Hello, and thanks so much for your efforts in answering all these questions. My daughter will be starting this August with the Class of 2022. Our minds are blown with the endless choices at Tulane in selecting courses. My question: Can one course be counted towards requirements for more than one major, if applicable (e.g., there seems to be some overlap between courses in Environmental Studies and Environmental Biology)?
@HazelnutorFootball or whoever else can clarify - I assumed that if we went to Honors Weekend and registered for classes while there, that we did not need to participate in CAST (either on campus or virtually). Now I can’t find that specific info anywhere, and the latest email says CAST is required. It looks like the programming on campus covers some slightly different topics than Honors Weekend, but we can’t really see it being worth another trip down. So, if the online CAST is for class registration, and we’ve already done that, are we good?
Thanks for your help!
^^^ Plus one…we are in the same situation.
@KimV2015 and @pishicaca you should call the Admissions office to ask this question. Not sure if the Admissions interns will be around to answer- it’s graduation week!
Great idea! I just spoke to someone in the admissions office. He said that if they registered for classes during Honors Weekend, they do not need to participate in CAST.
how many people are approximately in each tide class? on the course sign up it says max 4 students but that seems like too little in my opinion.
@sss111222 When I was a freshman (2015) my TIDES class was about 8-10 people, so 4 doesn’t sound entirely impossible. It likely depends on what exactly the class is (and therefore how many people they can accomodate) but also, it might be due to the fact that sometimes they don’t open all available spots at the beginning of freshman registration so that those who register later have slots left
@sss111222 Most TIDES classes are capped around 15 students. Because incoming freshman are all registering at different times all month, only a few seats are released at a time in popular freshman courses, s that freshman that are registering later in the month aren’t at a disadvantage. So you cant really estimate the size of a class by the max seats that are showing online right now!
So I live around the Baton Rouge area and Tulane University is one of my top 3 choices. I want to major in Marine Biology/Science but unfortunately Tulane only offered a minor in that. Do you guys know if Tulane offers Individualized Studies, Ad Hoc majors, Independent Majors,etc? Cause I am planning on getting a PhD in Marine science and Oceanography and I’m not sure if a minor would be enough.
Thank you Lydia, that is a very generous offer! In full disclosure, I am a parent, not a student. If you had to name the top three negatives about Tulane, or what you would like to see changed, what would those be?
Hi! I’m having a great time so far. Also keep in mind I’ve only been here a month and I am still adjusting. However, here are the negatives I’ve noticed/experienced here so far.
- The general student population is very wealthy. It’s hard not to notice and I often feel as though this contributes to the way students treat faculty and the world around them. I’ve seen students trash their surroundings, knowing that someone will pick up after them. Obviously not everyone is this bad but it’s hard to ignore as someone who has never had these privileges.
- The party culture is very prevalent and sometimes hard to ignore. I often find myself wanting to spend a night in, but everyone else would rather go out or go to parties. Obviously it’s a matter of finding the right people; I personally am in a small dorm so I sometimes feel like I have no one left to socialize with. Even as someone who enjoys partying every so often, this culture allows students to get away with things that I feel like people wouldn’t get away with somewhere else.
- As someone who is passionate about community service (I’m in a RLC focused on improving the community), I feel as though Tulane brands itself as a university that cares a lot about this issue, when in reality a lot of the service it does is superficial and inconsequential. Tulane has a minimal impact on actually improving the greater New Orleans area and only does some work just for the sake of doing work.
Bonus: My last complaint is kind of a cop out and is really just my personal preference, but it is quite hot in New Orleans. As someone from the north this is a huge difference. I have an art class without AC in the room, and I’ve felt sick during it before. But besides this as far as I know every other building has AC.
I have some other problems besides these, but I feel as though they are personal problems/part of the general college transition that any college freshman experiences. I wanted to include problems that are directly associated with Tulane. Also want to reinforce that I think the school is great, classes are interesting, New Orleans is absolutely phenomenal, and the people are super friendly. Also remember that every school has its flaws. Lots of my problems with Tulane are observations, really, and can be avoided by hanging around the right people.
Let me know if you need any further explanation 
What are the top three (or more!) positive things you like about Tulane so far?
We visited on a day that it had just poured rain and the campus was kind of flooded so we did not see a lot of kids hanging out outside - is there a hang out area like a quad?
I know you have only been there a month but how do you feel safety wise so far? Do you see kids going downtown much?
Just something to keep in mind regarding weather…this student has to this point only experienced living in the hottest, wettest, most humid and variable portion of the weather year in New Orleans. As the temperature begins to drop and the precipitation begins to mellow, kids from the north begin to appreciate the relatively temperate and mild fall, winter and spring. Outside activity changes significantly…you see more people hanging outside to enjoy it rather than heading to the relief of AC, more people exercising in Audubon Park, green spaces on campus become places of recreation, etc. Summer in New Orleans can be challenging, but relief is on the way!
@momtogkc hi!!! Thanks for your question!
