Tulane University of Louisiana Top Questions

I find the academic atmosphere at Tulane to be a good balance of smart people who also value being social. I rarely meet a person who attends the school who I would categorize as unintelligent, and nearly everyone gets their schoolwork done with pride. I find the curves in the class to be difficult and everyone must work for their grades, good or bad.

There are a lot of good programs especially in the sciences and in business but also in liberal arts and fine arts (with growing programs in this field). Math here is difficult, not MIT difficult, but difficult. Language programs are good, especially French. Most of my professors have been nice and helpful, and you can definitely get a close relationship with your professor. They do care about undergraduate students!! Undergraduate research is available for almost all scientific fields. Classes are not overly competitive, except in the hard sciences. However, even there, other students are not trying to push you off the edge to advance themselves. Academic requirements make double-majoring easy if that is for you, and it's good for pre-med stuff, but a lot of the advisers are terrible, so you have to know how to keep up with your own stud.

English department is great. Teachers get better every year. Music department is dwarfed by the other programs at colleges in New Orleans, but the head of the department is changing, and the curriculum and majors are expanding rapidly (particularly in jazz), so the future bodes well for music at Tulane.

About half of the professors are very good, but the other half do not know how to teach. Many of the best professors seem unappreciated. Students seem to care more about the grades they make than about what they learn, so the academics are not generally held to a high standard.

The teachers here are brilliant, especially in the engineering department. They not only teach you the life applications outside of classrooms but the methods of learning. I have taken initiative to get to know my professors and taken a couple out to lunch on Tulane's generosity. You have to realize that they are human and desire to make new friends as well.

My professors know my name because I take pretty small classes. Professors with larger classes usually don't know people's names. My favorite class is Portuguese. It's taught by a Brazilian grad student, and there are only five of us in the class. Students usually don't have intellectual conversations outside of class. Students aren't very competitive. I love my major and department. Latin American Studies is a great group of people, and I feel very connected to it. I spend time with one professor in particular outside of class. I'm fine with Tulane's academic requirements except for service learning. Education here is aimed towards making money as easily as possible.

Academically, Tulane is mediocre. The only thing that maintain's Tulane's spot on the Top 50 is the Business School and some science programs. Your degree might have some weight, but don't expect to be impressed. Students take classes seriously to varying degrees. A lot of students drop out, and some never enjoy the nightlife. The key to success at Tulane is to find a balance in between getting all of your coursework done and having the time of your life. I'm a student in Biomedical Engineering. Being one of the stronger engineering programs it was kept during the cuts made after the hurricane. It has a very rigid curriculum and if you're an engineer your schedule is virtually predetermined every semester. A lot of my classmates are premedical students looking for a flashy major, but by the time you get to junior year everyone realizes how well this major really would prepare you for a career in research.

Make sure you take Calc or Stat in high school before taking it here -- otherwise there's a good chance you'll do pretty poorly in the classes. The best thing about academics here is that the classes are pretty small so it's easy for you to build a relationship with your professors. Most of my professors seem to really care about helping their students. I think a lot of professors take having hangovers into account while grading your work -- so that's chill.

Some majors have great classes and professors and others don't. Choose your major wisely. Classes are challenging but professors are available to meet with and the students really know how to work hard, party hard.

All the professors know me because I am one of only two Black students in my department (engineering). The odd thing is that some teachers constantly mix us up . . . Hmm, . . . anywho, the students are very competitive. Some classes are graded on a curve, which promotes this competition to be the best to ensure you get a better grade than your classmate. That has its good and mostly bad points; there's not an open learning environment. It becomes about who you know and who you don't. Outside of that, the quality of education is excellent. The teachers are experienced in their field and quite knowledgeable on a variety of subjects. The research and portfolios of the instructors are impressive to say the least. I do not spend time with my professors outside of class. I do not care to associate with those in my department because I have not had the best social and group experiences within my department.

