<p>Hi all, I'm currently a freshman living in Sharp and enrolled in the b-school. If you have any questions about Tulane, I would love to answer them! Or at least, I would love to try! </p>
<p>I can talk about housing, classes, scheduling, visiting, social life, Greek life, etc.</p>
<p>What was the deciding factor in choosing Tulane for you? When is the best time to visit?
Should we come on Destination Tulane dates?</p>
<p>Thanks for doing this! My daughter was recently accepted and is seriously considering attending. Here are my questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>What would you estimate is the ratio of students from private vs. public high schools?</li>
<li>Are most girls the friendly, down-to-earth type, or does it lean more toward cliquey and exclusive?</li>
<li>Do you feel your coursework is a lot of busy work, or truly interesting and engaging?</li>
<li>Do most people take their schoolwork very seriously, or skip a lot of classes until finals are upon them?</li>
<li>How hard is it to get the classes you want when you want them?</li>
<li>Do the current students generally feel the university is becoming over-crowded?</li>
<li>How many nights/wk does the average freshman party?</li>
</ol>
<p>It’s really nice of you to do this on your holiday break!</p>
<p>Thanks. How do you like Sharp? I am considering it.</p>
<p>Thanks for doing this. As a mom of a son who has been accepted, but who is planning a gap year for service work, do you think it will be hard for him to fit in b.c. he took a liitle bit of a non-traditional road before starting college.</p>
<p>2asmom:
What was the deciding factor in choosing Tulane for you?
I was one of those “when you know, you know” types of people when it came to choosing a college. I honestly just loved the school! There were a few factors that really made me want to commit, though. First, I loved the general atmosphere. At most comparative schools, you seem to have a strong competitive atmosphere but that’s not the case here. People are very studious and intelligent but not in a shove-it-in-your-face kind of way. It’s very laid back. And the students are very welcoming and accepting of just about everyone! Second, the business school is top notch. Not only the facilities, but the professors and the programs are hard to beat. Finally, New Orleans is just a great city! If you ever get bored on campus (which is rare), you have an entire city to explore! </p>
<p>When is the best time to visit?
I would recommend visiting on some of the in-between times. AKA, not for Mardi Gras or over a break. If you come for Mardi Gras then you won’t get an accurate depiction of what the school is like for the other 350 days of the year. And if you come over a break, you won’t get to see the campus in full swing! Other than that, I would say try to see what all is going on in the city! That way you can explore both Tulane and New Orleans!</p>
<p>Should we come on Destination Tulane dates?
I personally went to the Destination Tulane event and didn’t find it very helpful. But by that point I had already committed and visited several times. If you haven’t visited yet and are still thinking about it, then I would definitely recommend it!</p>
<p>nova2nola, I’m glad your daughter is thinking about Tulane! I wouldn’t bother taking the time to do this if I didn’t truly love the school!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What would you estimate is the ratio of students from private vs. public high schools?
I don’t know any of the actual statistics for this, but I can speak from experience. I would say half of my friends went to private schools and half public. Now that’s obviously not a quotable representation but that is what I’ve observed. </p></li>
<li><p>Are most girls the friendly, down-to-earth type, or does it lean more toward cliquey and exclusive?
I’ve hardly met any girls who were cliquey and exclusive. I mean there are a few exceptions but they’re very easy to ignore. Most of the girls are definitely friendly! You will find people that stick to their friends but are also very open to making new friends. It definitely does not have that “Mean Girls” type of atmosphere. Everyone just seems to get along really well. That sounds pretty cookie-cutter but if you spend just one weekend here you’ll find that this really is the case. </p></li>
<li><p>Do you feel your coursework is a lot of busy work, or truly interesting and engaging?
