Tulane University of Louisiana Top Questions

Greek life is not very large on campus according to the percentage on our schools website. However, it definitely has a more prominent role socially. You do not need to be in Greek life to go out, have fun, and meet new people. By NO means must you join a sorority/fraternity to enjoy school. However, it is an advantage to join because you automatically meet +50 more people who become your new "brothers/sisters". As a somewhat shy person myself, it helped me branch out and feel more comfortable when going to bars and recognizing more students. I really do love being a part of something that makes me feel so closely knit to a group of people. I also have many friends who did not join Greek life and they know just as many people as I do and are invited to many of the events Greeks hold weekly. It really is a personal preference to join or not, and regardless of your choice you will still be happy at Tulane.

Academically smart! Very smart students congregate here. Although it is a stereotype, the most prevalent one is partiers. Yes, there a ton of outings and alcohol is readily available. While this is all true, the students here are still smart and concerned about their school work.

The most common stereotype is that the students are rich Jewish kids from New York and surrounding areas. A belief about Tulane students from the surrounding New Orleans community is that we are snobby and uninvolved. Aside from these, there are so many different types of people on campus that it's hard to pinpoint one overarching theme. There are plenty of sorority girls in leggings and UGGs, but at the same time there are a ton of artsy people and hipsters.

When many people think of Tulane they immediately think of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. This leads to the stereotype that all Tulane students do is drink, which in fact is not the case. While there is a great bar scene and fun frat parties, Tulane and the city of New Orleans provide an assortment of activities for students that don't like to drink (the music scene in New Orleans can be enjoyed sober, as well as the organization Tulane After Dark which provides late night on campus activities as an alternative to the bars). In addition, Tulane students are incredibly hard workers. The phrase "work hard play hard" is a very accurate description of the Tulane mentality--the students here are incredibly driven in every aspect of life, be it their studies or having a good time.

Many people have called Tulane "Jewlane" because of the seemingly high population of Jewish students. However, I do not believe it is accurate. Yes, many people here ARE Jewish, but that does not define who we are as a community. There are many different people represented at Tulane, and no "stereotype" is left out. No matter what a person's style or religious beliefs may be, there is always a place for him or her in the Tulane community.

Don't let the location fool you, Tulane is an East-Coast prep school through and through, merely air-lifted to the deep-south. The vast majority of Tulane students come from over 500 miles away, with states like New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut being the most common. If you are from one of those areas and like the social climate, great! Expect more of it here. If you're like me, and stem from the beaches of California...expect a fair amount of culture shock. Expect designer purses on girls, and guys wearing button ups to a dive bar. Also, it needs to be noted, a not-so-proud nickname of Tulane is "Jewlane". Simply put, lots of Jews go here. That wasn't so much a problem for me, but it is certainly something to know before making the leap (can you believe they don't note this all in the tour?) But don't let this suddenly make you scamper off and run. Stereotypes always have counters and Tulane is no exception. There is a healthy nerd population with an active video-game club, and yearly Human Vs. Zombies game. There are the jocks that you will either live with or only see in the dining hall. There are goths, there are preps, and there are guys like me who are just dudes looking to get a degree and have a fun time. There's a niche for everyone.

At first glance, Tulane University sounds like a diverse group of intellectuals. It boasts being one of the most geographically diverse schools, and since it sits in the heart of New Orleans, one cannot help but think it will be racially diverse as well. Once you arrive there, however, the new stereotype is that we are all a bunch of rich, spoiled, white kids from the Northeast. While this is not entirely true since Tulane does have international students and at least one kid from almost every state, the average student is wealthy and from the Northeast (and I'll let you decide for yourself if they're spoiled). While, yes, this can cause a few rifts and can make the school seem more undesirable as a whole because it is not the hub of diversity that you think it might be, it is easily surmountable by exploring the surrounding city and taking advantage of all the opportunities you can to get out and enjoy New Orleans.

At first glance, Tulane University sounds like a diverse group of intellectuals. It boasts being one of the most geographically diverse schools, and since it sits in the heart of New Orleans, one cannot help but think it will be racially diverse as well. Once you arrive there, however, the new stereotype is that we are all a bunch of rich, spoiled, white kids from the Northeast. While this is not entirely true since Tulane does have international students and at least one kid from almost every state, the average student is wealthy and from the Northeast (and I'll let you decide for yourself if they're spoiled). While, yes, this can cause a few rifts and can make the school seem more undesirable as a whole because it is not the hub of diversity that you think it might be, it is easily surmountable by exploring the surrounding city and taking advantage of all the opportunities you can to get out and enjoy New Orleans.

