<p>My next door neighbor attended Tulane and said nearly all the kids there were Jewish. As i began to look at student based groups on Tulane i began to see that many of them agreed. Is it true that Tulane has a large jewish population?</p>
<p>Although i have no problem with it, I’d still like to know</p>
<p>If it doesn’t matter, why ask? None-the-less, it is something that can be stated statistically, so here it is.</p>
<p>Nearly all the kids are Jewish? No, that is inaccurate. A large Jewish population relative to the general population? Yes. Tulane is about one quarter Jewish, according to the last statistics I saw. It is common for selective, private universities to have a larger percentage of Jewish students than there are in the general population, just as it is also common to have a larger percentage of Asian students, and a smaller percentage of African-American students, because these groups go on to university level educations in numbers greater than and less than their percentage of the general population accordingly.</p>
<p>I hope that answers your question.</p>
<p>At the risk of sounding politically correct (or incorrect??) A Large Jewish or Asian population is a good sign academically. Tulane is one southern school that northern Jews are comfortable attending (think Univ Michigan in the 50’s). But the vast majority of students are Christian (again…not that that MATTERS…) It makes for a very geographically diverse and urbane student body</p>
<p>I am also having difficulty understanding the purpose behind the OP’s inquiry. No purpose? … that’s rather odd. Believes the neighbor’s ridiculous claim? … that’s rather naive. Didn’t check any of the multitude of online college information sites before posting? … that’s rather lazy. Not that it really matters I suppose … Pocius, IMHO you’re not a good match for Tulane.</p>
<p>So because I asked if there were a lot of Jewish students, Tulane isn’t a good school for me? I’m not allowed to ask about it? Why is it a rediculous claim if they’re saying 1/4 of the population is Jewish? I don’t think it’s rediculous at all.</p>
<p>Hillel.org lists Tulane’s Jewish population at approximately 28% (of its undergraduate population).</p>
<p>I, for one, think it was a fair question. I probably wouldn’t have wanted to attend a school where 85%+ was a demographic that was not my own. Perhaps that’s wrong, but it’s human nature. People self segregate. I would argue though that TU does that very little, especially for a school in the South. I have many fond memories from my TU days of attending what we termed “French Parties” where the French and sometimes German nationals would get together to throw parties to attempt to expose us Americans to some culture. They drank wine and picked our brains on American politics while they watched Parisian Soccer on the TV (if I remember correctly.) </p>
<p>TU is much more open across demographics in terms of socializing than most too. No demographic makeup is going to keep you out of any fraternity or sorority or other social club/group. I wouldn’t worry about that.</p>
<p>That being said, TU is less than but around 30% jewish. If you’re jewish, that’s a relatively higher number than you’ll find at any other school in the country and thus, it’s good news. If you’re not jewish, and don’t want to feel as though you don’t “fit in” then that might alleviate your concerns as well. Tulane has a student population that hovers around 75% coming from more than 500 miles away. You get plenty of diversity in racial/ethnic, religious, ideas and ideals from that geographic diversity. It makes for a great learning experience in itself. </p>
<p>I’m getting married next May and my groomsmen (all TU alum) are from Chicago, California, NY, New Orleans, Australia, and Oklahoma. </p>
<p>Best of Luck and check Tulane out!</p>
<p>Perhaps posters are reacting at the way the question was posed, as it can come across as offensive. Perhaps if the OP had simply asked what the religious diversity was at Tulane, and if any group was heavily represented (or something general like that) it might have gotten the kind of responses that he/she is looking for, rather than gotten some understandable hackles up. Posters here and elsewhere joke about “Jewlane” next to “Goyola”, and Tulane is known to have a Jewish population that parallels many of the NE schools (in part because it draws a lot of students from the NE and may parallel that demographic, as does Emory).</p>
<p>So while the question may be fair, the way it was framed was a little insensitive, IMO.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is so much of an issue that you asked (although you could have easily found the answer yourself), but that you didn’t say why you asked. Fair or unfair, when you ask a question posed that simply about a topic that is sensitive to a lot of people (religion, race, politics, etc) and have no context to it, people will put whatever context it sounds like to them on it. Think about it, if I asked how many blacks were at Tulane, or how many Asians, or how many homosexuals, you could take that positively, benignly, or negatively. So it is not “rediculous” (sic) as much as potentially charged with negative connotations, even though I am sure you did not mean it that way. Antisemitism still exists in many quarters, and while WWII might seem like ancient history to kids your age, to a lot of people it and many other things that go on today still makes the radar go up quickly with questions posed the way yours was. If you look at the way it started out
And then it was like “OMG, is it true?”. Again, very unfair, but welcome to reality. The web is a terrible place to ask potentially delicate questions when there is no voice inflection, body language/facial expression, or known history of the person asking the question. You need to explain why you are asking to avoid such misconceptions and misattributions of motive.</p>
<p>Well, I’m interested in how a school that is about 24% Jewish can appear to pociuspower12 or the his/her neighbor as a place where “nearly all the kids there were Jewish”.</p>
