Hello everyone! I recently committed to join Tulane’s Class of 2024, and couldn’t be more excited. In preparation for the next four years, I realized that I need to purchase a lot of new clothes for the New Orleans weather, which is far warmer and sunnier than the weather in my hometown! I figured I would come on here to ask for advice as to what female students wear both during the day and at night. If anyone has store recommendations, that would be incredible! I want to make sure that if I am going to spend my money on new clothes, that they will actually be put to good use and not stick out like a sore thumb! If you have any other advice about packing for Tulane/things to bring, I would love that too!
One more thing I wanted to seek advice about is inclusivity at Tulane. I am about 15-20 lbs overweight, so while not obese, my body type is more curvy/chubby. I eat healthy and work out regularly, but have some health issues that have caused my body to change in this way. I am deeply self-conscious about this, and am worried about being excluded in the social scene (including parties, Greek life, and dating) because of this. Many of the girls I have seen at Tulane are stick-thin, so I am nervous that my divergence from this body type will negatively impact me. For reference, I usually wear a size M, and occasionally an L.
Thank you so much for answering my personal questions! Roll wave!
Hi - mom of a sophomore here. I think you can see from the lack of responses that these are better questions for a student forum than one peopled mainly by parents or applicants. I will tell you I think there is a far healthier range of body types at Tulane than the high school my daughters went to where the rule was really reed thin. One of my was and the other was normal as I used to say:-) That one said after a few months in college that she was so surprised to find reed thin wasn’t the national norm:-) There are reed thin girls at Tulane of course but I think plenty of healthy weight in various body types too. Be yourself at Tulane and have fun! I hope you can find a student forum for your other questions.
Hey! I am actually in the class above you and would love to help you out if you still need advice! Just let me know 
There are two things to address: clothes for Southern weather and fashion in New Orleans/Tulane. The latter is pretty easy - if you are comfortable in it, wear it! Tulane and New Orleans itself are pretty laid back and eclectic… the vibe overall is just be yourself. So whatever you are wearing make certain it fits you well and that you feel comfortable and confident in it. Check out various Tulane posts on Instagram. Also check out the Tulane sorority posts; not only will you see the fashion but also the diversity of body types.
You already realize it’s warmer there, but also take into consideration the humidity. Tank tops and sleeveless are needed but if you are self conscious get a few light weight kimonos to throw over. Good rain gear - a must (Fall is hurricane season). Comfortable rain boots, a hooded waterproof jacket (doesn’t need to be trench coat length but best if it comes past your waist to mid thigh) and a compact umbrella that fits in your backpack. Comfortable shoes for walking campus and festivals and around New Orleans exploring. A few pairs of sneakers in different styles (they are worn with everything from shorts and a tee shirt to casual dresses), few pairs of cute flip flops or sandals and/or a pair of Birkenstocks (which ever style you like best - worth the investment!)
Also don’t go on a huge fashion shopping spree before… tons of cute boutique shops all around New Orleans and you might find your ‘style’ once you get there. Good luck!
Congratulations! My D is a freshman at Tulane and I can tell you when I went to help her pack up to move home a few weeks ago she realized she brought WAY too many clothes. I was packing some shorts that she has had since middle school and she said we could get rid of them as she never wore them once. I asked why she even brought them in the first place and she said just in case they were in style at Tulane. Basically she wanted to cover her bases and brought everything she owned! Turned out she wore almost the same few outfits the whole year, in fact there were jokes online about the “Tulane outfit” of jean shorts and white tops. When I would visit I would see kids in everything you can imagine - from leggings to jean shorts to cute dressier outfits to sweatpants - whatever you like should fit in!
If D was to make a packing list here is that I think she would put together: lots of jean shorts, lots of jeans, lots of simple tops for the day time (t shirts, tank tops) and cute “going out” shirts for the night (more dressy but not fancy if that makes any sense), leggings, sweatpants, lots of hoodies, 2-3 cute outfits (sundress, cute tops and bottoms - she wore these when they went to the Fly at sunset the first few weeks but then they tapered off doing that), a few bikinis (some people like to sunbathe on the quads if it is nice out, lots of fraternity parties seem to have bathing suits as the norm).
As for shoes the first thing she learned was that you should have a designated pair of leather (not canvas) sneakers if you are someone who likes to go to fraternity parties, they get very dirty and gross so you pick one pair and don’t have to worry about cleaning them. After that she would probably want to bring a few more sneakers, rain boots (she never wore them this year but most years there is a lot of rain and are necessary!), Doc Martin boots (another trend around campus, also useful for parties) and 1 or two pairs of cute shoes to wear if she ever wanted to get a little dressed up like in the sundresses at the Fly. She doesn’t love flip flops but brought a pair for the showers.
The only other thing I can think of is a light jacket. She didn’t bring any warm jackets thinking she would get them when she came home at Thanksgiving but it got colder earlier than she thought. Then again we are from Florida so she gets cold easily!