Tulane University of Louisiana Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Blake

Greek life is really fun, you have an automatic social life. Nobody dates, people just hook up which is annoying. Relationships seem to never work out because a lot of people cheat. Drinking is a big part of going out but it's the same at any school, there's no pressure unless you're friends with people like that.

Alex

Tons of activities. Anything you want to do, can be done!

Lauren

Tulane is definitely a social environment, and there is no doubt that it has a hard-partying reputation. Unfortunately, many Tulane students like to stay within the "Tulane Bubble," and it seems that few venture outside of the bars and drink specials that they are familiar with. Although there is a lot of excitement in and around campus, it's definitely important for students to remember that they are in city that is absolutely like no other.

Stephanie

I am involved in a few different groups on campus, and I am always welcome to other group activities if I want to go. I am involved with IATU (Indian Association of Tulane University), and I always perform choreographed dances when they have special events and shows. They also have movie events and parties and those are always fun. I also used to work for the There are lots of athletic events on campus, like baseball, basketball, and volleyball. The basketball games are a ton of fun, and both students and alumni go to those. I love going to them, and the baseball games are fun, too. They are especially fun because we are good at baseball and we win. There are football games at the Superdome, and everyone has to go to at least one, but it's more difficult to get to the games. We are also terrible at football, so it's mostly just depressing to go. There isn't a lot of school spirit from a day-to-day basis, but if there is a game or event, chances are there will be painted and yelling people. Which is always fun. Sororities and fraternities are important - to the people who join them. Rush isn't until the Spring, so all the parties in the Fall are open to everyone. It's a fun way to hang out and meet new people, and check out different sororities or fraternities to see if you want to join. I am not in a sorority, but my roommate is, and so I hear a lot about them. It seems like it's fun, but also difficult and taxing. I don't see the advantage, and there isn't really any pressure to join. And if there are people who will snub you if you aren't in their sorority or fraternity, do you really want to hang out with them anyway? There are lots of theaters around campus, there is great shopping and tons of good restaurants. There are also lots of cool museums and different venues with live music almost every night. There is always something fun to do on or off campus in New Orleans.

Chris

There are many sanctioned events by Tulane itself, though I rarely go to them so I can't speak about them from personal experience. Partying is relatively frequent on average, although it depends on the people you're with. Some don't go out at all.

Jessie

I'm part of the Student Conduct Board which is a ton of fun. We get to uphold the code of student conduct but in a democratic way - lets me feel like I'm improving the university. Football isn't too popular because we're not very good, but basketball is the place to be. Everyone has an open door (open room, really) policy, which makes us all very close. I met my closest friend on the shuttle to Wal-Mart, actually, which just goes to show how friendly people can become. 2am on Tuesday - I'm going to der Rathskellar, the all nighter sports bar that has great chicken fingers and cheese fries and is the place to go to unwind before the 3 am crunch time. People party -all- the time, but its totally possible to have fun without going crazy here.

jessica

greek life is pretty popular. about 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are involved. i love my sorority. i thought going greek would make tulane seem smaller but it actually opened so many doors for me, especially socially and i couldnt be happier about my decision. athletic events are semi-popular. i always have fun, but we dont draw the big crowds of some other D1 schools in our division. guest speakers here are awesome, we constantly have really up-to-date, interesting, influential people come and talk. my favorite this year was Barack Obama. the dating scene is shady. since people go out so much (and usually theres a drink or four involved, i mean its new orleans) hook ups tend to be more prevalent than couples. however id say that at least a third of the girls in my sorority have boyfriends, so its not unheard of. but i wouldnt go husband shopping at tulane if your going to college to get your MRS.

Kaydence

Greek life should be bigger.

Kate

The Greek life is extremely prevalent on campus. If you're not Greek, you're a nobody. People party every night of the week, well into the morning. In fact, I know people who just stay drunk all day so they never have to experience the dreaded hangover. I've found it really difficult to meet people who want more than a drinking buddy or just sex. There are lots of things to do off campus on the weekends, but you'll probably be doing them alone if you're not drinking.

