâm not aware of but those two alone help a bunch for kids looking to work in NYC and TX.</p>
<p>LOL, bff. I was with you until the last point. You know I am going to comment about the ranking remark. Maybe you meant to say ânot as highly ranked as it should beâ. Even if you put stock in the USNWR rankings (and no one should, butâŠ) 50 is not actually that bad. But I will point out in brief, since I have made all the long arguments elsewhere, that if you went just by test scores Tulane would be aroung 30th, maybe as high as 28th. The other criteria are either subjective or self-reported. Even the test scores are inflated at schools that donât require standardized test scores, because it has been discovered that the kids that donât report them are the ones that score lower (duh!). When they have gone back and gotten all the test scores from these schools, they find that the reported âaveragesâ were inflated anywhere from 20-50 points by this effect. Just goes to show how worthless it all is. Tulane does require test scores, btw, so the averages are accurate.</p>
<p>Which programs would you consider the strongest? The weakest?</p>
<p>This is always a very hard question to answer, because few people are familiar with all the programs. Having said that, I know Tulane is considered very strong in Latin American Studies, Poli Sci and Political Economics, English and Creative Writing, certain areas of Music, and I think bio and chem are strong but in the very specific sense that it is very easy for undergrads to start doing very good research (not just washing lab ware) early. It can be a great experience. I have heard Philosophy is pretty well thought of too, but I donât know as much about that. Oh, and Finance, as has been said. Tulane has a large Anthropology department and I am always reading stuff about it, so I think it might be pretty highly thought of too, but I am sure there are many people that can offer a better opinion on that than I can. In Engineering, the Biomedical department has an outstanding reputation. Anyone want to weigh in on History?</p>
<p>People never really talk about the weakest, and being the kind of school it is Tulane is pretty strong overall, especially as concerns an undergraduate education. That is an important distinction. The Chem and Physics departments, for example, are not at a national level for grad level research (which is not to say it is bad, it isnât at all), but the commitment to undergrad teaching is very strong. Some of the other departments I mentioned are considered very strong for grad level work as well as undergrad. Like any university, some profs are far more interesting lecturers than others. But all these people are highly competent for undergraduate education, so unless you are going to get into something super deep before grad school, you really wouldnât see the difference between Tulane and another school anyway, when it comes to the profs. Far more important is the quality of your fellow students. That is what makes the difference at the undergraduate level, mostly.</p>
<p>How are the sciences at Tulane? CS dept?</p>
<p>I am a parent.</p>
<p>Having been a chemistry major at Tulane (was some time ago of course, but I have kept up with this and other areas of science at Tulane), I feel that the undergraduate science eduacation is very strong. I was accepted to a top 10 grad school program after finishing at Tulane. Even though my career went in a different direction, I am still in the field of chemistry and I have found that my knowledge of chemistry based mainly on my uindergraduate years has proven to be on par with or better than that received by people having graduated from âmore prestigiousâ universities. I said above, and will reiterate here, that there is a huge difference in comparing graduate programs and undergraduate ones. Tulane is not considered a top school for getting a PhD in chemistry or physics (I cannot speak for biology as much), but, like so much of the Tulane experience, it is excellent for undergraduates, with hands-on research opportunities being extremely accessable. The professors almost to a person are very welcoming to interaction with undergraduates, which I can tell you from experience makes them quite different from most of their colleagues at universities with high intensity graduate programs.</p>
<p>If CS is computer science, I do not know anything about this area for Tulane.</p>
<p>âHow are the sciences at Tulane?â</p>
<p>Would you consider MCAT scores a proxy for science education? If so, Tulane sciences are very good.</p>
<p>My main concern is the Math and Physics dept., since they do not have computer science major.</p>
<p>Someone more knowledgeable about the TU math and physics departments should jump in and offer an educated response to your question, pixeljig, but Iâd just like to say that one of my suitemates is a math and physics double major. She chose Tulaneâs DHS over Harvard, and she happened to mention to me today (while I was complaining about my workload) that she doesnât mind the work because she loves ALL of her classes.</p>
<p>^^ That is so good to hear!</p>
<p>Both of these areas require graduate degrees if the goal is to make a career in those fields. If the goal instead is to major in these areas because he enjoys them (which is the best reason, too!) but is thinking he might go on in medicine, law, or something else, or is just undecided, Tulane will prepare him well. They have a full scope of course work that would prepare him for top grad schools, if that is what he wants and he does well.</p>
<p>Being in New Orleans, how is the party and nightlife? I like to dance and get my groove on, but Iâm not into all the beer kegs and greek parties like most traditional colleges have.</p>
<p>Is there a lot of that on campus?</p>
<p>The fraternities are all on Broadway, off campus. Iâd suggest just not going over there if you donât want to partake. Also, Broadway is not a place to walk alone, either. Not that it is a ghetto. It is just a target area for thieves. </p>
<p>As for music, the Hi-Ho Lounge is a great venue. My nephews are both in bands, and I have gone often to see them. Not too crowded, very cheap cover, maybe five bucks, and youâll see a few bands, not just one. Something for every taste. </p>
<p>McAllister usually hosts many bands, though, so keep an eye and ear out for their schedule. You will see some name acts there.</p>
<p>Another venue is the Circle Lounge, or something similar, and the Dragonâs Den. Again, local bands, good music, not too expensive to get in.</p>
<p>Mid-City is a great area to check out. There are many local bars that offer live music. There are some on Banks Street. Thereâs a bar called Finn McCoolâs thatâs always active. Seems to be an Irish bar, by the name and emblem. I believe Banks Street Bar, not sure of the name, on the other side of Carrollton, has live music as well.</p>
<p>If you âlike to get your groove onâ, you will definitely have a good time in New Orleans. </p>
<p>Pick up a copy of Gambit, a free newspaper. It may give you some ideas. </p>
<p>There are also many postings on telephone poles advertising concerts, so keep an eye open.</p>
<p>Pros: Weather, diversity, Mardi Gras, Jazzfest, professors are accessible and very good.
Cons: Crime is considerable. I knew a girl who was raped and a boy whose apt. was robbed the day he moved in. There is precious little campus housing, so youâre forced to look off-campus, along with everybody else. With the destruction from the hurricane, housing may be scarcer than ever and could present a major obstacle.</p>