@twinmom71 Although this thread is about for kids who don’t party, since you questioned the facilities i’d like to respond. Tulane just began a $55 million construction of a new much-needed dining hall facility as well as a Commons area and also a new building for the Newcomb College.
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2018/02/tulanes_new_55_million_buildin.html
It just last month completed a $35 million expansion of the Freeman Business school.https://freeman.tulane.edu/node/7896 and just announced a $10 million donation for construction of a new Science and Engineering Building. https://news.tulane.edu/pr/steve-and-jann-paul-donate-10-million-new-science-and-engineering-building-tulane In addition, within the past 5 years Tulane build a state of the art modern sports recreational facility (the Reilly Center) for students equipped with indoor track, weight rooms, exercise rooms and equipment, etc… Also, Tulane built a new Stadium (Yulman) on campus for Football, so the kids no longer have to trek downtown to the Superdome. Tulane has definitely been investing in its facilities. The next project should be some new residential dorms! With Tulane’s $1.3 billion fundraising kickoff in December, the prospects look bullish!
@trackmbe3 …Wow! Thank you for this! I honestly wished I hadn’t mentioned it since I am not one to judge a book by its cover and I didn’t want to sound superficial or snooty in any way. This is great info. And we had a very abbreviated tour because of monsoon like rains, then had to leave early on day 2 to beat a nor’easter home. It was a funky weekend. But she is 90% committed. This will help!
PS for anyone following, I spoke with our admissions counselor about the apparent miscommunication with the neuroscience dept during our honors weekend and they already put my daughter in touch with Dr. Beth Wee, head of the neuro department, to answer any questions. Very impressed.
All of the above is spot on, @trackmbe3 , with the exception of the info about Reily. I believe it was built in 1999. Did they do a recent update/renovation within the past few years? Maybe they are building a nicer cadaver lab in the basement where they currently hold the anatomy lab classes 
They are building a new science/engineering center, but actually had just built a big lab edition in, IIRC around 2012-13. And, if you are looking for examples of the “not a partier” type, lets not forget Ian Terry, the TU engineering student who won Big Brother in 2012.
Just a few fun facts.
And their graduation ceremonies are a lot of fun!! Not like some schools where its like watching paint dry.
@jym626 I hate watching paint dry! Haha. Very helpful. I heard the fitness center is open to the public…didn’t love that but again, I was so crabby the weekend of our visit. Glad my D is giving it all another chance. The neuro lab (which we could only glimpse at because they were having an exam and no one told the professor his lab was on the list of open houses) and one of the libraries were of particular concern (referencing my “dated” comment) but we certainly didn’t see everything. Didn’t even see the dorms. I’ll click all the links above and get info. Certainly doesn’t sound like a reason not to go…especially given her scholarship. 
I now have to face the fact that my twins, together since the womb, will be more than 1,000 miles apart. Ugh…for another thread.
Here’s a recent article about the library from the school paper https://tulanehullabaloo.com/39162/news/online-day-in-the-life-howard-tilton-memorial-library/
Way back when, when we toured Amherst, not only was the woman at the desk a real crab, but the tourguide was clear to say that she was a 3rd generation legacy, had never set foot in the library (and didn’t take us in to see it despite some students’ request to do so) and when we went into the sciences bldg (which she also hadn’t been in) she exclaimed wildly “ooh, you can see my boyfriend’s temporary housing from here!”. Needless to say, this was a lackluster experience. Don’t judge the school by these factors.
@trackmbe3 So, Tulane is in the process of rebuilding their “dated” dorms etc. It is nice to know. Next 4 yrs my kid has to go through all the construction. How are the libraries? I saw a post saying that during exam time, there is not enough place to study.
Tulane has built several new dorms in the past few years (Greenbaum and Wetherhead, IIRC). IMO, its unlikely, given the challenge for on campus housing space, that they will “rebuild” a dorm, but perhaps they will update/remodel. And I know of no college campus where there isn’t construction going on. Its part of college life. DS was awakened to piledrivers next door on many occasions. He survived.
One of my favorite questions to ask on any tour of a college is about construction. It’s always interesting to see where the money is being spent on a campus. I can’t remember any campus that didn’t have construction, that is their way of showing their path to the future. Tulane has some big construction plans and I see that as a positive!
I think it is important to keep things in context when evaluating the quality of a school or considering whether or not something is worth it. “Shiny and new” does equal quality. For example, my kids HS is considered the best in the area. It is pretty old and in need of a lot of maintenance. Yet people fight to get their kids into that school instead of having to attend one of the many shiny new HS’s down the road. It’s because of the quality of teaching and programs that exist there. It’s because of their track record of success. My kid’s HS could sure use a new library, a new cafeteria, and a new sports stadium. And the schools down the road all already have those things. But no way on earth would I consider sending my kids to those schools. Additionally, I would not hold a science department’s misgivings at a weekend event against them. These are science professors, they are not in the hospitality industry, and they are not in sales(like the admissions reps technically are). I think as parents we have to help our kids see what is valuable and what can be ignored or forgiven in the college admissions process. For example, a large public school will almost always have an impressive football stadium and prospective students on a campus tour will of course imagine themselves having a great time cheering for their big public school powerhouse team in that stadium. As parents you need to remind them that at that same large public school a lot of their classes will have 1,000 or more students jammed into one class, and that they will be pulling their hair out just to get the classes they need each semester.
Upon the completion of the new dining facility “The Commons” in 2019, the old dining hall will be replaced with new dorms. I have also heard that there are plans to replace both Irby and Phelps in the coming years.
On our tours we saw schools whose facilities were immaculate and others that were quite tired (and with no construction in site). Tulane was somewhere in the middle, which considering Katrina is kind of amazing. Our biggest negative was the cafeteria but that looks like it will be addressed in short order.
I thought everything was fine except the dorms. As a northerner I can’t get used to exterior doors. It doesn’t feel like a community that way. We don’t expect luxury and in fact want D to have communal bathrooms (not suites) for a traditional dorm experience. But Sharp/Monroe were pretty bad and the laundry facilities were super gross. Again, not a deal breaker. On the plus side, the lobby area of Sharp is being renovated and expanded over the summer. So that will be nice.
We knew about the new dining hall, so only one year of the old one. Plus there is Panera’s. If she attends, she will be fine. Also we were told by numerous students the Loyola dining hall has much better food and Tulane kids can use their meal plan there. Worth the short walk.
ARE THEY ALLOWING PELICAN BUCKS TO BE USED AT LOYOLA AGAIN? ONE YEAR THEY HAD SO MANY STUDENTS DOING IT THAT THEY HAD TO STOP! (Oops sorry about caps lock!)
@jym626
We heard this last week from students, not administration. I do not know if anything has changed, sorry!
If the students say they can, then I guess they can. It was several years ago when they offered it that it was so hugely popular that they had to stop it. But I am talking maybe 6-7 years ago (time flies!)
@pantha33m Did you eat in the cafeteria while you were there?
@EDHDAD - Bruff is , shall we say, not the best example of New Orleans cuisine, but the students don’t starve.
We are in Bruff during our recent visit - it was fine. I have had much worse food on some campuses. But I imagine the new commons and dining hall will be very nice We loved the new business school building and recreation center.
@EDHDAD Yes we did. The food was ok - certainly better than what cafeterias were putting out when I was in college - but the place itself is small and oddly laid out. My kids were fine with it; it was more of a turnoff for us aesthetically-minded grownups.