Will

I've always found the social life at Tulane to be a missed opportunity. There is a lot of apathy regarding student groups and activities. The party culture really muscles other avenues out. A lot of people will tailgate at sporting events and then not go to the actual game. The same goes for New Orleans. There are truly incredible opportunities to explore the culture of this city that few people take advantage of. The dating scene is pretty awful as well, drunken awkward hookups being the norm. A lot of people either jump into this culture, or give up on the opposite sex quickly and avoid dating altogether. I find people keep their guard up to the degree where its almost impossible to meet and get to know someone you really care about. There are a lot of interesting and wonderful people at this school, but they seem to get beaten down or silenced by a destructive culture most of the time. You have to find people on your own, and create your own alternatives.

Austin

The student programming board is amazing and they bring some terrific acts to campus including vampire weekend, lil' wayne and Girltalk. The programming board also puts on several annual events including a rocky horror show screening, a Crawfish festival with tons of live music and free food, as well as a strange tradition of showing a special (pornographic) film in our auditorium. We also have a very active greek scene but there is pretty to do if you don't decide to join a fraternity or sorority. Big party nights seem to very there's a bar literally right next to campus that has a 50 cent drink night on tuesdays which draws a huge crowd and a bunch of frat parties go on during the first semester. But, its totally possible to skip the on campus scene all together and explore what the city of New Orleans has to offer.

Heather

There are a bunch of small bars all around campus. A few of them are 18+, a few of them are 19+, and all the frat parties, that welcome all Tulane students, happen on Friday nights during the first semester. There's always a party to go to or a bar to hang out at in New Orleans. If a student isn't really into drinking there's the movie that the tulane entertainment club shows, there's plays to go see on campus, and there's always live music somewhere.

John

Bars never close, awesome music scene.

Andy

You're in New Orleans. . . Go to a funky bar and hear some really great jazz or something. You'll have to venture off campus if you want to take advantage of the city you live in.

Bob

One of the most popular organizations on campus is IATU (Indian Association of Tulane University). They put on dance parties once a semester at a local Indian restaurant, and they throw lots of events that are very popular. Besides that, greek life is fairly prevalent, but it's not the majority. Greek students don't have nearly the power in campus life that many schools have. Athletic events like baseball and basketball are very popular, with football sort of taking a backseat because it's off-campus, and we've had a recent history of not much winning. This is changing quite a bit lately, though, as we had far more students show up to games this past season than the one before, and we've started playing better. If I'm awake at 2 AM, I'm most likely finishing up homework or running to the late-night restaurant that's open until 8 AM. People party fairly often, but a lot of people don't, so most people just have a choice of what they want to do. On any given Saturday, one can get discounted tickets to a performance of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Orleans Opera, or head to the French Quarter to just hang out (which costs nothing). Sometimes we go to a restaurant, as there are tons of them, and restaurants are events in themselves here. On campus, there is always something planned by an organization that you can attend. Dorm living is GREAT. The dorms are very nice overall, and many students leave their doors open and know everyone on their floors. We also have tons of high-profile speakers coming to campus. We've had Gloria Steinem, Barack Obama, Salman Rushdie, Colin Powell, Ann Coulter, and so many more that I can't even remember right now.

Nikki

27{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the undergraduate population is Greek. Going Greek tends to be the easiest way to meet people, but also sections off the student body into "Greeks" and "non-Greeks". New Orleans is never a dull place to live. This is an added perk to going to Tulane -- whether it be Mardi Gras, Jazzfest, or Voodoo Fest, you will never be bored in this town.

Molly

There is no doubt a strong social life here. You can find someone to go out with here every night if you wanted to. Like in any college, some people admittedly do party too hard. Yet, for the most part students take their school work here seriously and will wait to go out until they finish their work (even if that means not leaving until 12 or 1). Big nights to go out are Tuesday (50 cent night at the boot), Thursday at F&Ms and random house parties or date parties and mixers the rest of the nights.