Pretty much true. It's difficult to argue against stereotypes at Tulane due to a lack of diversity. The school itself has a reputation for being the Southern equivalent of a Northeastern liberal arts college, but with a heavy party atmosphere. For this, it ends up drawing primarily upper-middle class white students from California, Chicago, and the Northeast. You really get two types of applicants, those who had Tulane as their safety school and didn't get into anything Ivy, and some socially conscious students drawn by Tulane's reputation for charity in New Orleans. Fortunately, the student body is turning away from the Pre-Katrina dynamic of rich kids looking to party, towards a more academically and socially driven kid who is happy to party in New Orleans.

Tulane University students are thought of in different ways, depending on who you ask. There is a higher Jewish population than the national average, so there is a bit of a stereotype that everyone who goes here is Jewish and usually from the Northeast. But not everyone really is, and there are plenty of people from all over the country. Another stereotype is that everyone drinks a LOT, it is in New Orleans and I know from my friends at other schools that we do have more access to bars (which are more often to those 18+ instead of 21+) and there is clearly a drinking culture. That said, people often over estimate the amount of drinking that takes place, and it seems to me that there are usually a few people in any group of friends who don't drink at all.

Tulane students have a reputation for partying. This is partially true, but we generally work really hard academically, then drink... heavily. A lot of Tulane students come from the Northeast, with New York as the second largest "feeder-state," after Louisiana. Greek life exists, but it is not overpowering and one can still have a great social life without it. I would say that there are definitely more bro-tastic frat boys and vapid sorority girls at Tulane than eccentric bohemians, but most people find their niche all the same.

Coming into Tulane, I was given quite a few impressions, either pertaining to the school, itself, or the city surrounding it. My boyfriend here is Jewish. His best friend is Jewish. Her best friend is Jewish. I think you get the idea. Last time I checked, about a third of the student population would identify themselves as Jewish. So what does this cause? If nothing else, we have a very active campus Hillel and many students that walk around wh the assuption that one third of the people they'll run into on any given day are Jewish. And that's probably pretty accurate. One guy in my class even customized "Jewlane" shirts, in the same style as our school's classic green shirts with the white "Tulane" lettering (with a marked three-letter difference, of course). In addition, I've found that our "Only in New Orleans, Only at Tulane" motto is particularly appropriate to describe the party scene. Sure, there are crazy parties at every college, but c'mon - it's New Orleans. And I think it's safe to say the scene here is unlike that of any other school. The school tends to have a reputation for kids with bad livers who never stop partying, and while you're sure to run into some of those, there are plenty of students who absain AND STILL have a social life. Parties are fun and, provided you remember them, will give you material for great stories to tell at other parties, but if it's not your scene, it's all too easy to avoid. I have plenty of friends here who don't drink and they still have a great time. If you can get bored in New Orleans, you're probably going well of your way to do so. The only other false impression I was given is that the school is very diverse. I can hear one of my friends here say from time to time, "I miss black people." Sure, we have diversity, but like many schools in the US, I'm one of many, many white kids. However, if I were to list some of my best friends here I could tell you that one is a bisexual swing dancer from Idaho, another is a Puerto Rican girl from Jacksonville, Florida, who boasts a very colorful condom collection, a girl from Ohio who spent the last 2 years in Mexico, a musical theatre pre-med with what is possibly the cutest southern accent ever, and another is my boyfriend, who is from a tiny Jewish high school in Mercer Island, Washington. I have yet to meet someone here from my hometown. Even if you can't see variegated skin tones wherever you go, the different socio-economic backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints that coalesce at Tulane is sure to provide one with stimulating conversation and experiences that you can find "only in New Orleans, only at Tulane."

The student body at Tulane is sometimes thought to be a rich, white upperclass group of students. Being an expensive private school, it is true that there are some people who attend here who fit this description. However, the great financial aid programs Tulane has to offer really allow students from diverse cultures, backgrounds and socio-economic classes to receive their education here.

Because New Orleans is in the "Big Easy", the stereotype is that, of course, students at Tulane must drink and party all the time. While we know how to have fun, we also work hard...after all, our unofficial motto is 'Work hard, play hard.' I think that best describes the general undergraduate student body at Tulane. Tulane, like New Orleans is really diverse--we have the Greeks, the athletes, the studious ones, the ones who are involved in everything and we all know the importance of doing well at school (we are students), but afterward, we all like going out into the city to eat, go out, and have fun.

It's mostly true, but there are diamonds in the rough.

I would say that Tulane has a party stereotype. However, there is definitely a party hard work hard atmosphere. There is so much to do in the city of New Orleans, and the city itself has a party stereotype. Most students are able to experience what New Orleans has to offer and have an fun, while still doing well in school. Sometime, though, it takes a semester for students to find the balance between socializing and school. As long as you eventually find the balance you should do great.

You may have heard some people refer to Tulane as "Jewlane". Although Tulane has a large Jewish community, it by no means that students who are not Jewish don't fit in. Everyone is extremely tolerant of other religions and actually a majority of Tulane's undergraduates are not Jewish. Tulane has students from all around the United States, with almost every state represented.

Jewlane