<p>I know the student body is primarily from the east coast. Does this have a big impact? People from the east coast tend to have the reputation of being preppy, conceited, cutthroat, and/or rude. Which is totally not me. What exactly is the typical student like? Any information is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>S2 is from the PNW, but many of his friends are from the east. Though as a parent my interactions with them are limited, but the are really fun and interesting young people. S2 says he knows no one who is cut throat or all that preppy.</p>
<p>S1, a sophomore, is a southerner. He has many friends from the northeast, but just as many from Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia. Students at Tulane come from everywhere. While there are many from the East Coast, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they come “primarily” from there. I would also say that they mix very well and love to poke fun at each other for their various accents and regional idiosyncrasies. It is an educational experience unto itself to go to school with people from all over the country!</p>
<p>My DS is from the Northeast and is none of those things. He chose Tulane for their service requirements and the laid back atmosphere he has experienced in our visits. I think you will find all types of students from all over.</p>
<p>Thank you for the information everyone! My question kind of relates, so I won’t start a new thread… can anyone describe what the Tulane community feels like? I know some schools are characterized by a solid, “We are University X” feel, whereas others are characterized by unique groups that make up the student body. At some schools, if you ask 10 random students to describe the school, 7/10 of them will use similar words. Can someone tell me if Tulane is like this? (And if so, how do students self-describe?)</p>
<p>I’m really interested in the “feel” of places, so I appreciate any insight. Thanks!</p>
<p>Obviously these are difficult questions to answer since two people, given the exact same experiences, can draw very different conclusions when it comes to things this subjective. Still, some common feedback are things like:</p>
<p>The students are really happy to be at Tulane and love the school. Visitors frequently note that they see more kids wearing Tulane clothing around campus than the corresponding gear at other schools. So while sports are not that big a deal at Tulane compared to many schools, school spirit is quite high.</p>
<p>Because of the major emphasis on service, there is a vibe of general inclusiveness on the Tulane campus.</p>
<p>Definitely a work hard/party hard ethos, cliche though it is.</p>
<p>Fun, and not just party fun.</p>
<p>New Orleans is very integral to the university experience. Take all the same buildings, faculty, students, etc. and put it anywhere else and the school would not be the same.</p>
<p>Those are what come to my mind. Anyone else?</p>
<p>I suppose grad students at Tulane are diverse too… I know that, when shopping a grad school, subfield comes first, and feel second, but feel does matter once one has identified grad schools with the subfield one intends to specialize in.</p>
<p>It does, but the difference between grad school and undergrad is pretty stark, at least in the sciences. Grad school is far more like a job. Still, surroundings do matter. But you don’t participate in various side activities nearly to the extent you do as an undergrad. At least that was my experience.</p>
<p>first hand experience from a second semester sophomore:</p>
<p>the majority of students are jewish, hence the nickname “jewlane”. there is also a strong catholic presence, most likely because of the catholic nature of new orleans. </p>
<p>the majority of students are from the following places: New York (mostly westchester and long island), California, Chicago, Atlanta, boston, philly, and Louisiana. There’s also a solid cluster from Texas.</p>
<p>there is a bit of a latin american presence too. it’s not uncommon to hear students conversing in spanish every once in awhile.</p>
<p>the gender ratio is notable , its 58% women and 32% men. this is VERY noticeable on campus (if you’re a guy its probably a plus though). there is also a significantly larger amount of gays here than the national average. </p>
<p>NO FEAR: all of the northerners are very down to earth. besides a few of course. don’t listen to stereotypes. </p>
<p>a very large majority of students go abroad their junior year. at least 80% of my friends are.</p>
<p>i’d say about 70% of students go out 1-4 times a week. If you’re not a partyer: live in butler. it’s not uncommon (especially for freshman year) for the weekend to start on Tuesday. </p>
<p>everyone is SUPER friendly, especially at the beginning of freshman year. it’s SO easy to make friends here. most everyone loves it here and would not want to be anywhere else. if you have any other questions feel free to PM me :)</p>
<p>Actually, it’s about 1/3 Jewish, which is a lot, but far from a majority.</p>
<p>Couple of other small corrections, the first just a typo. Obviously chaymck meant 42% male. Also, the percent that study abroad is about 30%. Chaymck must just hang with a group that has a proclivity to travel!</p>
<p>The latest lists I have seen in Jewish news periodicals is that Tulane is about 28% Jewish, but obviously that will vary a few percent up or down from year to year.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that there really is a “typical” student. I can’t really give a “stereotype” that truly fits. </p>
<p>You’ll find clusters of people who vary so much from other clusters. Me and my friends are all pre-med/party-when-we-can kind of people. I know a few party-all-the-time kind of people. I also know some people who never party, or only do so when explicitly invited to pregames etc. </p>
<p>Most students do go out at least once in a while, though. And social butterflies do seem to dominate campus. Everyone is actually quite nice freshman year. Of course, then people begin to form solid friend groups etc but no one is ever really rude. </p>
<p>There are lots of Northerners, sure, but there’s a solid amount from the West Coast, etc as well. I’ve befriended a lot of Southerners in my time here fwiw. There are a lot of jewish kids but it’s not really so much that I ever felt out of place, as a non-jewish kid. </p>
<p>I don’t know. The average TU student is probably more outgoing than shy and can balance school work and partying effectively. Saying anything more (e.g. we’re all jewish, we’re all rich kids, we’re all from New Jersey) wouldn’t be true.</p>