Natasha

Night life is amazing. So many bars/concerts/drink specials/costume parties/parades - oh! and I almost forgot Mardi Gras!! At Tulane, we have a Mardi Gras break: 3-5 days of cancelled classes in order for you to enjoy all the parades and madness you could ever dream of. and you don't even have to take your shirt off to get some great beads (or a Muses shoe if you're lucky!).

Ashley

Greek life is the most popular organization on campus. Kappa Alpha Theta is a national panhellenic sorority dedicated to bringing girls together for their common interest of scholarship, leadership, and social activities. The doors are only really open in the freshmen housing. I highly recommend living in Freshmen dorms. It's a great social atmosphere to get to know everyone. Baseball is the only sport that really draws out the fans. Guest speakers are sometimes very crowded. We have a lot of great speakers. The theater does not have well attendance. Tulane dating is non existent. The girls are catty and the guys are immature. I think the fact that the social life is so strong, people do not commit to serious relationships. Frequent random hook ups is the way to go at Tulane. I met my closest friends by joining a sorority. I'm at 50 cent night at the Boot. The Boot is a bar basically on Tulane's campus. You pay $5, and get 50 cent drinks all night. It's pretty popular. We have a huge Crawfest (crawfish boil) every year. It involves bands all day along with 15,000 lbs. of crawfish free to all alum, locals, faculty, and students. They show the Rocky Horror Picture Show every year on Halloween in the auditorium. Everyone dresses up very provocatively. They also show a porno in the auditorium once a year. The average student goes out three nights a week. We party a lot. Fraternities and sororities are obviously a great network of friends within the school, but they aren't everything. Only 30 {4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are Greek. As a Greek, I obvious think it is really important, because I absolutely love it. Most of my friends are Greek. We have a lot of parties only for our members. Last Friday I went to a fraternity house to hang out. During the day on Saturday, we initiated our new members. That night I went to sleep early, because I had gone out Wed., Thurs, and Friday that week. Sunday, I went to the Hornets game, then attended Chapter meeting for my sorority. After meeting, we had catered dinner, and I studied the rest of the night. If you don't want to drink, New Orleans has a good music scene. You can go downtown to a place like the Neutral Ground or House of Blues, and here a band or two. One can also go see a movie or just hang out in the dorms. I work off campus at a law firm.

Kendall

Tulane offers a lot of campus sponsored events and speakers, but they are usually underattended. frat parties are really popular, and people don't usually date on campus. it's mostly a lot of random hookups.

Victoria

Greek life is very popular. There aren't very many other major organizations. No one goes to athletic events even though they are free. No one dates, just do random hookups. Very famous speakers are pretty popular, but little ones aren't. Meet friends through sorority. 2am on a Tuesday is at 50 cent night at the Boot. People party Wednesday-Saturday. People rarely spend Saturday night not drinking.

Andrew

people party about 4-5 times a week greek life is very popular athletics are fun but not as popular as they should be

Jake

huge social life, huge greek involvement, lots of bar specials on weeknights. huge opportunity to have a social life anytime during the week. mostly involves drinking. i rarely go off campus because i dont have a car. sometimes at night i go to the french quarter.

Sarah

Tulane claims that only a third of students are Greek, but Greek life definitely dominates the social scene. Everyone drinks, a good number smoke, and a slightly smaller but still significant number do hard drugs. Tulane students party hard and often between Greek parties, the bars around campus, and downtown.

Jonathan

There is no shortage of things to do at Tulane, there is a club for everyone but you don't have to be involved in the clubs to have a good time or make friends. People party every night here, it still amazes me that no matter what night it is if you want to go out and dance, listen to music, go to eat, get crunk...you can. From John Legend to Ann Colter to Bill Clinton, we have a lot of speakers and performers here. This is a huge party school but if you are not into drinking you can still have fun you just need to be creative. There is audobon park right across the street, museums, art galleries, thrift stores, yoga studios, coffee shops, restaurants, everything.

