Hey @strugg1ingt33n, I can give you some insight as a parent who had 2 Black kids who were accepted to both Tulane and Howard University and loved both schools (Both ended up choosing Howard University and are currently a 3rd year and 1st year student). My kids grew up in a neighborhood that was predominantly white early on, but became very diverse by the time they reached high school. 1 of my kids has never really fit in anywhere, but saw both Tulane and Howard as viable options because of the friendliness encountered during visits to both schools. As far as partying is concerned, both schools have been rated in various publications as top 5 in the nation party schools, but my older student who is not the party type has been able to find like minded students and has enjoyed her time at Howard (I am sure she would have found the same at Tulane). My kids are both 4th generation HBCU students, but I truly would not have had an issue with either of them choosing Tulane, as the campus was warm and inviting with great resources while being in one of our family’s favorite cities.
My oldest always leaned towards Howard, but was on the fence with Tulane probably being slightly ahead once the original Financial Aid came out (Tulane would have been about 10K per year and Howard’s original offer would have cost us 15-16K per year). But once she was offered a full-ride from Howard in April of her senior year, she knew where she was going to college.
My 2020 HS graduate really loves New Orleans and had a final group of schools with Morehouse, Tulane, and Howard being at the top of the heap, but Howard offered him a full ride in late December of his senior year which affected his entire thought process. He felt that Howard really wanted him to attend and that swayed him as Howard was probably 3rd up to that point. Morehouse fell out after making a very good but not great FA offer (12K out of pocket) and Tulane made an unbelievable final offer (4.5K out of pocket after outside scholarships were applied). He went to the Tulane diversity fly-in for accepted students right before Covid-19 gripped the country and really enjoyed the campus, dorms, food, and students that he interacted with. His decision ended up being much harder, but I believe that his sibling already being at Howard and his scholarship program’s ultimate goal (support to guide STEM students to PhD or MD/PhD programs) led to him choosing Howard as well.
My own personal opinion is that you can not go wrong with either school if the finances work for both schools. Spend some time looking at the Health Science and Public health majors at both schools to see there success rates for your particular goals and think about what YOU are looking for in your undergraduate experience, and congratulations for having such amazing options. Here is one data point that I always share with African-American pre-med track students.