Decisions, Decisions, Decisions; Sifting Through Your Admitted Schools List
First of all,
congratulations! Besides the upcoming deadline for depositing and therefore deciding your future at just one university or college, the hard part is done. I congratulate you for all of your accomplishments thus far. I remember, not too long ago, sifting through the universities I was accepted to, trying my best to imagine myself at each institution.
There are many aspects that come with being a Tulane student that have aided in my happiness here. While I cannot begin to list them all, I hope this list will help give you a better idea of what Tulane University is like from the inside so you can better picture if this is truly the place for you.
Academics I begin with academics, as the whole point of attending college is to continue your studies, broaden your intellectual understanding, and get a job, right? When you are accepted to Tulane, you are accepted into all five of our undergraduate colleges: Architecture, Business, Liberal Arts, Public Health, and Science & Engineering. This provides students the opportunity to truly take a variety of courses in a variety of disciplines before you hone in on a particular major (
among the 75+ to choose from). In fact, Tulane undergraduates do not have to declare an official major until their second semester sophomore year. This gives most the opportunity to complete the
core curriculum and find a niche they are passionate about. Roughly 1/3 of students have more than one major and around 75% of students pick up a minor along the way. Long story short, Tulane makes it easy to study across disciplines to ensure that all students are able to study what they want at any time during their undergraduate career. Tulane offers many academic opportunities inside the classroom along with research and study abroad possibilities worldwide. Our average class size is roughly 25 students, ensuring that all students get the attention they deserve from faculty and staff. I like to think of Tulane as the best of both worlds; we have many of the academic opportunities that large state schools have, but we take advantage of them in a small setting, much like many liberal arts universities and institutions.
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| When the weather permits, many discussion-based lectures are moved to the quad! |
Public Service and Pre-Professional Opportunities I group these into one category because I am a believer that our required service-learning component inherently provides students access to pre-professional opportunities outside of the classroom. On tours, I usually tell my groups that the Tulane service-learning component serves two main functions:
First, it allows undergraduate students, who on average travel over 900 miles to attend the university, the opportunity to explore the city of New Orleans, interact with working professionals in the area, and get at least a basic understanding of the unique culture, history, and vibe of their new home. Second, not only are students giving back, but the public service requirement is broken into a two-tiered system that aligns directly with undergraduate course work. The first tier is typically a 20-hour service requirement in any course completed freshman or sophomore year.
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My lab partner observes and takes notes
on the conditions at the Audubon lagoon.
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For example, my first tier service learning was completed in my Cell & Molecular Biology course. In class, we learned about many various microorganisms and biologic & metabolic pathways; in the service-learning component, we then took what we were learning in class and tested the water in the lagoon at Audubon Park to measure its clarity, pH level, dissolved oxygen, etc. We then sent in the data we collected each week to the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) so that they could monitor our results and research their effect on animals and plants.
The second tier is typically a 40-60 hour service component that can be completed through a non-paid internship, an independent research component, or a project done while abroad. My second tier service learning component was an internship that has continued into a paid position at a local startup working to implement a new electronic health record system into the LSU network across the state.
Outside of the service component, the opportunities to find research positions, internships, and other pre-professional opportunities are limitless. Recently, Forbes named New Orleans the #1 “Brainpower City.” As a student, I agree with that wholeheartedly, as the innovation occurring all around the city is a huge benefit for all Tulane students. After graduation, many students go directly into a Tulane affiliated graduate program or stay in New Orleans to work professionally. As one famous quote goes, "you can live in any city in America, but New Orleans is the only city that lives in you." -Chris Rose
About the Author
Trey Holmes
Class of 2016
Major: Public Health
Minor: Business
Involvement: GWA, Greek Life, CACTUS, Community Service Fellowship, USG
