Coming into Tulane, I was given quite a few impressions, either pertaining to the school, itself, or the city surrounding it. My boyfriend here is Jewish. His best friend is Jewish. Her best friend is Jewish. I think you get the idea. Last time I checked, about a third of the student population would identify themselves as Jewish. So what does this cause? If nothing else, we have a very active campus Hillel and many students that walk around wh the assuption that one third of the people they'll run into on any given day are Jewish. And that's probably pretty accurate. One guy in my class even customized "Jewlane" shirts, in the same style as our school's classic green shirts with the white "Tulane" lettering (with a marked three-letter difference, of course). In addition, I've found that our "Only in New Orleans, Only at Tulane" motto is particularly appropriate to describe the party scene. Sure, there are crazy parties at every college, but c'mon - it's New Orleans. And I think it's safe to say the scene here is unlike that of any other school. The school tends to have a reputation for kids with bad livers who never stop partying, and while you're sure to run into some of those, there are plenty of students who absain AND STILL have a social life. Parties are fun and, provided you remember them, will give you material for great stories to tell at other parties, but if it's not your scene, it's all too easy to avoid. I have plenty of friends here who don't drink and they still have a great time. If you can get bored in New Orleans, you're probably going well of your way to do so. The only other false impression I was given is that the school is very diverse. I can hear one of my friends here say from time to time, "I miss black people." Sure, we have diversity, but like many schools in the US, I'm one of many, many white kids. However, if I were to list some of my best friends here I could tell you that one is a bisexual swing dancer from Idaho, another is a Puerto Rican girl from Jacksonville, Florida, who boasts a very colorful condom collection, a girl from Ohio who spent the last 2 years in Mexico, a musical theatre pre-med with what is possibly the cutest southern accent ever, and another is my boyfriend, who is from a tiny Jewish high school in Mercer Island, Washington. I have yet to meet someone here from my hometown. Even if you can't see variegated skin tones wherever you go, the different socio-economic backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints that coalesce at Tulane is sure to provide one with stimulating conversation and experiences that you can find "only in New Orleans, only at Tulane."