Tips for Prospective Students from a 14-er

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Hey everyone! I just wanted to give prospective students some tips/advice that I wish I would have had prior to coming to Tulane (both Tulane-specific and general):</p>

<p>1) Find a roommate in advance, if at all possible. I pot-lucked it and have not been so fortunate in that department. Plus, if you apply without a roommate you are more likely to get stuck in a dorm that you didn't request (in my case, JL).</p>

<p>2) Take as much coursework relating to your prospective major in HS as possible. It will really really pay off. For example, the chem dept here is TERRIBLE. If I hadn't taken AP chem, I would probably have failed gen chem 1 because all the gen chem I profs here don't teach. Due to my prior experience in chem, I have set myself up for at least an A- in the class.</p>

<p>3) If you are interested in science, try to do some research over the summer at a local state U. Getting positions here is tough and every bit of experience you have will help you!</p>

<p>4) When you come here, don't buy all your books too far in advance. I ended up doing that and ended up wasting a bunch of money. A lot of classes don't require use of the suggested book(s).</p>

<p>5) Take it easy your first semester. I took 15 hours, and it was perfect. A lot of freshman load up on 17-19 hours and do really poorly the first semester. One of my friends continually said "if I had just taken one less class I would be doing so much better in everything right now."</p>

<p>6) Set guidelines for yourself before you come here. Know your limits. It is easy to get carried away by the party scene. It is harder, though, if you know your priorities and boundaries.</p>

<p>7) Get to know your profs. They can help you. Go to departmental lectures. Try to get people to recognize your name and face in your department as early as possible. Getting involved in research is good, too.</p>

<p>8) Although you by no means have to know your major before coming here, I think that it should play into your decision of where to attend college. Some of the departments here really shine (poli sci, buisness, latin am studies, etc), and some are horrible (chem, math, etc). If you have some idea of what field you want to go into, it can really help you make a smart decision about where you can get the education you are looking for.</p>

<p>9) College is hard. I underestimated Tulane since it was the lowest ranked school I got into and I assumed it would be easy. I was wrong. Be prepared to come here and work hard and play hard!</p>

<p>I hope this was helpful!! Let me know if you have any questions about Tulane or anything :)</p>

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<p>Thank you for the great insight. This is the type of information that students need and cannot usually get from a short visit. Why do you think the math department is terrible?</p>

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<p>As for as the amount of credits to take, I think it all depends upon which courses you took in high school. I took 19 credits this semester, and did very well (I should have a 4.0, just waiting on chem). However, I opted to take bio and chem, both of which I already had AP credit for. If you find in the beginning that you’re overwhelmed, just drop a course.</p>

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<p>I’ve only taken Calc I, which was taught by a grad student. The teaching wasn’t amazing, but it was decent. I made an A in the class. </p>

<p>I’ve talked to a ton of upperclassmen and they haven’t been very impressed by the dept in general. Good teachers are far and few between and there aren’t many research opportunities. </p>

<p>A friend of mine (who had AP credit for Calc AB) took Consolidated Calculus and ended up making a C, merely because the prof was crazy, tested over random things, and refused to curve the very difficult final. She is much better than me at math and easily could have made an A with any other teacher.</p>

<p>I agree with Gabby in that it depends on the individual and also the major. For science majors, for example, lab courses only count for one credit even though they take up 3+ hours/week. Regardless of whether you can or can’t handle 19 hours, I would stick with 14-16 because it is important not to overwhelm yourself. Plus, no one wants to spend their first semester holed up studying all the time. A lot of people did that in the beginning and it took them a long time to realize the importance of socializing, especially during the first semester. As Gabby said, you can always sign up for an extra class, try it out the first week and drop whichever one you like the least (assuming its not required for your major).</p>

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<p>My schedule this semester consisted of ebio, ebio lab, consolidated calc, chem, chem lab, intro to public health, ethics and tides. I definitely was not holed up studying all the time. In addition to my classes, I’m involved in a research project twice a week, member of various organizations and hold the position of Community Service Chair in the Public Health Society. With all of this, I still managed to get to the gym daily and out three nights a week with my friends. That being said, I also am very high energy and thrive on being busy. So although Tulane14’s advice may be good for some, it’s definitely not for all.</p>

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<p>I know a few business majors who made 4.0s last semester and had similar schedules to Gabby. But the thing is that you wont really know how much you can handle until you get here, so I still think its better to take it easy first semester.</p>

<p>I took cell bio, chem w/ lab, tides calc 1, & intro to research honors. I didn’t have to study much as I had taken most of those classes at the AP level in HS. I spent 10-12+hours/week working in a lab plus a few hours a week doing extra neuroscience readings and spending lots of time on pub med. I’m involved in 4-5 organizations. I did some shadowing at local hospitals and volunteered there too. I will be volunteering more next semester. I don’t go out much, although I have been out a few times. Maybe its all the research and research related activities that really ate up my time.</p>