This depends on the class, really. My French class, for example, had only ten students and was always engaging. Every day we had to actively participate in French discussion and there was hardly a dull moment! My anthropology and TIDEs courses were the same way. For each class we had to do the assigned reading then the actual class was just a discussion, although we also had presentations and projects. We were tested on the reading material, films we watched in class, and the in-class discussions. Then for my larger classes, it was more of a lecture than discussion. My psychology class, which was actually one of my favorites, had about 150 students in it and yet the professor made the material feel personal and interesting. So I would ultimately say that the classes are engaging, rather than boring and impersonal. </p></li>
<li><p>Do most people take their schoolwork very seriously, or skip a lot of classes until finals are upon them?
This all depends on the person. I would say most people take their schoolwork very seriously but there are quite a few exceptions. Although, those people tend to not make it to graduation. To get an A at Tulane, you definitely have to work for it and you can’t mess around by skipping classes and not putting in the effort. But, like I said, it depends on the person and what they’re looking to get out of college.</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is it to get the classes you want when you want them?
This depends on your time slot. Try to get all of the AP credits you can because your time slot is based on how many credits you have. People with the latest time slot definitely seemed to have difficulty signing up but they arranged it eventually. If you do get stuck in that situation a lot of the professors will be willing to work something out. I, personally, had one of the middle time slots for freshmen and I had no problem scheduling. </p></li>
<li><p>Do the current students generally feel the university is becoming over-crowded?
We’ve all been worrying about housing for next year because it is rumored that they are tearing down one of the sophomore dorms in order to rebuild Bruff. This would cause a huge housing shortage for sophomores. We don’t know, however, the validity of these rumors. Other than that, I haven’t thought that it seemed over-crowded as far as classes or anything. </p></li>
<li><p>How many nights/wk does the average freshman party?
This also depends on the person. There are people at both ends of the spectrum. Some people go out every night while others don’t party at all. Then most people fall somewhere in-between there and go out Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday. It really depends on the person’s personal preference and workload. And people tend to respect you for whatever you decide to do. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Hugoblack, </p>
<p>I LOVE SHARP. </p>
<p>Sharp and Monroe are the social dorms. There really isn’t much difference between those as far as people. It just depends on your particular floor. My floor always goes out together and hangs out together. My best friends live on my floor. And any time I go anywhere I always see someone from my floor. There are always people in the common room and people tend to keep their doors open for people to come in. It’s very lively and a lot like a family. </p>
<p>I have to warn you, though, it’s usually pretty loud. If you want a quiet, study environment, Sharp probably isn’t your best bet. But it’s very easy to find other places to study or to just put on headphones and lock your door.</p>
<p>kelijake1987, </p>
<p>I don’t think that will be a problem at all! In fact, that might help him fit in! I know a few people that took gap years and they had no problem fitting in. It just gives them a lot of really awesome stories and a leg-up on applications! I think every person comes in with the “what if I don’t fit in fear” for any given reason but there are so many people from so many backgrounds he is bound to fit in with some group. I don’t think you need to worry about that! There are also a lot of community service organizations that he could get involved in like CACTUS or APO.</p>
<p>How many APs did you have to feel like you were in the middle?</p>
<p>Collegehopeful - thanks for your reply. Very informative! Interesting that scheduling is based on AP credits. Are honors students given any priority in scheduling? I’ve heard conflicting answers on this.</p>
<p>Wonderful service you are providing collegehopeful. Just wanted to fill in on a couple things.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My understanding is they are starting the building of the new dorm on Zimple Quad, near The Boot, very soon. I was under the impression that will be finished before they tear down Phelps, so housing capacity will not be affected. Then when the new dining hall is finished, it will also have dorm rooms so capacity will be increased. According to President Cowen, Tulane is going to increase housing capacity by over 1000 beds.</p>
<p>
This I can definitely answer. HP students are given priority coming in. They actually get to register when they come down for Honors Weekend in March/April, well before other freshmen in June/July. Even if they cannot travel to Honors Weekend, they can get their registration information from the Honors Program office and register online, working with an advisor by phone or e-mail if needed.</p>
<p>Now back to student programming.</p>
<p>amandasmom, </p>
<p>I should clarify! Scheduling is not directly based on AP credits. It is based on credit hours. So coming in with AP credits gives you more credit hours but if you take a larger course load then that also gives you a leg up. </p>
<p>I came in with two AP credits equal to 7 hours. Then I took 17.5 hours this semester. So I totaled at 24.5 hours. Some of my friends already had sophomore status when they came in and they were able to register a day or two earlier than me.</p>
<p>How big is greek life on campus? Tulane is really the only non-SEC school I’m looking at and greek life is huge on those campuses. I like that. I know it won’t be as big at Tulane but is there still some representation?</p>
<p>1) I know there is a sizable Jewish pop at Tulane, but other than that how big is diversity at Tulane? When I visited, the student body seemed to be pretty homogeneous when it comes to racial diversity, but hopefully I am mistaken on this…</p>
<p>2) How preppy is Tulane? </p>
<p>3) What do kids who aren’t into Greek life typically do on weekends? How dominant is the Greek system on campus (particularly for girls)?</p>
<p>4) How would you rate intellectual activity on campus (outside of the classroom)?</p>
<p>Yourplace, </p>
<p>How big is greek life on campus? Tulane is really the only non-SEC school I’m looking at and greek life is huge on those campuses. I like that. I know it won’t be as big at Tulane but is there still some representation?
