Decision Time; I've Been Accepted (Part 2)

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.

Extracurricular Opportunities 

The Tulane Green Club works on a variety of projects such as
composting and creating sustainable gardens around campus.

Tulane has over 250 clubs and organizations for students to get involved with. We have everything from the more traditional multicultural, religious, academic, service, and sports related clubs all the way to the Benevolent Society for the Propagation of Assorted Tomfoolery and Other Sorts of Peculiar and Otherwise Absurd and Baffling Nonsense (Otherwise known as, the Juggling Club). Greek Life at Tulane encompasses roughly 45% of Tulane undergrads. That being said, it really doesn't define who you are, who you hang out with, or what you do on an average weekend. With our spring rush system, you will have the opportunity to meet other upperclassman and underclassman in your classes, extracurriculars, and day-to-day life during your first semester. If you decide through those encounters that Greek life at Tulane is something you're interested in, great! If not, also great! In my experiences I have about an equal amount of friends in/not in a Greek organization and a fairly even spread of friends in multiple organizations.

One of my favorite aspects of Tulane student life as whole is our ability to balance the academic side of college life with extracurricular and other outside involvement.

Club Rowing is just one of many ways to stay active as a Tulane undergrad!

Entertainment 

The Uptown Mardi Gras experience is something for the books!
Tulane students are intertwined with local families and tourists to
catch the parades away from the Bourbon Street madness.

That last point brings me into one final one: entertainment. It is no surprise to most that New Orleans has a long history enriched in festivals, celebrations, and drinking. From Sazerac’s at The Roosevelt to Hurricanes at Pat O’Briens, there are plenty of famous venues serving up tasty concoctions. Be that as it may, actually living in New Orleans provides a far different story than Bourbon Street binges and late nights in the French Quarter. In my opinion, Tulane students get the best of both worlds. We spend a large portion of our time in the Uptown neighborhood, enjoying local comforts like afternoons slurping down Snoballs or evenings watching the sunset at the Fly. There is no shortage of amazing venues to catch live music any given night or a delicious fresh seafood gumbo or po’boy all within walking distance from the Uptown campus. Don’t get me wrong, with more festivals than days of the year in the Gulf South, Tulane students definitely have our fair share of excuses to get out and find some relief away from the classroom and Uptown neighborhood. The key to a successful Tulane career, or any college career for that matter, is moderation. As Tulane students, we may have to do a little more long term planning to balance out exams and midterm papers with Mardi Gras parades, catching the Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf, or chomping down a few pounds of crawfish at Crawfest, but it all comes naturally to most.

Generally, all Tulane students know and understand that academics comes first and stay true to their academic and professional goals for the duration of their Tulane experience. 

Crawfest is an annual music, food, and arts festival located on campus. Each year, over 10,000 community members and students enjoy a day of live music, 20,000+ pounds of crawfish, thousands of pounds of veggies, and 25 local food and art vendors across 2 quads.

The Fly is Tulane's version of a beach, minus the sand or ocean. It is a beautiful park set directly alongside the
Mississippi River bend where students are often found relaxing, hanging out, or even studying!

About the Author

Trey Holmes

Class of 2016 

Major: Public Health 

Minor: Business 

Involvement: GWA, Greek Life, CACTUS, Community Service Fellowship, USG