Is Tulane the right decision?

porquekay
Mon, 02 Mar 2015 03:39:34 +0000

I’m a freshman architecture student at Tulane, so feel free to message me if you have any questions about the program! I will let you know that we recently received an award for Freshman Architecture curriculum, and our architecture program is absolutely amazing and probably worth it.

I don’t know too much about the costs of travelling to the northeast, but I can say that a lot of people are from there and quite a few people stay on campus during breaks (except for during winter break, when the dorms close). So, you would really only HAVE to go back for winter and summer breaks.

I’m a nine hour drive away from Tulane (1 hour plane ride) and my parents weren’t happy about me coming so far, but I convinced them.

As far as the not knowing anyone here–I don’t even know of anyone in my town that has come here, let alone a close friend. I came here without knowing anybody, having been to New Orleans once for a long weekend over a year before I made my decision. All of my family lives close to my home, so there isn’t even anyone within driving distance if there’s an emergency. The thing is, just about everyone here has the same situation. I only know a few people who knew people before they came here. Most people come in completely alone, and I think that’s actually a good thing about Tulane. A lot of people back home who go to state schools end up hanging out with high school friends and never venture out. People here are way friendlier and more open about meeting new people because they don’t have a safety to fall back on. Furthermore, since you are so far away from home, you really learn responsibility because your parents aren’t there to hold you. It’s tough at first but you get used to it and become a much better person because of it. I think I had an easier time making friends here than I did in high school. I already had a group message going on after a week of meeting people, and we still all text and hang out sometimes.

Also, as an architecture student, I can say that you will really get to know architecture students. We spend a lot of time in studio together, and you’re bound to make friends in architecture. There’s a joke that we’re a cult, but if you look at it, most architecture students (especially upperclassmen) are such good friends with their classmates that we often forget to hang out with people outside of architecture. Don’t worry about making friends at Tulane. Don’t let that be a “con” on your list when trying to decide on a school. Yeah, the money should definitely be something you take into account, but you’ll make so many friends here you won’t have time for them all (and this is coming from an introvert who is super awkward around other people).