Tulane University of Louisiana Top Questions

If you've heard of any stereotypes about Tulane, this one is probably the most accurate. While not everybody is out drinking every night or weekend, most are. There is so much good music, food, festivals (Jazzfest is probably one of the greatest jazz festivals in the world). Mardi Gras is precisely as you envision it, but the entire school (professors especially) embrace it.

A local capoeira club practices in the LBC.

Tulane is definitely a party school. Many students take advantage of the lax enforcement of drinking laws in New Orleans on a regular basis. Almost any night of the week there is somewhere to go out whether it is a frat party, bar special, or house party. However there are also many students who do not drink and can find many differing activities, and the fact that Tulane has a party reputation should not disinterest students who do not drink.

The problem with Tulane is that students don't get too involved with their organizations or clubs. I was a member of the Asian American Student Union and it kind of sucked. We never did anything together. Athletic events are pretty unpopular because the teams kind of suck. The baseball team is the best athletic team, but college baseball just doesn't have much excitement. I think that if Tulane marketed with the fact that so many players get drafted and go on to be professional baseball players, they might get more fans. I will say this, being in New Orleans has given Tulane a lot of perks regarding guest speakers. A lot of respected and influential people come to Tulane to talk (probably out of sympathy for Katrina). Partying is obviously a bit thing that people do. I never met a single kid who didn't drink. Some kids would party as early in the week as Tuesday. I really don't think there's much you can do on a Saturday that doesn't involve drinking. There just aren't enough people who just want to chill out at 2 in the morning. Chances are, if they're not down on Bourbon, they're either at the Boot (the local bar and dance club), or they're in the dorm bathroom throwing up.

Most of my close friends are the ones I met in my dorm my freshman year, but you also meet people who can be your best friend in your classes. Students leave their doors open if they have a doorstop, but other than that, none of the people I lived with ever had a problem just opening their neighbors' door and walking into their room. Students are very open about sharing their space. Athletic events are not that popular. The theater program puts on some excellent productions and it is always worth a Friday or Saturday night to go watch one of their performances. The plays are different and sometimes are student written, plus there is lots of talent among the theater students. There are lots of guest speakers, and some of the best come through the Newcomb Women's Institute, which also has weekly lunches that include a lecture by a female author, a feminist, or a variety of professors or other speakers who discuss a range of different topics. If a student gets hungry, The Rat is a restaurant located in the basement of the student union. It's greasy, fried southern food is delicious and excellent 2 am study break food. There is always something going on around Tulane, any day of the week Plus, it's New Orleans, which is filled with music and cultural events. Any of the festivals that are held in New Orleans, such a Voodoo Festival, French Quarter Festival, and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, are always worth the money to attend. On the weekends, it is often difficult to find something to do that doesn't involved drinking or sitting in your dorm watching movies every weekend. The school could definitely do a better job of having more activity choices for students, like the concerts that happen outside of the student union during homecoming, or the movies they show in McAlister Auditorium on select weekends. Tulane has a Greek system, but it is fairly small. There is usually a frat party going on during the weekends, but they are definitely more active during the spring semester.

Greeks are on top socially. But if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Awake at 2am on a Tuesday - you are riding the buzz off from 50 cent night at the campus bar: The Boot. You can party 7 days a week. Most go out 1-3 times depending on commitments and how heavy their course load is. Pre med goes out alot less than business. Dating - random/regular hook ups the first two years. After that guys tend to settle down for their Junior and Senior years. Saturday without Alcohol involves the library, an off campus cultural event, or dinner and a movie with friends.

Between all of my friends from high school who go to similarly ranked colleges like Vanderbilt, Emory, William and Mary, Washington University, and others, Tulane's social life is by far the best. We had the opportunity to partake in the events offered by the city of New Orleans, which really is absolutely unique and cannot be copied. When students from other schools come to visit they are overwhelmed by all the different options from hanging out at someone's house, to going downtown to bars, staying uptown and going to bars, live music, and so many other fun stuff to do. I don't think fraternities and soroities make or break a person's social life at Tulane, however they are very beneficial as they have their own functions and especially as a freshman and/or sophmore helps faciliate the transition and meeting people that you may not have normally met before.

The most popular groups on campus would have to be the frats and sororities. We always have a guest speaker or a concert going on. Lil Wayne performed at our school, Obama spoke at our school, and the list goes on... The dating scene is definitely open!

go greek or go home but the greek like might be changing now (getting more strict) due to a certain frat exposing their hazing accidentally

- there is an activity on campus for everyone - we have too many to count! - we have had some really good guest speakers over the past few years - Barack Obama, Gloria Steinem, Anderson Cooper, etc. - Tuesday is 50 cent night at the Boot... - sororities and fraternities are popular, but you don't NEED to be in one to have an active social life; Greeks and non-Greeks get along

For me the school did all it could to keep me from having this outside of a study group. So IF you want a social any thing good you will have to find it on your own.