- I love this city. It’s so unique, different from most major cities, and it has so much to offer if you just take advantage of it. I’ve been downtown a few times—it’s fairly easy to do with the accessibility of the streetcar—but usually when I get off campus I stick to the surrounding areas which are equally as magical; Magazine Street, Audubon Park, and St. Charles Avenue are all absolutely incredible to explore. I highly recommend a bike in this city. :)
- There’s always something to do, even on campus. Tulane is great at getting students involved. They have tons of guest speakers, weekly movies in the city diner, trivia nights, recreational activities, and other campus-sponsored events. One of my favorite things so far was the Campus Cup, where different residence halls competed against each other during the first few weeks of school. Whenever you need a break from school work, there’s always something on campus that you can invest your time in.
- One thing I was super worried about when picking a college was the general atmosphere. I didn’t want to be in a competitive environment where people only focused on schoolwork. I wanted to be able to bond with and grow from the people around me. And while Tulane isn’t very racially diverse—there’s many different personalities here. You can learn from everyone you come in contact with. Overall people are friendly, motivated, and POSITIVE, which is something I feared I wouldn’t get from other top schools.
Bonuses: the architecture, the gym, my classes, the food, the campus, the size, and the clubs. While nearly EVERY college student doubts their decision at least once, I don’t think I would be happier anywhere else. I have tons of friends who feel similarly.
In regards to your other questions, there are quads outside most dorms that students hang around sometimes. Lately it’s been too hot to stay out there for that long, but I’ve seen people tanning and relaxing out in the sun on numerous occasions. Sometimes my friends and I go out on bruff quad and do homework and art. People also hang out in the common rooms in their dorms a lot, where there’s AC, as well as the dining hall.
I definitely feel safe on campus. There’s a very obvious presence of the campus police which is comforting. However, as a girl I still try not to walk alone at night. Uptown is generally a very safe area, so even leaving campus during the day I feel comfortable. But it’s important to be in a group when you are out at night. People go downtown fairly frequently but campus is always active on weekends.
Hope I helped!
@pishicaca you make a good point!!
Can you expand a bit on the classes you are taking? Class size as a freshman? The professors? The competitiveness in the classes themselves? Challenging or really easy - although I guess that depends on what type of high school you came from. Thanks! @lydmatts
Thank you!! And yes, even though we live in FL and are used to the heat we don’t sit outside in it for fun unless we are at the beach!
We walked from campus to whatever street Camilia Grill is on then the next day walked around Magazine Street a little bit. Also took the street car from school to downtown, it was so convenient. It was our first time in NO and we loved it!
@3mamagirls I’m currently taking 17 credit hours (each class is usually 3-4 credit hours, although there are a few that are only 1). The minimum to be a full-time student is 12, and the maximum a student can take is 19. I’m taking Intro to TV (3), Italian I (4), Foundations of Sculpture (3), Microeconomics (3), and Biological Anthropology (3). I’m also taking a mandatory freshman seminar class (TIDES) which is associated with my RLC, counting for 1 credit hour.
My largest class is Microeconomics with around 170 students. It’s easy to get distracted in, but the professor is very knowledgeable. For someone who went into the class with a very minimal understanding of the principles of economics, I think the class is manageable yet challenging. My next largest classes are Intro to TV and BioAnthro, because they are both introductory liberal arts classes. Typically the largest classes are intro STEM and business classes, but they shrink as you get more specialized. While Intro to TV is within my major (Communication), it’s not my favorite class—purely because it’s not my area of interest within the major, but the professor is intelligent, fair, and reasonable. And funnily enough, BioAnthro might be my favorite class this semester, despite being the least scientifically inclined student on this campus, because the class is super manageable and the professor is WONDERFUL! I did super well on the midterm and I look forward to class every other day. Italian is a seminar, with only around 10 students, and it’s much more interactive than other language classes I’ve taken—I really feel like I’m engaging with the language. The professor is also very friendly; he invites us to the coffee shop every Thursday to further our studies and speak casually in Italian. Sculpture is my smallest class with only 6ish students. It’s very hard; classes are 3 hours each and we have to work in a room with no air conditioning. However, I am interested in art (I might minor in studio art) so the class is very rewarding for me. The professor constantly pushes us to do our best work, and I get to use tools and machines I never thought I would touch in my life. Finally, my TIDES seminar meets once a week, and it’s a very low-pressure class, which is good in some ways but bad in others. While it’s my least favorite class, bear in mind that most freshman get to choose more exciting options for their seminar (Intro to Yoga, Food of New Orleans, Songwriting) whereas mine is required for my learning community.
So that was a lot and very descriptive—but long story short, I don’t think any Tulane student would say their classes are “too easy.” If you take less credits you generally have an easier time managing it all, but classes themselves can be challenging (which is good!). I took all honors and APs in high school which prepared my for Tulane’s rigor. I also haven’t noticed any real competition here. Students are focused on their own success and I haven’t felt any pressure to measure myself against others academically. Since everyone is in different classes, competition is rare.
@lydmatts Wow - that is all very helpful. Thank you for your detailed explanations. My D is very interested in Tulane, and visited last week and sat in on a class. I love the part about the no-competition (or at least much less than at other schools). Thank you! I am sure I will come up with more questions.
Thank you all for your time in helping prospective Tulane students and parents to learn more about this wonderful school.
an aside…love the username @ripcowcat.