<p>It is definitely true that there are very very few schools in the South that are anywhere near 24% Jewish. Schools in the South that have the largest Jewish pops are:
(Private) Tulane, Emory, UMiami, Vanderbilt
(Public) UF, UCF, UTexas Austin (is Texas still the south?), all other Florida State Universities</p>
<p>I got this info from Hillel.org’s list of 30 private and 30 public schools with the largest Jewish populations. As you see, a grand total of 4 --four-- of those 30 private schools are in the South. The publics are from a similar list, and again, if you exclude Florida which is significantly different from the rest of the South in demographics, you end up with a grand total of ONE school from the list of 30 publics with largest Jewish pops being in the South.</p>
<p>I’d say Tulane is about 40% Jewish. The official statistics are so low because I believe they are only counting the religious Jews. The reality is many of the Jewish people at Tulane are either extremely reform/non-practicing/only cultural, etc. So, if you are worried about the school having a Jewish religious flair, don’t be. (That being said, I’d put the Orthodox Jews at about a 10% population at Tulane.)</p>
<p>Anyway, if you are Jewish you have a lot to choose from. There is a reform synagogue right next to Tulane, a Chabad house, and a Hillel House. </p>
<p>Personally I like Chabad for my Shabbat meals and on campus activities (they are wonderful, loving people, and the Rabbi is cool) and the Reform Synagogue for religious observance. The Hillel house here runs like a rich kid’s country club–avoid. </p>
<p>But don’t be worried about feeling left out because everyone is Jewish and you aren’t, because that isn’t the case.</p>
<p>There are 15 religious organizations listed in the Tulane Religious life link [Tulane</a> Religious Life](<a href=“http://www.tulane.edu/~religion/Welcome.html]Tulane”>http://www.tulane.edu/~religion/Welcome.html) This is just a list of those that are listed/in good standing with the Tulane Undergrad Student Government and/or the Religious Life Group. The site says there may be more organizations as well. Many students do not list their religious affiliation when they provide personal data to the school, but I would think that choice (not to list their religious affiliation) would be relatively evenly distributed. I think the estimate that the school and other publications report, that Tulane is about 28-30% Jewish is accurate, not 40%. That would be extremely high, and probably higher than most NE schools except Brandeis. That would be unlikely.</p>
<p>Don’t worry</p>
<p>According to the latest edition of the Reform Judaism Magazine <a href=“http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1518&destination=ShowItem[/url]”>http://reformjudaismmag.org/_kd/Items/actions.cfm?action=Show&item_id=1518&destination=ShowItem</a> Tulane’s Jewish population is 28.3% of the student body. There are other schools with a higher percentage (eg Muhlenberg, GW, Goucher, Emory, U of Hartford, Barnard, Binghamton, Tufts, Sarah Lawrence, etc). Tulane comes in at # 16 of the top 20 schools by percentage of Jews. There are many schools that are 20-25% Jewish, like Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, American, Wash U, etc) so Tulane is in good company, but hardly has the 40% attendance that was cited above.</p>
<p>So how would my daughter fit in - tall, platinum blond, Catholic, Texan, large public school background? She has some international travel, a leadership seminar in D.C. and has a multi-cultural family. Seems to mix well with all sorts, but still has that darn height, hair and religion.</p>
<p>She will fit in just fine. There is an active Catholic center that did things like sponsor this mission trip to Hondouras <a href=“http://www.clarionherald.org/pdfs/2009/05_02_09/header/page05.pdf[/url]”>http://www.clarionherald.org/pdfs/2009/05_02_09/header/page05.pdf</a>. Remember, 70% of Tulane is of a religion OTHER than Judaism. And there are blondes of all faiths!</p>
<p>collegedirection - Advertising your services this way is against the rules of CC, besides which it is just crass.</p>
<p>OK, now that that is out of the way, my D has gotten involved in the Episcopal group and they have been rehabbing a home. She also never neglects to mention that the local people that attend evening services bring homemade dinners and she raves about it. Her friends are varied in their ethnicity and beliefs. So your daughter should have no trouble finding people to share her similarities with as well as making friends of all types. Tulane, like most campuses, is a very welcoming place with idealistic kids. Since there is such a strong emphasis on community service also, people tend to bond even more quickly and closely when joined together to help others.</p>
<p>HiYall - You’re question is perhaps better answered by looking at it from the other side … what kind of student DOESN’T fit in at Tulane. Based on our family’s experience, just five types don’t fit in: (a) those with poor study habits, because there are lots of things to do in New Orleans besides study; (b) those who have difficulty walking, because Tulane is basically a walking campus; (c) those who don’t enjoy being with and working with other people, because the campus is social and students loathe doing group work with individuals who don’t contribute; (d) those who are close-minded, because the student body is diverse in many respects; and (e) those who are really uncomfortable being a long way from home.</p>
<p>I’m sure other Tulane students and parents could add to this list, and YMMV. But my principal point is … the list is really quite short. Good luck to your D, whatever she decides.</p>
<p>Thank you all (y’all!). Great advice. I like what I read about Tulane, and it’s the best school she’s gotten accepted to thus far. I just got concerned when I read this thread that perhaps she’d stick out like a sore thumb, or on the more sinister side, face impenetrable cliques. I’m happy for her to experience cultural diversity and expand her horizons, if the rest of the population is open and accepting of others as well.</p>