Even though the greek system may seem prevalent, it is only one part of the equation. New Orleans is a cultural mecca and one can always find something to do that is awesome and non-greek. But, if your into that then the Greek scene is also great.

so much stuff to do on campus, i regret not taking advantage more of what tulane had to offer. there were speakers coming to the mcallister aduditirium all the time. this year we had ann coulter (ew, but still cool that she came!) barak obama, bill clinton, laura bush, and many others. james carville spoke at our graduation. there also are concerts frequently held on campus and comedians and other shows. tulane is a pretty big part of new orleans and they really want the students to have a fun and diverse experience. if you are in incoming freshman SIGN UP FOR TIDES its such a fun class, super easy and great field trips to get to know the city and culture. free dinner too!

Greek life at Tulane is amazing. Though intragreek relations are weak, each individual sorority is unified. My sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi, contains an extremely close knit gorup of girls. I met most of my friends through my sorority.. Also, 15 out of 53 girls in my pledge class were from my floor freshman year. Guest speakers are as popular as the speaker themselves. I woke up at 5:45 am to wait in line to hear Barak Obama speak. But I was also one of a few students that went to hear Madeline Albright speak. If I am awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, I am at the Boot taking 50 cent shots with my friends. Soon I will make my way over to the Palms before grabbing a slice of pizza around 4 am for the two block walk home. There is no dating scene at Tulane. It is hookup central. Sex and hooking up is casual and serious relationships are much less common than causal sex.

So much to do on and off campus.

You're in New Orleans...need I say more.

Tulane has a lot of clubs and activities for anyone to get involved in, especially the community service programs, students really like giving back to the community. There are a ton of guest speakers, comedians, and musical performances that come to campus, this past year we had Lil Wayne, Girl Talk, Jim Breuer, and more. Bill Clinton even come to our campus to hold a Global Initiative program. Students are very social, and there are opportunities to do something every night of the week. Its easy to get downtown with the newly up and running streetcar. If you're awake at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday you are more than likely at The Boot (it's 50 cent night on Tuesdays) or eating at The Rat, or you're studying. My closest friends are my floor mates, we had a really close floor this year and we're really lucky to have all become really close friends, I lived on a coed floor also, which was a lot of fun and I made some really good friends through leaving my door open and using the social lounges. There is a lot of partying to do at Tulane, and its a great time, but its easy to get burnt out, and after a while movie nights seem to become slightly more prevalent.

In my dorm we always left the door open! It's friendlier that way. It's really easy to make friends at Tulane. Dating doesn't exist. This is unfortunate. That's not to say boys and girls don't interact. They just are either more casual or in a steady relationship. They middle ground is sadly lacking. Guest speakers are beloved at Tulane. We love hearing famous people. Sporting events are boring. Fraternities and sororities are semi-important. I think 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the girls in my class rushed. They're there. You can ignore them if you want or join them if you want, but either way they are not so dominant as to be overwhelming. One thing that is campus wide is Crawfest. The main quad is covered in students soaking up the sun, listening to live music and eating pounds and pounds of crawfish. A lot of people get into it. It's relaxing and a lot of fun.

If you want a school that has a strong interest in NCAA athletics, this isn't it. The only athletic event kids attend is the annual Tulane-LSU game, and even then only for the tailgating and pregame festivities. Tulane has every club you can think of, and if they don't have it, chances are they will support it. I have friends that are starting a kayaking club next year, and I am currently on the debate team. But without a doubt, the volunteer organizations are the strongest at Tulane. Kids routinely prop their doors open, and usually leave them that way 24/7, welcoming kids in but mostly just so that they don't have to fumble around with their key at 4 a.m. when returning home after a night of barhopping. The most popular events are speaking events by public speakers. This year, Barack Obama, Ann Coulter and Gloria Steinem all spoke at Tulane to packed houses, with several protests and heated screaming matches ensuing. There isn't much of a dating scene at Tulane, but kids routinely "hook-up" with random people they meet at a bar. Definitely bring your share of condoms if you go to Tulane, you will use them. For example, an average Tuesday at Tulane consists of the weekly beer pong tournament at a local watering hole or a drink special at another bar that has 50 cent drinks all night. The biggest tradition of the year is definitely Mardi Gras, which last two weeks in New Orleans and is nothing but an alcohol fueled period of juvenile delinquency. The fraternity and sorority scene isn't too important at Tulane, but definitely is strong enough on campus to be seen regularly. If you can't appreciate alcohol and drinking, you could always enjoy the vibrant jazz scene in New Orleans, but even then, most of the venues for those types of things are in bars, so alcohol is a constant throughout Tulane and New Orleans, and if drinking really isn't your thing, you might get bored.

Tuesday night is 50 cent night, Wednesday night was big cup night, Thursday night is the start of the weekend, Friday night is Friday night, Saturday night is the last chance to drink before the week starts, Sunday is for nursing hangovers, and the truly hardcore are back out on Monday night. There's a wee bit of a drinking culture at the school. On the plus side, the Rat is open all night long, so even the freshman honors kids can go out late every night for study sessions and snacks.