Tulane v. UC Berkeley

<p>Hey this is a long shot, but I really need some help. I was accepted to Tulane in the winter through Early Action and just recently visited, loved it. But in the past week I was accepted to UC Berkeley, and being that my older brother goes there and I am a California native makes this choice very tempting. I am planning on majoring in Biology or Math, and definitely hoping to go to medical school. Basically I am wondering what drew others to Tulane or Berkeley and what your opinion is on my decision.</p>

<p>Don’t quite know why he did it, but S2 chose Tulane over UCB and has not regretted it for a minute. Talked to him today and he has never enjoyed the school as much as he does now. He said it just keeps getting better and better. Next fall he will be doing the study abroad thing, and is already talking about how much he will miss campus, but is super excited about going abroad to study.</p>

<p>I recommend you look at the thread about UCLA vs. Tulane. Pretty much the same considerations involved. The “X” factor is money, we don’t know what kind of deal you have from both schools or if money is even an issue. Outside of that, I think you can only consider what it is that made you love Tulane so much and if that outweighs whatever draw Berkeley has for you, and no doubt there are many things about Berkeley that are a draw.</p>

<p>FWIW, I have a niece accepted at Berkeley and NYU Tisch, and she is struggling with the same choice, although I think the $$ will make Berkeley win that battle (she is a California resident). My D, who will graduate from Tulane in 2014, is very likely to end up at Berkeley for grad school. So I have looked into the school a lot, besides having been there a few times myself on business. Great place, but oh so different than Tulane.</p>

<p>Hi – can you share with us what your S likes best (and dislikes, for that matter) about Tulane (esp. from a ‘girl’s’ perspective, if at all possible ;)</p>

<p>Hi – can you share with us what your S likes best (and dislikes, for that matter) about Tulane (esp. from a ‘girl’s’ perspective, if at all possible ;)</p>

<p>Sorry about my miscalculation … i meant to address my question to IDad…</p>

<p>S2 has consumed the Tulane Kool Aid. I have never heard him say a really negative thing about Tulane. He did have a grade erroneously posted, and experienced some slowness in posting, but it all worked out in the end. He has made many friends and many if them are female. The kids we have met have been spectacular. One will never meet a more well mannered, respectful bunch of college kids.</p>

<p>I have a D at Tulane, gigica, and I would have her address you directly except she is in Beijing. But I think I can say with certainty that the things she likes most about Tulane are: 1) The close relationships you can have with professors, and how accessible they are; 2) The nice weather and the beautiful campus and park, along with how interesting New Orleans is; 3) The close-knit relationships you can easily form with others that have similar interests (although I would think this is true anywhere, the size of Tulane seems to be conducive to this); 4) The food in New Orleans; 5) How easy it is to double or even triple major; and finally 6) The fact that Tulane (and New Orleans) is great for both people that love to party hard, and people that are more into a quieter social life.</p>

<p>At least, these are the things that she has most directly talked about. I would mention the academics, but I think she took those as a given. She has been pleased with her courses except for maybe one or two. That is no different than what I have heard from students at all schools, even the Ivies.</p>

<p>I talked to her and she confirmed the above points. I also asked her what she disliked and she mentioned a few things. One is that sometimes the different administrative departments don’t seem as coordinated as they could be, and especially the study abroad office was under resourced. That wound up not making much difference to her since she didn’t end up going to China on a Tulane program, but before she knew that they seemed overwhelmed and not as responsive as she thought they should be. I think they have hired more resources since then, but in small ways she has experienced this sometimes in various departments.</p>

<p>Another was the students that get so drunk they are loud, obnoxious and gross sometimes, but she says that all her friends at other schools have the same complaint. So now she believes me when I tell her that is just part of college life for some people, no matter where you are.</p>

<p>Finally, she also wishes the honors program had more offerings and was structured in such a way that those in the program were brought together more. This was minor (her words) because they do have honors courses and they do offer support for honors students that want to apply for special scholarships like the Rhodes. But she would like to have more events involving those in the program.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your help! I think I’m almost decided on Tulane! Thanks again for your input</p>