<p>I want to go on to law school so I'm looking at a school that would possibly help me get into a high powered law school. At the same time, I want to go somewhere where I'd have an enriching experience, so I've narrowed it down to these schools. Which school would be better for aiding me in the next step of my education? </p>
<p>Ps - I live right outside of NYC so idk if going to NYU would be enriching, but its definitely an experience. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I am SO SO glad to know there’s someone else in the same situation I’m in! I’m also deciding between Tulane and USC spring semester, and also UNC-Chapel Hill, but I live in Chapel Hill, so I don’t think I want to go there, so it’s pretty much between Tulane and USC. My thoughts so far (and I just spent my whole spring break obsessing, so this will be long)…
Tulane
Pros: [ul]
[<em>]they gave me lots of money
[</em>]I would be in the honors program
[<em>]medium-sized -> not too big, not too small
[</em>]lots of small classes
[<em>]excellent programs in my intended major (creative writing/history)
[</em>]meaningful community service opportunities
[<em>]fascinating culture of New Orleans - not as in getting drunk in the Quarter, but because I’m interested in the history and also the creative environment it fosters
[</em>]I could be on a varsity sports team[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[<em>]lesser academic reputation
[</em>]b/c of reputation, harder to get into graduate school, might get stuck in the south b/c/o the stigma that is attached to southern schools
[<em>]party school reputation[/ul]
USC spring semester
Pros:[ul]
[li]also great creative writing & history programs[/li][</em>]well-respected, graduate school opportunities
[<em>]spring semester - I could go to Peru and teach English, stay home and work so I’d have money
[</em>]spring semester - it’s a gap year without the typical problem of becoming an adult an not being able to relate as easily to kids who were in school
[<em>]I could learn dramatic writing, which is really difficult to learn[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[li]might not get bumped to fall semester[/li][</em>]realistically, I wouldn’t end up going to Peru or anything b/c it’s so expensive. I would be staying home and working, and that would be horribly boring and awful
[<em>]I already have all the credits I could get from going to community college from APs
[</em>]I don’t want to miss the first part of freshman year, especially at such a huge school where it’s so easy to get lost
[<em>]horrible part of town
[</em>]I’m from a college town. I’m excited about living in a metropolitan area, but LA is HUGE and I’m a little scared of it[/ul]</p>
<p>Im honestly so torn I have no idea. I havent visited USC yet but I LOVED new orleans and tulane. I dont think a southern stigma will ruin chances of getting into grad school though – where have u heard this? I heard tulane has a very solid reputation across the country</p>
<p>I am afraid you both are under a couple of misconceptions about getting into law school. I know this not so much from the Tulane perspective but because my S, who is graduating this May from Truman State University (where??? LOL, look it up, it actually is really interesting but the point is it is clearly not so well known) and he has gotten into a couple of top 20 law schools and is probably borderline for a top 10. He should hear soon. Getting into a top law school is pretty much only about 3 things: your GPA, your LSAT score, and your recs. As long as the school you attend is accredited and at least known to these admissions people (and Truman is known to other academics, it is actually pretty selective although not as selective as Tulane or USC), then having those three criteria near the top of the heap will do it. And USC won’t prepare you any better for the LSAT or get you a better GPA than Tulane will.</p>
<p>nala, I have to point out two things you say that just are not correct:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Even if I agreed with #1, and I am not sure I entirely do because you would be amazed how many people think that a good football school cannot be that good academically, let’s say you are right there. It would still be a pretty small difference, and #2 absolutely does not follow from it. I am one example, I got into a top 5 chem grad school not even close to the south. I was just at a Tulane admitted student meeting yesterday where one of the other alums is a grad student at Harvard. And did you know that Tulane has had more Fulbright winners than USC, Duke and many other schools? Trails Harvard and Yale by a lot though, lol. Anyway, not to belabor the point but Tulane is EXTREMELY well thought of in grad schools, law schools and medical schools as a feeder school. I would also point out that Duke, Vandy and UNC are southern schools and I don’t think they have an issue here. Tulane really is far more highly regarded than you seem to think. Don’t let the USNWR rankings fool you here.</p>
<p>My recommendation to you both remains the same. Go where you think you will like it best overall and the finances are best for your family, and not based on this mythical criteria that one will help you get into law school more. Emotionally it is enticing, but factually it just is not true and I know you want to make your decision based on correct assumptions.</p>
