Tulane (Honors) vs. Washington and Lee

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Hello, fellow CC-ers and de-facto Tulane forum regulars, I have a few questions I'd like to pose and a bit of advice I'd like to solicit. </p>

<p>As is probably evident from the title, I'm currently trying to decide between undergraduate offers from both Tulane and Washington and Lee Universities. The scholarship aid at both is comparable (essentially debt-free, woo!) so that's out of this particular equation. Of course, I'm considering all aspects of both schools, but those that are most concerning me at the moment are location, social culture (fit), and academic culture/rigor. </p>

<p>In that vein, I have a few questions. I really do NOT mean for anyone to be offended by any of my possibly unfounded inquiries; some of these are based on stereotypes and/or students embittered by one bad experience, but I just want to sort of clear the air and get those concerns out of the nagging back of my mind. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>I know that I shouldn't be making a decision based solely upon ratings, and I don't plan to, but it is true that in almost all the rankings I've perused, Washington and Lee ranks slightly higher academically than Tulane. What are the academics truly like at Tulane? Is the Honors program substantively more rigorous than the "main" portion of the University? What is the academic reputation of Tulane, looking beyond spiteful students on "**************.com"? </p></li>
<li><p>Is there an overwhelming drinking culture? I'm not completely averse to parties, and i don't "hate fun" or anything like that, but I'm not a huge partier, and I'd prefer there be a plethora of available social options on a given weekend; I don't want to spend every weekend of college like that. </p></li>
<li><p>Does the "rich/preppy/Ralph Lauren" stereotype have any validity? I hate to buy into stereotypes, but I just want to sure I'll be able to find my niche in this school</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Just for a little background of me, I'm slightly reserved when I first meet people, but talkative (to the point of many of my good friends' fervent wishes for earplugs) once I'm comfortable around my friends. I would consider myself a little bit of a nerd, I love writing, graphic design, and reading when I don't have 8 million other things impinging on my free time. I'm hoping to get involved in a variety of school activities, and also in community service out in, well, the community. </p>

<p>Also, if those of you who have any experience with either school could give me your honest thoughts about each in relation to the other (I know there's going to be a bit more Tulane love over here, so to be fair I'm posting a similar thread on the W&L forum) that would be much appreciated. </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>No offense taken at all, I think you worded your inquiry very diplomatically. It would be foolish for anyone, even those of us that love Tulane, to deny that these impressions are out there, or that there isn’t some minor truth that led to these comments. It is a mid-sized university with a lot of types of students, and some can reflect poorly on the university, shall we say. Obviously the same has happened at many other highly regarded schools like Duke and Vanderbilt, so you are also wise to take it all with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>It is difficult to compare these two schools. Despite calling itself a university, W&L is classified as an LAC. There are only about 1800 undergrads compared to Tulane’s 7,000 or so. The average test scores of incoming freshmen at both schools are very similar, with W&L having a slight edge. Rankings don’t mean anything in general, and especially when comparing an LAC to a research university. It really depends more on what you are looking for in a school.</p>

<p>The Honors Program has more rigorous offerings, such as the colloquia courses as well as honors sections of “regular” courses. But the main line courses are pretty demanding in most cases, less so in some. Again, like any school. The HP is not a separate college like a few schools have it, where they have a totally separate faculty and tons of courses. After all, Tulane is already a highly selective university. But the HP does open up opportunities to take certain courses and get involved in things that can lead to Rhodes, Marshall and other scholarships.</p>

<p>What you will find, especially if you stay in Butler (Honors Dorm) is that the HP is full of students like yourself that love to explore, talk about everything from deep academic topics to the latest celebrities or whatever. Some drink, almost none to excess from what my D can see, and many not at all. And they are very happy at Tulane. There is tons to do without getting blitzed. You can explore shops, take in music, enjoy the nice weather throwing frisbees or biking, get involved in helping the community, take a tour of the plantations, swamps and the like, and of course keep up with your coursework. Between those and other options, and a few parties from time to time of course, there is a lot of variety.</p>

<p>Of course there are a number of students at Tulane that go wild, mostly on the weekends. Some don’t last long. But I cannot imagine that any peer institution of Tulane doesn’t have the same thing, some to a greater degree. You will find your niche quite easily and not have to deal with the hard-drinking crowd directly, although you may see some wasted students laying on the grass from time to time. That may sound unpleasant, and I wish it were not the case, but again I emphasize you would see the same at Duke, Emory, Vandy and Harvard and Yale for that matter. So please do not let that deter you. While it is an honest answer, it also brings more attention to it than it deserves.</p>

<p>Pretty much the same answer goes for the “rich/preppy” thing. Most kids are getting some kind of financial aid. The number that are really rich and come across as snobs are a distinct minority. Before anyone jumps on me for that poorly worded phrase, I don’t mean that the rich kids are always snobs by any means. There are academic snobs at a lot of schools too. Which really is the point. People are people, and you will see all types. Might as well continue learning to deal with them.</p>

<p>As you say, this is one-sided towards Tulane, first off because it is me, and second because I really know very little about W&L other than it has a great reputation, and that it is a small LAC. I know what most highly regarded LAC’s are like, and to the extent W&L is the same, it will just be very different than Tulane. More homogeneous academically, more of your life will revolve around the school itself, and it won’t have as diverse an offering as Tulane for many aspects of both academics and socially. But it really comes down to what you think you want out of 4 years of undergraduate experience. I can only tell you that if you are leaning towards Tulane and holding back because of those stereotypes, don’t. The experience is far more what you make out of it than what some portion of your classmates do. Besides, from everything I hear your class will be the strongest ever at Tulane, academically. I think you would enjoy it immensely.</p>

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<p>My daughter sounds a lot like you and is making a similar decision. She applied to Tulane also for the community service aspect. This is really a nice idea that Tulane has done recently. We are going to go to visit the campus and hope to find out a bit more during our visit about this as well as the honors program.</p>

<p>Not sure if anyone has more input regarding what they or their kids have done in the community service realm. I would be interesting to hear how they enjoy this opportunity.</p>

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<p>My D was actually not a huge CS person in high school in terms of getting out there and being in the front lines. She did some, but was more the behind the scenes organizing type. Important to be sure, someone has to do it. But at Tulane she got involved in rehabbing a Katrina damaged house owned by a New Orleans church that was used for visiting clergy and housing volunteers from out of state that come to do community service. When she started telling me how she hung sheetrock, did masonry work and other things I never would have believed, I was pretty stunned. She has remained involved with this group and it is an important part of her life there.</p>