so i’m almost done with the college process-- i’m just down to the hardest part: picking where i’m gonna go. i’m down to two schools that i really like and see myself at: villanova and tulane. i’m giving myself until easter (APRIL 21) to decide because my school’s spring break is the week that immediately follows. i’ll be on vacation and i feel like i should come to a decision by then so i’ll be able to finally relax with the confidence of knowing where i’m going. i’ll give a bunch of background info (pros/cons for each one, financial aid i got, etc). get ready for a NOVEL and if you read this entire thing it would mean SO much to me because i need different opinions on this than those of my mom/friends/family.
MAIN SIMILARITIES/DIFFERENCES:
- selectivity: i feel like nova and tulane are pretty much equal academically, tulane is just more selective because they get more applicants. so basically all it’s boiling down to when deciding is the quality of life.
- core curriculum: tulane’s core curriculum is more service-based whereas nova’s core curriculum is more religion-based. i’m interested in both of them. i’m catholic and i like nova’s values- the religion aspect doesn’t seem pushy at all as some people complain.
- size: very similar in terms of student body. i enjoy this smaller size because campus is more walkable and there are smaller class sizes which means more personal connections with teachers. also nova’s campus size itself is a little bit bigger than nova because it has west and south campus but tulane is just one campus.
- distance: i live in NJ so nova is an hour and a half away by car and tulane is a 3 hour plane ride plus a total of 1.5 hour car rides to/from airports. i don’t see myself getting crazy homesick though because i’m pretty independent
- alumni network: especially being from the northeast, nova is well respected around here and it has a strong alumni network as most of its students come from here. tulane attracts kids from all over the world so although tulane might be a little more recognized in the south than in the north, i’ll still have alumni in the north if i choose to live there after college (probably will)
TULANE: pros
- 19k a year merit scholarship
- warm weather: since i’m from NJ and have lived in the northeast my whole life i’m getting a sick of the cold weather, it would be super nice to live somewhere where i winter doesn’t exist. but i know what tulane lacks in snow it makes up for in rain/humidity. but i would still take that over snow
- more academic flexibility
- geographic diversity: i’ll be able to have people from the northeast who share the same background as me but i’ll also be able to meet people from different parts of the country/world. rather than it being a “high school pt 2” type experience i’d increase my exposure and appreciation of new geographies/cultures. when i visited i noticed a lot of students who i see myself being friends with, but also some who i don’t see myself being friends with. there’s definitely more of a diversity of the types of people you’ll find, whereas i think nova pretty much attracts one type of student.
- great sense of school spirit: pretty much all the students i’ve talked to/read about on CC love tulane. when i visited last week for destination tulane everyone looked super happy (maybe it’s the warm weather), was wearing tulane clothing/laptop stickers, etc.
- cares about its students: at destination tulane they elaborated on how they’ve fallen in love with each admitted student on paper. all of the faculty who spoke at the event seemed genuinely passionate about tulane and its great sense of community (that’s not to say that it’s not like this at nova. i just have yet to hear more about this until i go to candidate’s day on april 13th)
TULANE: cons
- safety: being from the suburbs in NJ i don’t have the most experience with city smarts and i feel like i’d be worried about my safety. i have an understanding of tulane’s extensive efforts to make sure everyone feels safe. all the students i’ve talked to say they’ve barely ever felt unsafe on campus. i’m just worried about things like walking back to my dorm late at night from the library. i kinda freaked myself out and read the crime reports, which convinced me out of going for a few days. the issue i have here is that there’s no guarantee that some sort of crime won’t happen to you. especially being a girl i’d have to learn to be aware of my surroundings more!
- city culture: since NOLA is farther away from home and it’s a completely different part of the country i might get homesick/feel like i don’t belong. i feel like if you go to tulane you have to have a huge passion for NOLA and all of its unique features but i feel like i lack that.
- party culture: i love to go out on the weekends and have fun, but i feel like i’d be pressured to go out more than i’m comfortable with. i’m not opposed to drinking (but i don’t smoke) and enjoy partying. i’m a more introverted person and i enjoy my time alone to recharge. at tulane ppl go out tuesday-saturday and idk if i’d be completely prepared for that. it’s more centered around the party/festival culture and i feel like it’ll be more difficult for me to get the alone time i like.
VILLANOVA: pros
- familiarity/safety: nova is in the suburbs which i enjoy because it feels more familiar since i grew up in the suburbs. also, it’ll definitely feel safer. i visited today and we drove around the surrounding area and it felt pretty home-like. students are more certain that they’ve never felt unsafe and if they ever were to there’s plenty of resources out there.
- great sense of school spirit: especially with the successful basketball team, nova definitely has a lot of school pride surrounding athletics. kids didn’t look as happy (i don’t blame them it was freezing out today) but in the buildings, people were with their friends and looked pretty happy. i could definitely see myself being friends with a lot of them because they seemed pretty similar to me.
- good party scene: it doesn’t seem like it’s too overwhelming, and like it’s a there-if-you-want-it type situation. i definitely feel safer going out in a suburban area where crime is less likely to happen than at a huge city like NOLA where you have to watch yourself more
VILLANOVA: cons
- have to pay pretty much full tuition, i barely got any financial aid (but if nova is the school i truly love and want to go to then my family will be able to pay for it)
- possibility of it being a 'high school pt 2" situation: living in nova would be super similar to living where i’m from right now and go to school right now (same types of people, same school culture)
- cold weather: since the campus is walkable i’ll be out in the cold a lot, also since i’ll probably end up living on south campus my first year i’d have to walk to main campus to my classes in the cold. i find myself in a slight seasonal depression where i’m just constantly eager for summer to come
- less academic flexibility
the bottom line from all of this information is that if i went to nova, although it would be the easiest transition, it’s the “safer” option. i love everything about it except the cold weather and that it’ll probably be very similar to my hs experience. tulane, although it seems like a highly rewarding experience, it would be more of a risk. who knows if i’ll fit into the social scene well although i don’t like to go out every night? who knows if i’ll be comfortable with how far away it is from home? if i do end up liking tulane, which i can envision based on my campus visits, i would learn SO much and have a well-rounded college experience. i didn’t have the best hs experience, and i want college to be different from it. if you made it up to this point, THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading this huge rant. please feel free to drop any suggestions and i’ll respond to any clarifying questions!