Just wondering if anyone has some comparisons between the 2 universities. Planning to study science possible health field and wanted some perspective on which is a better school both academically and socially etc…
If you are reasonably certain that a public health major is a strong consideration, Tulane is hard to beat for undergrad.
Otherwise the schools are pretty similar in many ways. UM is larger, so the classes your first year or two are usually larger also. Tulane has a slight edge on academic stats, but it is close. The social part varies a lot by student and personality. I like NOLA over Coral Gables, but you might find the opposite. UM currently has a huge edge in big time athletics. They are pretty much peer schools in most respects.
How does your cost of attending each school compare?
@fallenchemist why do you say public health is stronger at Tulane? Wouldn’t it be more important for Grad School as opposed to undergrad?
I say it in the context that this person is just starting their undergraduate education, and Tulane offers a BS in the field, Miami does not. It’s a bit like asking why Miami would be considered stronger for civil engineering. Because they offer that degree for undergrads, Tulane does not. I am not sure why grad school would be in the conversation now. Sure, if they take this path and decide to continue on then Miami would be a great school to consider in four years. Although that is another advantage of Tulane. They have a variety of 4+1 programs where you can earn your masters in one additional year, usually at reduced tuition. PH/TM is one of them. So there can be a considerable savings in time and money.
@fallenchemist not trying to be confrontational just wanted to pick your brain on this as this is my daughter intended major. I do believe the U does offer a BS in PH and they also have a 4+1
http://www.miami.edu/sonhs/index.php/bsph/program_highlights/
so I was wondering what makes Tulane a stronger option over the U? My daughter has been accepted to both schools as well as a few other and any insight is appreciated. She will actually be at Tulane this weekend for Top Scholars.
OK, thanks for that link. As it says, that is a fairly new degree for Miami (2012, so presumably this May will be their first graduates) and I was unaware of it. I was looking at http://publichealth.med.miami.edu/. So apparently they separate their undergrad school from their grad program. I don’t know what the impact of that might be. It might be something to inquire about when she is at Tulane, if she can find the right person within PHTM. I hope she can sit in on a PHTM class, although I know that might not be easy.
Since I didn’t know about the new Miami degree, I can only point out two things off hand. One is that Tulane has had this degree for a long time, and presumably experience is worth something. Second is that your D is obviously part of the Honors Program, which is great. That means she will have extra opportunities for research positions, potential for summer funding and foreign trips for summer research (besides study abroad), and just more faculty attention should she desire it.
We should continue this via private message if you have more questions so as not to further hijack the OP’s thread.
I have a daughter at Tulane and one at Miami so I am very familiar with both. If you have specific questions feel free to ask me. They are both fabulous schools, cant go wrong with either one!
I would love to hear more information about both schools. Are either of your kids studying business?.How did they choose one over the other?. My son got equal merit money from both so that is not a factor. we have other schools in the mix as well but these two options seem intriguing. Major positives/negatives. Thanks
Both of my girls study business, Daughter at Tulane is in the 5 year Masters of Accounting program at Tulane and is graduating next month, yeah! Younger D is a junior majoring in Finance at Miami. When we visited Tulane my D just felt that it was right for her. We had visited Miami over Christmas vacation the prior year, no students were around so maybe she didn’t get the true feel of the school. She loves New Orleans so much that she accepted a job and will live there after graduation. My younger D loves Miami so much and can’t imagine being anywhere else. I think both schools are fairly equal academically, so it may come down to which city he prefers. New Orleans has such a unique feel, the Southern hospitality, amazing restaurants. Miami has better nightlife, better weather, and the beach. Miami has major tailgating and a better football team, New Orleans has Mardi Gras and so many festivals. We love visiting both places! Good luck, if you have any specific questions about the business school let me know.
I go to Tulane and one of my really good friends from high school went to Miami. Socially, both schools have very similar aspects (Greek life, warm weather and outdoor activities, partying although Tulane has it better IMO).
We are both studying science, and compared to what she has told me, Tulane has the far superior program. I am pre-health and I feel so prepared for medical schools. The pre-health advisers really know their stuff, and I feel so challenged in my classes. Tulane has an excellent Public Health and Pre-Health program.