So far I have definitely been satisfied with the academics at Tulane. All of my teachers have made themselves available, and many of them have shown much enthusiasm about the subjects they teach. I have had only one teacher who I felt was very knowledgeable about the subject, but could not seem to convey his knowledge to his class in a comprehensible manner, which was very frustrating. Overall, I think that Tulane students are motivated and typically more competitive with themselves, rather than with each other.

The classes at Tulane are my favorite classes I've ever taken. I have only had one or two classes with more than 20 students in them. Most of the classes are small and intimate, and the professors are top notch. I know all of my professors, and they all know me (I call many of them by first name). When I see them on campus, I usually stop to talk for a few minutes, there is just a really good connection between students and faculty at Tulane. There are lots of different types of classes, and of course, what you take depends on your major. I am double majoring in English and Anthropology, so I get to take a wide variety of subjects and class types. I've had lecture classes, workshops, discussion classes - there are many ways to teach and learn at Tulane. There is a list of core requirements that all students are required to take, and that can sometimes be difficult when all you want to do is take fun art classes. But you have to understand that it is important to have a good basis in knowledge before you can specialize in anything else. I have always been graded fairly in all of my classes, and most professors are very understanding of certain situations and really take the time to consider individual students. Which makes it a very good idea to get to know the professors and to go to class and participate. If they know you, chances are your grade will be better. Just talking to a professor, voicing your concerns, can boost your grade. If you are on the cusp, you just might get bumped up a grade for active participation. The course load is hard, there is a lot of work involved, but there is time to do it. Time management is key, and understanding your priorities and your schedule can help a lot. Just try to stay on top of things and the work isn't too bad. It's one of the top schools for a reason - the best professors, the best students, the hardest classes, and the best grades. It's got to happen somehow, right? So just do the work, no big deal.

The academics here are what you make of them. If you set a up a huge course load for yourself, you will be working a lot. I usually take about 15 credits which is totally manageable and you can still have a social life. Some majors seems harder than others. In general, I think the professors here tend to be pretty great. I know I have had some professors that have really inspired me and I won't forget them.

Tulane classes are widely varied. Some of them are auditorium style classes with massive amounts of students, in which case professors rarely know you on a first name basis (though in my experience they will make an effort if you do), while other classes are very small, perhaps ten or fewer students. The average class at Tulane, however, is a medium sized one. Large enough to contain a fair amount of students but small enough to promote a better relationship with the professor.

For the most part, the professors are very close to their students. I hang out after class with some of my teachers - things like grabbing coffee and discussion for an hour. Even in large classes (lectures of 40 or more) where the teachers can't work with you on a one on one basis, they are completely willing to meet with you after class, in office hours, or by appointment, will listen to your concerns, and are always willing to lend a hand.

academics at tulane depend entirely on what you are willing to put into it. students are smart here, so they can do well even if they dont go to class if they cram before a test. its hard to fail classes because teachers want you to do well, but you're going to have to work for an a. theres no competitive highschool attitude with students comparing grades and such. if i miss a class, ive never had a problem getting someone to share notes with me. people here are generally friendly.

A lot of programs were cut after Hurricane Katrina and course selection isn't always great because of the small school size but you can usually find the classes you want to take.

Some of the best (or most famous) academic departments/programs here at Tulane: business, architecture, Latin American studies, public health, and I'm sure there are many more I'm not aware of. I feel like all of my professors have been very knowledgeable and engaging.

Even the most obnoxious overly social people and the dunk too have a good head on their shoulders. While the athletes are for the most part very nice and outgoing are just mentally not there and well below par.

Most of the classes I have taken so far have been generic and quite frankly, boring. The classes are so big that you have to go out of the way to get to know your professors, and most of them won't remember you if you introduce yourselves anyway. The education is probably geared toward getting a job, but I don't feel like I am learning anything along the way. I have yet to experience an intelligent conversation with my peers outside of class (except for with my friends who have already transferred).