<p>Could someone please comment on exactly what the social scene is at Tulane? And exactly what role partying plays in it? From what I've heard, it's non-stop partying and getting drunk. I'm very concerned about this. I'm not against drinking and partying, but it's very important to me that I'm not the only person who wants to do something besides get drunk every night! Any help is greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>Definitely not my thing either! I’m not a student there yet but I’ve had multiple people tell me that partying isn’t any bigger here than at other schools. Of course it’s there for those who want it but there’s plenty of other stuff to do.</p>
<p>
This has been discussed many times in this forum, so I won’t go through it all again. In short, absolutely not true. There are many students that prefer not to drink at all, and quite a few that handle it in moderation. In total there are far more students that don’t drink to excess than do. The ones that do are just far more noticeable, and with the generally moderate weather you see it more rather than behind closed doors like at schools in the north. Bottom line, Tulane is no different than most colleges, and offers a lot more alternatives than schools in more rural areas.</p>
<p>No worries, there is a social group for every taste.</p>
<p>OP said: “From what I’ve heard, it’s non-stop partying and getting drunk. I’m very concerned about this”</p>
<p>My concerns and comments: who does not like partying?..anyhow how any kids doing non-stop partying and getting drunk could maintain high GPA?</p>
<p>My son is doing BME and just to grad you have to maintain high GPA…no, I am not talking 3.0 or 3.1 or even 3.2 cumulative…but 3.4.</p>
<p>If the GPA is lower than 3.4 Cumulative then if you want to go grad school in BME, you will be doing lots of lobbying.</p>
<p>Since BME requires such high GPA then my son has been studying like super-duper hard. When will he have time for partying and getting drunk?..</p>
<p>Tulane is not easy as ABC kinda college. You will be competing with best of the best. In fact, I have heard the expression that Tulane is Harvard in the South…</p>
<p>Therefore if you dont focus and really study hard then the weed-out system will get you one way or another.</p>
<p>So, will you party and getting drunk at Tulane?..perhaps only on week-ends, spring break, winter break?..I have no idea since my Son does not do parties, etc…his life outside BME is with church group. Yes, there are kids also very active in religious things.</p>
<p>Life is good and you dont need parties and getting drunk. Just my two cents aint worth a dime.</p>
<p>I’ve heard people say that there’s a lot of partying which did sort of worry me too, but when I stayed overnight with a student she said it’s not true. She stayed in Monroe, and while there are parties and people do go out, there’s still a good amount of people who would just stay in and watch movies in the common room instead. She also said that the first few weeks is when freshmen will go out the most and then after partying constantly for a few weekends, they calm down a bit. Just from visiting, I could tell that there’s such a diverse group of people there that yes, there are the people who party a lot but then there’s people who don’t party at all.
Along with that, the weekend I visited I talked to a lot of future classmates and people seemed to think like me, that they would want to go out and stay in sometimes to just hangout!</p>
<p>That sums it up exactly Stephanie, except to add that in New Orleans “going out” presents a wide range of activities, both on campus and off, that don’t have to involve drinking. Some are like any what any sizable city would offer, and some are more unique to New Orleans. One just has to look at the local websites to see what is happening.</p>
<p>Paste from a prior thread.</p>
<p>Although you might think you are nuts to send your kid to a school that has a Mardi Gras break, there are some aspects of TU that make it less worry-some to me in regard to partying:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There’s little student driving at urban TU. Riding drunk in taxis or the streetcar is a lot less dangerous than drunken driving. </p></li>
<li><p>Nola has pretty laid back alcohol enforcement in bars and clubs. Which means your TU kid is more likely than elsewhere to drink in a public house. That’s a good thing imo. Clubs have bartenders measuring out the drinks and sober security guards in attendance. Also more expensive to drink in a bar. I think it is more dangerous for a kid to do his underage drinking in a frat house or “pre-gaming” vodka in a dorm room. More chance for a kid to learn how to drink socially/moderately I think. </p></li>
<li><p>Nola has more things to do, so there’s alternatives to getting wasted at a kegger again and again. My kid will often stay out really late on weekends, but that’s often because of a band or concert or festival (which may/may not involve few drinks). </p></li>
<li><p>The kids at TU (many of them on scholarship) generally have to work pretty hard.</p></li>
<li><p>Because of its party central city, TU has a serious but realistic/practical approach to student drinking. They try to keep the kids safe and learn to party responsibly, and don’t go out of their way to mess up kids’ disciplinary records for drinking violations. I also agree with TU’s sterner focus on drugs than alcohol. While drugs and booze are both dangerous, I think the drugs are more dangerous to the kids.</p></li>
<li><p>TU has a relatively low key sports and fraternity scene.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>All in all, I worry less about my kid at TU than I would at a small, rural, cold-weather, frat-heavy college.</p>
<p>It’s college, it’s New Orleans… but it’s also Tulane.</p>
<p>Students who drink non-stop don’t come back sophomore year. I’ve seen it happen personally. Can you go out and have fun? Absolutely. Life isn’t entirely about Academics. It’s college. People have fun.</p>
<p>But people put their school first for the most part. It’s an individual decision every college student on every college campus will make. </p>
<p>I’m not a hardcore partier and I’m having quite a fun time myself. When my studies permit, I’ll go out to the bars etc. That’s what makes Tulane great tbh – it allows you to grow up and really decide what balance you want.</p>