<p>Your advisor is probably the best person to discuss this with. I am, however, going to stand by my claim that less is more. If I had taken more hours, I wouldn’t be able to get involved with some of the amazing things I have been able to take up. Some of my friends are taking up lots of volunteering, others are in orchestra or are athletes…the points is the less time that you spend in class that you don’t really need, the more you can truly get out of your college experience. 15 hours/semester x 8 semesters =120 hours to graduate. </p>

<p>I took 15 hours first semester and I’ll be taking 20 next semester, now that I know what I can handle. I wouldn’t have done it any other way last semester, though.</p>

<p>let me know if you have any more questions on here or you can private message me :)</p>

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<p>I’m a big fan of Cal Newport’s blog. Here is a link relating to the whole less-is-more concept. I employed a lot of his strategies this past semester and found them particularly helpful:</p>

<p>[Study</a> Hacks Blog Archive How Double Majors Can Ruin Your Life: Two Arguments for Doing Less](<a href=“How Double Majors Can Ruin Your Life: Two Arguments for Doing Less - Cal Newport”>How Double Majors Can Ruin Your Life: Two Arguments for Doing Less - Cal Newport)</p>

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<p>tulane14, was your shadowing facilitated by someone at Tulane or did you find a doc on your own? What kind of volunteering did you do and at what hospital? My dd did a VERY short stint as a volunteer at our local hospital the summer before Tulane. Her job was to stand around and look busy!!! Seriously, the volunteer coordinator said they were overrun with volunteers because of the bad ecomony. People volunteered in hopes of it leading to full time employment. DD did absolutley nothing and refuses to do a volunteer job like that again. She would like to actually DO something, anything.</p>

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<p>Tulane14- My son is very interested in Tulane. He’s been accepted and recd the Presidential Scholarship, which makes it even more appealing. He is definitely going the science route, which means he will have to take Chem. Can you tell me who are the good and not so good professors. If you would like send it to me privately. I would truly like to avoid the prof you had. Also, since your prof was terrible, what was available to you to help you get through this course?</p>

<p>My niece is a freshman at another college and she had a tough time with calculus this semester. She had a terrible teacher, but after she failed her first test, her advisor was contacting her - ASAP to set a meeting and see how they were going to tackle the situation. They met the next day and the advisor had a private tutor lined up for her, along with group sessions. It was amazing what her school did for her, completely unprovoked. So what does Tulane do?</p>

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<p>@Tulane14 and Gabby
Thanks for sharing your experiences. These are the types of information we need more here.</p>

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<p>spring- i had to find the volunteering job on my own. it’s at the children’s hospital so i’ll mostly be doing arts and crafts with the kids and playing with them. there are opportunities for more patient contact, but you must have volunteered there for a while.</p>

<p>i found the doctor on my own. the main challenge is getting through to the right people. </p>

<p>tulane has no sort of program for volunteering (or shadowing). i’m going to be meeting with the pre-med advisor as soon as we get back to talk to her about establishing some kind of program. it’s ridiculous that tulane doesn’t have one since a large percentage of the students are premed. </p>

<p>dungareedoll- i don’t mind posting it on here LOL. i’m sure many future science students will be interested.</p>

<p>rate my prof tells you to take jacobsen, but i STRONGLY recommend not taking him. gen chem is all about being able to work different types of problems, yet he does not do a SINGLE problem the whole course. his lectures consist of him standing up there and lecturing over the history of chemistry and everything that won’t be on the test. i took AP chem, made a 4 or 5 on the AP (i don’t remember what my exact score was) and really know my stuff. but jacobsen’s tests are really hard and are nothing like any of the suggested homework problems. i’ve done fine in the course (probably an A or A-), but his class is honestly just ridiculous. if your S/D hasn’t taken AP i would NOT take jacobsen. i got through the course because i took AP chem. that’s seriously the only way.</p>

<p>i suggest rubstov. my friend’s boyfriend took him and his tests are really easy- just like the problems out of the book. i’ve heard he’s not an awesome teacher, but he always works problems on the board and stuff (i know this because his class was right before my bio class). stay away from fink.</p>

<p>i can’t really answer about the resources, although tulane has a tutoring center and i know the math grad students hold tutoring sessions a few times a week where students can come ask questions. i’d steer clear of the tutoring center, though, because it is all students and a lot of them don’t remember the subject (i.e. a junior physics major trying to teach gen chem to students who hasn’t had the class for 2 years). the requirements for being a tutor are so low that i’m kind of skeptical.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for the information. I know that will come in handy. If there are any other teachers to steer clear from please let me know. We always use Rate My Teacher for high school and had every intention of using it for college but in this case it may not have worked out, so all input is greatly appreciated!!!</p>

