Tulane University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Public Health
Minor: Spanish
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Female
Summary
Sorority
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
First-Generation College Student: No
High School Experience: Private school in Washington, D.C. with a graduating class of about 100 students. There was a culture of going to college.
Major: Public Health
Minor: Spanish
Extracurricular Activities: Sorority
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It was mostly group project work. Three out of the four classes I’m in now have semester-long projects. You have to meet with your group to complete weekly assignments and then at the end, you compile everything together and you have a big final group paper and final presentation. There is a decent amount of reading too, but I don’t do it all [laughs].
Is there anything you feel the Public Health major does especially well or poorly?
The professors are pretty good because they are specialized in the area they teach. Most do research out of the classroom, so it’s cool to see the stuff they are doing that is relevant and currently going on. One thing that I don’t like is that the prerequisites sometimes seem unnecessary. I had to take 4 math classes that were only really relevant to people that want to do research based in Public Health, which I don’t want to do, so that was annoying.
What has been your favorite class in your major?
A nutrition health class. It was also my easiest class.
What has been your least favorite class in your major?
All of the math classes. Biology Statistics was pretty horrible.
What is a fun class you’ve taken outside of your major?
Honestly any of my Spanish classes. The Spanish department is suspiciously good. The professors are so great, they’ll talk to you all day about anything.
Are you happy with your major choice?
Yeah, I’d say so. I haven’t had any desire to change it.
Reasons to Attend
1) New Orleans
2) Good weather all year, other than the rain.
3) Going out is a lot of fun.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The bugs are horrible.
2) The dorms could be nicer. They have mold and stuff. They could be improved.
3) The dining options could be better.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Sharpe with 1 roommate.
Sophomore: Irby with 7 other roommates in 4 bedrooms with 1 giant bathroom.
Junior: House off campus.
Senior: House off campus.
What was your favorite living situation?
Irby just because I lived with all of my friends and it’s considered one of the more social living dorms, so there were constantly people there hanging out and you’d see lots of people going in and out of it.
Can you describe the level of safety you have experienced on and around campus?
On campus I’ve never felt unsafe. There are constantly officers around and they do a pretty good job of monitoring the off-campus areas where people live too. It’s sometimes scary at night off campus. When I’m leaving the library late at night I’ll pick up a fast walk because my street isn’t very well lit. One year I did have my computer stolen in the library, but that’s the only that’s happened to me and I think that’s more bad luck.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
Shaya, it’s an Israeli Mediterranean restaurant.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
The Ace Hotel rooftop pool. It’s open to the public and has drinks and food. It’s a little far, but nice to go to on nice days.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Any Greek life event that is going on I go to I have sorority events every week that are a lot of fun and frat parties are a good time. A lot of people here also like to go out to dinner with friends to fun restaurants. The bar on campus, [The Boot], is 18+ and the bars that are 21+ are mostly for older people and are from campus.
What is the impact of Greek life on the nightlife at Tulane?
For me personally, it takes over my social life. Most of the stuff I do revolves around Greek events on campus. For people who aren’t associated with it, I don’t think it holds people back from having as much fun.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out?
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
What have been your favorite nights at Tulane?
My favorite party is Sig Ep Slip ‘N Slide. It’s a day party at the very beginning of the semester. They have a giant water slide that you can go on. It’s just a giant pool party that is a lot of fun.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Tulane? Is there anything you would change?
I’m pretty pleased with it. I would say we used to have two bars on campus and now there’s only one because one got shut down so that’s kind of a bummer because there’s only one bar on campus to go to now. It was nice having two because there were options. The one that is currently open is more of a freshman hot spot, so it was nice having another option.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through mutual friends. There was one girl who was friends with all of my current friends and I met them all through her.
How would you describe the student body?
I’d say very friendly. I never feel uncomfortable around anybody. Everybody’s super friendly. It might just be weather though, it’s warm and everybody’s outside all the time.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Based off of my personal observations, I’d say people of color tend to be athletes at Tulane, and then the athletes tend to hang out with other athletes. So, it can seem that people of different races don’t mix because of that. Then in terms of people of different sexual orientations, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I know one gay person who doesn’t seem to have any problems, he’s one of the most popular people on campus. [22% of the Class of 2022 are students of color.]
What impact does Greek life have on the social scene?
For me personally, it kind of determines what I do on the weekends. It’s really what you make of it. Most of my friends are in Greek life, but I know a lot of people who aren’t and they don’t have any problems. They have their own things and they go to different venues if there aren’t Greek events there. Sororities and fraternities help with meeting older people. A lot of my friends are older and I would’ve never met them. If you’re not in a sorority or fraternity, I don’t think it has a significant impact on your going out life.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Personally, no.
Have you used the career office at all?
I’ve never used the career office, but I have talked to my Public Health academic advisor and she was really helpful.
Have you learned any computer programs that will be helpful professionally?
No, I feel like everything I learned in high school has stayed the same.