I believe that about a quarter of students are involved in greek life. If you want to be involved in a sorority or fraternity, then you will likely see “everyone” as being greek but it’s just as easy to say the opposite. Fraternities are always throwing parties that are open to everyone and the sororities are usually closed off. It’s definitely not as intense as the SEC schools, but it can be as large a part of your life as you want it to be!</p>
<p>km1224, </p>
<p>1) I know there is a sizable Jewish pop at Tulane, but other than that how big is diversity at Tulane? When I visited, the student body seemed to be pretty homogeneous when it comes to racial diversity, but hopefully I am mistaken on this…
It is true that the school lacks racial diversity… but that doesn’t mean the students aren’t diverse. There are people from all parts of the country, many parts of the world, and various backgrounds. You certainly have a large mix when it comes to types of people. But racially speaking, no, Tulane is not very diverse. That does not mean, however, this it is not accepting of other people. And while the school itself isn’t very diverse, the city of New Orleans certainly is. </p>
<p>2) How preppy is Tulane?
As I said before, there is a lot of diversity when it comes to types of people. You have everything from preppy to nerdy to hipster. If you hang out with a lot of preppy people, then you’ll see it as preppy. If you hang out with a lot of hipsters, you’ll see it that way. </p>
<p>3) What do kids who aren’t into Greek life typically do on weekends? How dominant is the Greek system on campus (particularly for girls)?
Most people typically go to frat parties - which are open to everyone, - bars and clubs, festivals, movies, concerts, etc. There’s always something to do no matter what you’re in to. And as far as the second question goes, I answered that in a previous post.</p>
<p>4) How would you rate intellectual activity on campus (outside of the classroom)?
I would beg to say that most students are intellectually engaged and politically involved. I’ve never seen the common room as full as it was for the presidential debates! A lot of people are also involved in major-related or academic organizations. It all depends on whom you decided to hang around and which organizations you become involved in.</p>
<p>About the honors weekend/registration- If we go to honors weekend but we’re not sure we’re attending, do we still register? What’s up with that? Can we sign up for classes and decide not to attend? Or do we only sign up if we’re 100% going?</p>
<p>
Yes, definitely. The event is for both kinds of Honors Program invitees, those that have decided on Tulane for sure and those that are thinking about it. If you have pre-registered for classes but have not put down a deposit by May 1, or have informed Tulane that you decided not to attend, they simply cancel your pre-registration and open those spaces to students that attend Orientation in June.</p>
<p>Since collegehopeful didn’t really say if she was in the HP and I know this one for sure, I figured I would give you the answer. Hope that’s OK.</p>
<p>Thanks for starting this thread! As an out of state student, I know I will be flying alone into and out of New Orleans at some point. Is there public transportation from the airport to Tulane that most people use? Is it safe (for a single girl) or do most people catch a taxi or another private company?</p>