If you have more specific questions, please feel free to ask me!
Thanks for the replies. I am confused about the honors and academic scholar programs. Are they the same thing? I took the tour and the girl mentioned honors classes. Is there a separate curriculum if you are part of the scholar program… meaning different level classes? I also saw the large older classroom I belive she said was the biology and chemistry one which did not appear technologically updated? It was in a building near admissions? She also mentioned the creative scholar program but I was surprised with all the premed majors why so few applied? Thanks
Hi…When I visited Tulane I got the impression there are not many on campus activities on weekends for the students? It seemed they wanted to go off campus to listen to music etc… Is this accurate ? I have also heard that Miami does not have much of a cohesive student body for activities etc … same where on weekend they go to beach or bars instead of staying local?
Hello . I am not sure about which part of the health field right now. See below for my new questons.thanks
The Honors Program is going in a new direction starting this fall, so your guide might not have been completely aware. The last two years, the Tulane Scholars program was a subset of the Honors Program that the student opted into. The idea was that those students who had the highest focus on and interest in research, grad school, and prestigious opportunities like Rhodes Scholarships would choose this. The rest of the Honors Program really offered very little, and there have not been many courses designated as honors in years. So being in the Honors Program but not being in Tulane Scholars offered virtually nothing.
So now, starting this fall, all of the Honors Program is the Tulane Scholars Program (with the Tulane Scholars name retired), and it is now an opt out program. If a person invited to the HP wants to stay in it, they have to sign up for one of two courses for HP only. One is like a Great Books course, covering the nature of our civil society through the teachings from the Greeks on. The other is a course that covers exploring various research pathways or something like that. I have not looked into that course yet. If a student invited to the HP does not sign up for one of those courses, they are not in the program. If they do, then they also are going to be involved in the Wall Society activities. Among the programs offered in Wall are the faculty led Societies. The Societies, each of which has a specific theme or disciplinary focus, are designed to foster community among students and create the opportunity for informal interactions between faculty members and students. Wall is the Honors Dorm, and even if an HP student isn’t living there (although hopefully most will, it is a nice suite-style dorm), they will be involved in this. For some of the groups, several times a semester they will go out with profs and take advantage of being in one of the richest areas of the country for all sorts of learning experiences.
In their second year they will live with their cohorts in Weatherhead Dorm, also very nice suites and much newer. They will probably start to get involved in research this year, and they will be helping the incoming freshmen. In Weatherhead, resident advisors host roundtables that bring Tulane faculty and students together for discussions on topics of mutual interest. Hopefully the program will continue to evolve and improve from there by catering to the interests of these students for whom academics is of the utmost priority. That’s not at all insulting to the rest of the students at Tulane that just have different goals.
I think that is only used for a few intro courses like chem, bio, and psych. I don’t think whether something is presented in Powerpoint vs. a more old-fashioned approach is going to matter that much. You are still talking like 200 students per lecture max, as opposed to the 1000 or so at some large state schools where you have to have the technology or the people in the back wouldn’t be able to see. Maybe this is an issue for you, but I think that would be a shame, because it seems irrelevant to me given the small class sizes at Tulane except for a very few. I do think some people have mentioned on here that some classrooms have been upgraded to allow for more technological presentations. This just isn’t an issue I have yet heard a student complain about.
First, it is a very high bar to even be considered for admission under this program. Second, you have to have a Humanities major to qualify, and that doesn’t suit most pre-meds. But for the right student, it is an outstanding program that Tulane was clearly ahead of the curve in offering. It is only in the last year or two that the most famous med schools like Harvard are talking about focusing on having more humanities majors in their new classes.
Well, when you have New Orleans as your college town, there is a lot to do. But having said that, I know Tulane had a program called Tulane After Dark, designed to attract those students who want an alternative to the Greek party scene. Not sure if that is still going. Plus I imagine they still show movies on campus on the weekends. During weekend days, students plan all kinds of sports get-togethers, playing soccer, rugby, softball, and all sorts of things on the quads and elsewhere. I am sure there are other, smaller groups that get together to play video games, watch Buffy marathons, whatever.
I can’t comment on Miami.