Why I regret coming to Tulane

As my freshman year comes to a close, unlike my peers who are anxiously waiting for summer to get here, I’m waiting for my transfer admission decisions to get here. After a semester and a half at Tulane University, I decided to apply elsewhere. While my year here has certainly not been for nothing, I regret choosing Tulane. Here’s why…

I’m not a partier

I guess I should’ve seen this coming, given Tulane’s national reputation as a school that knows how to have a good time. As someone who doesn’t “party” and doesn’t drink, I’ve found it exceptionally hard to find ways to spend my weekends. And though everyone will tell you, “Oh, plenty of people here don’t drink. It’s totally fine,” those other people who don’t drink are ridiculously hard to find. I was lucky enough to get a roommate with the same mindset as me, but we are socially isolated from our peers. The nightlife here is extremely limited if sobriety weekend is your style.

No, I don’t want to go to The Boot

I’m in liberal arts

A huge problem I’ve had at Tulane is the lack in almost any liberal arts department. My majors are linguistics and cognitive science, both in the liberal arts wheelhouse. I came to Tulane having tested out of most of my core requirements, so I was ready to jump in with my majors but found very few options for me to do so. Tulane is so focused on pre-law, pre-health, and business students that other programs have way fewer resources.

In trying to get ahead and plan my schedule for the next semester and beyond, I ran into a brick wall. Unlike in the more popular departments, linguistics students never know what courses are going to be offered or when. It’s much harder to fulfill requirements and to advance in your field. At a school that boasts its reputation as a research institution, there are little to no opportunities for research in either of my majors, which was a major disappointment for me.

I have interests outside of my major

Another issue I’ve faced here is a lack of involvement. In my home life, musical theatre was my passion. I was in three shows a year for seven years straight, until I came here. Tulane has no way for me to get involved in theatre without being a theatre major. This left me helpless, with nothing to do to fill my time. I looked to OrgSync, the supposed hub of clubs and activities for the university. What I saw only furthered my frustration; most of the clubs on the website are major-specific. (There are at least a dozen organizations each for business, law, and medical students. As for the rest, half of the clubs are dormant, and many are solely academic in nature.) The prejudice-by-major evens extends into scheduling. Lots of classes are restricted by major and cannot be joined by a non-major until a much later date, if at all. How are people supposed to explore their interests if they can’t even take adventurous classes?

Giving my sister a tour of campus this semester

I value mental health

Tulane is known for having a fun, wild social culture in a vibrant, lively city. What this doesn’t tell you about Tulane is that a concerning amount of the population reports having depression, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. And that’s just on our YikYak. In theory, Tulane students shouldn’t have any concern when it comes to mental health. There seems to be an abundance of resources on campus to assist, advise, and provide support for students.

But as someone with mental health concerns, I’ve tried a few of these resources and gotten the same response across the board: I need help. That’s right— the people I’m supposed to go to when I need help simply told me that I should be seeking help. Sorry, but that’s what I thought I was doing. Tulane talks a big talk about how much they want their students to be happy and healthy, but it’s mostly all for show to make up for the surplus of suicides here a few years back. Some Tulane students are still unhappy and have no real way to make things better.

I value diversity

Coming to Tulane after going to the biggest public school in Louisiana was a bit of a culture shock. I was used to lots of diversity— diversity of ideas, religions, races, beliefs, interests, styles, and personalities. I know I’m not the only one who’s noticed the distinct homogeneity here. Even at orientation, one of my fellow students, knowing I was from the area, said to me, “Okay, so we’re in New Orleans…where are all the black people?” And he was right.

In a city known for its mixture of cultures, for being the home of the Creoles, and for racial diversity, the school in the heart of it was way too white. But it doesn’t stop at race. As soon as fall weather arrived, almost every girl on campus was in black leggings, boots, and an over-sized sorority t-shirt. Walking down Mcalister is like Deja Vu on top of seeing double. I’ve met the same person a hundred times over with a different name here. I’m the kind of person who likes new ideas and learning to see from a new perspective, and the population of Tulane severely limits the potential of that.

All in all, it’s not surprising Tulane isn’t a match for me. I knew I wouldn’t like the party scene and that liberal arts didn’t shine here, but I had no idea how isolated I would end up being. It seems like everywhere I turn there are more limitations. So if you know what you want and Tulane has it, this is the right school for you. If you think you’re more like me, maybe keep on looking.

All this to say, Tulane is a great school. It has a lot of resources, wonderful alumni, a beautiful campus in an exciting city, and a lot of potential. I’m proud to say that I’ve been a Tulanian, but I want my college to be a place I can call home, so this isn’t the end of my journey.