<p>I have another question. You mention through out this thread that you have secured a lot of your opportunities on your own. When we went for the tour and info session they mentioned that theres some kind of Friday night meet and greet the professors. Have you ever done that and if so was that helpful in networking and securing any o research/volunteer positions?</p>

<p>Again thanks for your help!!!</p>

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<p>I have never heard of any kind of Friday night meet and greet. The main way I have gotten networked into the neuro dept is:</p>

<p>1) Try to go meet with a major advisor even if you haven’t declared your major. I met with the head of the neuro dept a few weeks into school and expressed my interest in research. She gave me the names of some people to look up and some tips on classes and such. Getting in touch with your prospective major advisor as early as possible enables you to make a contact in your dept early on.</p>

<p>2) If you know your major, I’d go ahead and declare at the end of the first semester. You can always change, but if you are fairly sure then you will once again be assigned a major advisor who you can go and meet with and get to know.</p>

<p>3)Like I said attend departmental lectures (you can find out where they are on the website for your S/D’s intended dept). It makes it look like you care and can help you find what specifically interests you within your field of study.</p>

<p>4) Get involved with any societies/clubs relating to your S/D’s intended major. I got involved with Women in Science, TUNA (neuroscience club), BEAST (biology club), & SEHS (science and engineering honor society). I didn’t go to every meeting for every club, but by getting on their email list I was able to filter out which opportunities I thought would be good to meet both professors and peers with similar interests. Being in these clubs is especially good for connecting with upperclassmen who are VERY helpful. I was able to obtain my research position with the help of an upperclassmen I met at a TUNA meeting. For TUNA we recently went to Cafe DuMonde with a professor and got to talk about their research, neuroscience in general, etc.</p>

<p>5) Start your major early. I’m starting the neuro sequence of courses a year earlier than most. That way I will get to know profs in my dept earlier on.</p>

<p>6) Take advantage of certain courses. For example, I took an Intro to Research Honors Colloqium this past fall. The course was really easy and really helpful. We got to read articles written by different profs at Tulane & Tulane Med, & then go tour and meet those researchers in many disciplines (english, anthropology, clinical, CMB, neuro, history, etc). I made a ton of contacts through that. I had already obtained a research position, but many of my peers in the class were able to make contacts from our coursework. </p>

<p>Those are a few of my suggestions. Like I said I haven’t heard anything about a Friday night meet-up thing, although there are always lectures and such going on throughout the week. I have a friend who does tours for Tulane so I will look into that.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any more questions!!</p>

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<p>S2 really liked his professors this past semester, and did quite well. He used [Rate</a> My Professors - Find and rate your professor, campus and more - RateMyProfessors.com](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/]Rate”>http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/) and it seemed pretty accurate.</p>

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<p>Usually rate my prof is helpful. It is useful to keep in mind, though, that the types of people that actually post on there are really biased one way or the other. The people in the middle usually don’t bother posting.</p>

<p>I’d reccomend consulting both rate my prof, as well as upperclassmen.</p>

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<p>Tulane 14: Wow, that is crazy that there is no help for finding shadowing or volunteering. When DD and I came for honors weekend we attended a lecture geared for pre-meds and they said they did indeed help you find shadowing positions and facilitate a volunteer program.<br>
DD and I will certainly be disappointed if there is no help.</p>

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<p>I’ve already met with the pre-med advisor a few times and she hasn’t been particularly helpful. I’m pretty sure I asked about shadowing/volunteering and she told me that I had to find it on my own. I will reconfirm this when I meet with her in January, but I’m almost positive Tulane has no formal program for shadowing/volunteering.</p>

<p>I do know, however, that there are some similar opportunities through upper tier neuroscience public service requirements.</p>

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<p>“A friend of mine (who had AP credit for Calc AB) took Consolidated Calculus and ended up making a C, merely because the prof was crazy, tested over random things, and refused to curve the very difficult final.” --Tulane14</p>

<p>T14,
Who is that professor so S can avoid next year?</p>

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<p>It was prof komendarczyk. A lot of students sign up for consolidated calculus but end up switching down to Calculus I, even if they already have AP credit for it. All the consolidated calculus teachers are really bad. Calculus I is mostly taught by grad students, but I haven’t heard any complaints from anyone about the quality of teaching. I took Calculus BC in high school and re-took Calculus I this past semester and did really well. The teaching was much better than what I had had in high school.</p>

<p>So I’d advise your S/D to either repeat Calculus I or take Calculus III. I’d avoid Consolidated at all costs.</p>

<p>If anyone wants to PM me, I can give you my email address if your S/D has any questions or wants help picking profs when the time comes. I didn’t take any liberal arts classes this semester, but I have friends in almost every field who I could refer them to via email or facebook.</p>

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<p>I don’t know who her professor was, but I took Honors Consolidated Calculus with Xuefeng Wang who I thought was brilliant. He did tend to go on and on a bit about things that we didn’t need to know, but all in all he was great.</p>