Any general thoughts about Tulane vs. UNC would be appreciated.
This is obviously a very vague and broad question. Still, there are obvious contrasts between the schools, mostly non-academic. I will quote from your response on the UNC thread to give others a little context.
On the academic side, Tulane makes it particularly easy to double, and occasionally even triple major. So if you want to be involved in film studies and also be a chem major, that is very doable. Or if not chem but history instead, no problem. Because at Tulane you are not accepted only to the business school or the engineering school, but the entire college and all 5 of the schools within it and hence all undergraduate programs. I would also point out that New Orleans and Louisiana are the new film capitol of the country, and numerous movies have been shot there, with several using the Tulane campus. A couple of TV shows as well. There are a number of stories about this in the Tulane news archives if you search. http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/
I think most academically high level schools meet that old cliche of “work hard, play hard”. The difference here is obvious, I would assume. NOLA vs. Chapel Hill, or even Raleigh. And you mention music, which of course is very important to NOLA. Enough said, unless you have questions about that.
As far as school spirit, both schools have high levels. Tulane’s, however, is not sports centric. But one of the most consistent comments that parents and students doing the college tour thing come back saying is that they see Tulane students wearing their school’s clothing more than anywhere else they visited, that the students were among the nicest and most spontaneously helpful, and perhaps most important seemed happier with their choice of Tulane than most others. Not that most students at other schools were unhappy. But apparently there is just that little something extra at Tulane in this regard.
Both beautiful campuses. Tulane is smaller, of course, and more diverse. UNC by law is over 80% North Carolinians. Tulane is about 10% people from Louisiana, 33% people from the Maine to Maryland corridor. I think there are more people from California than Louisiana, and perhaps Illinois as well (Tulane is big in the Chicago area). And the international presence is really growing at Tulane. You will, in general, have more access and closer relationships to your profs at Tulane than at UNC, based both on sheer numbers and the unusually high level of undergraduate emphasis at Tulane.
Not sure what else to tell you without knowing more about you. Clearly both schools represent academic excellence, the recent sports/academic scandals at UNC notwithstanding. I really am not throwing that in as a back door slam on UNC. I really think that has been overblown in the sense of how it affects students not involved in UNC athletics. So while within the sports context I think it is a travesty, I don’t think it reflects on the quality of a UNC education for everyone else one iota. Bottom line, you will learn much of the same material at either school. The big difference is, what environment seems more suitable for you in which to learn those academics, as well as grow yourself socially and otherwise. Ultimately only you can decide that, but certainly ask more questions if this brought some to the surface.