<p>I agree with fallenchemist, a students need to decide on the right fit for themselves, with input from those that will be helping financially. People that don’t know you won’t have any clue what is best for you. And, none of the stats from any school tell the whole story about what is best for a person.</p>
<p>I had to laugh a bit, though, fallenchemist, because I knew where truman state was before I knew where Tulane was… my dad earned his masters there and my sister earned her B.S. there before going to law school… (both while it was NMSU, before it was rename)</p>
<p>Stigma attached to southern schools??? LOL! I wouldn’t even call Tulane a “southern school.” Have you checked out the Facebook page? I am wondering if they have relocated to NY/NJ and have forgotten to tell us! You should be so lucky as to get “stuck” in the South and you should know, New Orleans is not typically “southern.” It isn’t much like the rest of the South and as a transplant to the South from New York many years ago, I will take the South over any other area of the country any day of the week! So in all seriousness, “Ya’ll come on down!” You may find that you love it here and then you’ll be praying to be “stuck” here. The only thing that is going to keep you from getting into a top graduate school anywhere in the country coming out of Tulane is if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain and perform like a top candidate.</p>
<p>
That definitely puts you in the minority nationally! But very cool. I also knew it long before as Northeast Missouri State, before they completely changed it into a LAC. I grew up in St. Louis and used to attend jazz band competitions in Kirksville. OK, hijack over.</p>
<p>So for the two fence-sitting students, I hope we have convinced you that you don’t need to worry about “reputation” or related issues. I promise you it is not hype or bias talking, it is experience. If you just like USC or UNC better, then great. That is how you should roll. But somehow I get the feeling you like Tulane better but are afraid of these “issues”, which are really non-issues. If you do, then go with your instincts and attend the school where you think you will have the atmosphere you really want, Tulane.</p>
<p>Eeek! Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend anybody! My mom’s always told me that southern schools are somewhat looked down on by people from other regions, and I just kind of assumed that that was true - thanks for showing me that it’s not, that’s very reassuring.</p>
<p>And as for my assertion that Tulane has a lesser reputation - I was thinking about my own intended major (Creative Writing) - USC’s program has a really really good reputation, and I only meant that in that specific field, Tulane’s program is not as highly acclaimed, although it is still a really good program. I don’t by any means think that Tulane is a lesser school.</p>
<p>eiffyx14 - I’m kind of leaning towards Tulane at the moment, not sure how good I feel about the idea of starting spring semester, and besides, Tulane feels right.</p>
<p>I think the lesser reputation for a lot of Tulane’s program is due to the administration’s refuse of cooperation for the ranking surveys. Many organizations rank undergrad programs, but very few majors from Tulane can even be found there. Tulane would have a way better reputation if they participate better… :)</p>
<p>@nala
No offense taken - honestly. The main thing you should take from my earlier comments is that you will get just as good an education at Tulane as you want to get. No matter where you go to school, no one is going to hand you anything on a silver platter. It’s all up to you. Many, many extremely successful people have come out of Tulane. If I wasn’t certain of that, I wouldn’t have let my son commit to next year’s freshman class. How you perform while you are there will determine what comes next. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>I honestly love tulane so much its ridiculous i cant stop smiling when i talk about it. i just want to make sure im 1000% before i commit.</p>
<p>@eiffyx14
Same here. Before I finally turn down Duke, I have to be 1000%. And coming to the forum everyday, reading all these posts, listening to Fallenchemist on every thread… All these makes me willing to ensure my decision!</p>
<p>@ nalalovessimba
Last year I was a spring admit at USC, and I decided to go to Tulane for a semester first. So hopefully I can help a bit :)</p>
<p>I also am a Creative Writing major at USC, and I’m minoring in Screenwriting and Performing Arts. Here are some thoughts about both schools:</p>
<p>Tulane:
The campus is incredibly beautiful. You won’t get homeless people (not that I have anything against homeless people) wandering around campus like you do sometimes at USC. Tulane is also in a really pretty neighborhood of New Orleans and is surrounded by pretty, historic houses. Also, it is really easy to get to downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter because the streetcar is right on St. Charles Ave.
New Orleans is definitely a really quirky, beautiful city. The people are incredibly friendly, the architecture is amazing, there are lots of things to do, and there is a lot of history there.</p>
<p>Social life at Tulane is what you make of it, but drinking is really important (this is New Orleans we’re talking about…). At Tulane there are some students who seem to go out every night and you do find some who seem to really be there just to party. That being said, there are also a lot of students who are smart and care about academics.</p>
<p>Academics: For some reason I picked classes at Tulane that I didn’t end up finding very interesting, and in my honors classes the other students (mostly other freshmen) thought they knew everything and were overly-opinionated. Often I just wished that they would all be quiet so that the professors, whom I was paying to hear talk and who knew what they were talking about, could lecture. I did have two classes (out of five) that I really liked. One of them was my TIDES, which is a required freshmen course that was a lot of fun but only met once per week for one hour.</p>
<p>Tulane definitely is not known AT ALL for screenwriting or film, whereas USC has the best film school in the world (not just in my opinion) and the screenwriting minor is a very good program.</p>
<p>Size: Class sizes were pretty small, which was nice. Tulane feels smaller than it actually is; I would see the same people over and over again around campus and at the cafeteria. It felt a little too much like high school at times.</p>
<p>Overall: Tulane is a very good school and I think that anyone could be happy there. I’m willing to give Tulane the benefit of the doubt and say that I just happened to pick classes that were boring… the campus is very pretty, if small, but I absolutely fell in love with the city of New Orleans. I could see myself living in NOLA someday again and even though I only lived there 4 months, I get homesick for it sometimes.</p>
<p>USC:
Campus: The campus is really beautiful and there are more places to eat around campus than at Tulane. The libraries are nicer at USC than at Tulane, and there are many more places to study than Tulane offers. Of course, the area surrounding USC is very poor and there is no where to shop/walk to like at Tulane. There is a shuttle to downtown LA on weekends, so it’s easy to go see a movie, concert, or basketball game. Overall, Tulane has a prettier campus in my opinion, because there are more flowers and there’s just a different atmosphere.
Unfortunately, there are some homeless people who wander around USC’s campus, and at the grocery store right by USC sometimes people will come up to me and ask for money. You can’t walk far off campus at USC - there’s no reason to because there isn’t anything to do. However, if you or a friend have a car, than there are TONS of things to do in L.A.
The beach is obviously a big plus if you can get there, there are lots of cool neighborhoods in the L.A. area to explore, lots of great shopping, etc.</p>
<p>Also, since I am really interested in the film business, L.A. is the place for that. USC’s film school is the best in the country, and there are TONS of industry professionals who come to speak at USC. I’ve met the director of Toy Story 3, the producer and director of House, Marco Bellochio (a celebrated Italian filmmaker) and two of the writers of Modern Family this semester. </p>
<p>Besides that there are lots of famous poets and authors who come to USC to speak; I’ve heard Billy Collins, W.S. Merwin, and Natasha Trethewey do poetry readings this semester. Next month, tons of authors are coming to USC for the LA Festival of Books which is held every year, and the Dalai Lama is also coming this semester. So USC attracts a lot of really cool speakers, more so (in my experience) than at Tulane.</p>
<p>My classes at USC have all been really good so far; I find all of them interesting, especially my film and English classes.</p>
<p>Overall, USC is a great school. I actually enjoy the spring admit thing now because I was assigned an apartment, so I have my own kitchen and bathroom (that I share with a roommate) and personally I find it much better than dorm life at Tulane. But it’s not for everyone; my roommate seems to be having a hard time with being a spring admit; some people benefit from living in dorms, especially if they’re not very independent.</p>
<p>Honestly, both are really good schools, so you have a tough choice to make. There are pros and cons to each, of course. But I do hope this gave you a bit more information. I know that it’s a really hard decision to make - I was sad to leave Tulane, but then I got to USC and loved it, too. I’m planning on staying at USC, but like I said, Tulane is great, too.</p>
<p>A couple of things that I forgot to mention:</p>
<p>USC does have a better academic reputation in that it has a higher ranking and a notoriously strong alumni network. But Tulane is also very prestigious. </p>
<p>USC just got a donation of 200 million dollars to the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, so that will probably make it rise more in the rankings in the next few years.</p>
<p>Greek Life: Is small at Tulane, bigger at USC. There are more rich sorority-girl types at USC, but that can be expected because face it, it is Southern California. USC is very economically diverse, even if you do see some students driving Mercedes and BMWs.</p>