Andy

Greek life is pretty popular on campus. I think somewhere around 25-30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the school goes Greek. There are plenty of non-Greek groups to join though, and they are well worth the time. Freshman dorms are very social, and people definitely are willing to meet new people freshman year. I moved off campus sophomore year, so I don't know how the sophomore dorms are. However, I do know that you will pretty much have your set group of friends at the end of freshman year. Baseball games are pretty popular. No one goes to football games. Basketball is somewhere in the middle, as our team is getting better. Tulane gets a lot of great speakers to come, especially to graduation. I met my closest friends in my freshman dorm and through pledging my fraternity. If you're awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you're probably at 50 cent night at the boot. Homecoming is always an awesome time, and baseball season is really fun. People party a LOT here, it's New Orleans. There are all different types of fraternities and sororities, and every student could fit in atleast one of them. Last weekend, we had a mixer, and I went and saw a movie the next night. If you're not drinking on Saturday night, you can go to Rock-n-Bowl for bowling, you can see movies, you can go to Hornets games, or just chill in the dorms if you live in one.

Yvette

-I met my closest friend at Destination Tulane. Our parents were talking then kind of forced us to meet each other and now we're really close and are always together. -2am on Tuesday? That depends... did I go to 50 cent night? If so, I'm probably walking back to my room slightly drunk. If I didn't go, sleeping for sure. -SSN! Sober Saturday Nights. Me and my friends have the occasional SSN and we just hang out, watch movies and have a sleepover. Seems a bit childish, but its a lot of fun! -I don't do much off campus since I don't have a car with me and my schedule usually conflicts with shuttle schedules.

Rory

Great guest speakers. I recently saw Colin Powell and Jeffrey Sachs. I'm always surprised by how many students come to these events. Tulane students are always doing anything. Audubon Park is just across the street and anyone who goes there especially if you take some shrooms, knows that the park is unreal.

Brian

Social life is great...if you want it to be. There's Jazz Fest, Voodoo Fest, Crawfest, the list can go on and on. Oh, and Mardi Gras. That's a ton of fun that you have to experience to understand. Local bars are extremely accommodating to the college students' pocketbook, and as a Greek, there is always something to do, somewhere to go, and a group of friends to be with.

Meaghan

greek life and Undergraduate student government are some of the most popular groups on campus. Sometimes students leave their dorm rooms unlocked. Athletic events are not very popular, neither is theater. But the guest speakers are always very popular. The dating scene at Tulane is not really dating. For the most part, people just hook up with each other and dont really have lasting relationships. If i am away at 2am on tuesday i am probablly at 50 cent night at the bar right next to campus...50 cent drinks... Last weekend i went to a crawfish boil on the levee.

Dale

The most popular groups/organizations on campus would be Greek life. Students in dorms usually don't leave their doors open for risk of people stealing valuables. Athletic events are not very popular since the teams are not that good. Guest speakers are usually very popular, but of course depending on who the speak is. Theater is somewhat popular, especially if a friend is in the play. The dating scene is a bit lacking because many students don't want to date, most would rather party. But, there are a good amount of students that are dating so if you wanted a relationship you could most likely find one. My closest friends are my hall mates. If I am awake at 2am on a Tuesday I am most likely either studying or partying, very different extremes. People party as much as they desire. You can find something to do or a reason to go out every night of the week and weekend if you wanted to. Fraternities and sororities are somewhat important but not everyone joins so it does not overtake the social scene or university life. Last weekend I went out with my friends to local bars. On a Saturday night, if you didn't want to drink, you could stay in with friends and watch a movie or go explore downtown. Going off campus is really fun because there are many things to do, such as, shopping, partying on Bourbon Street, riding on the Street Car, going to museums, or biking.

Vick

Most popular organizations are greek life. Most people aren't as involved because they have their friends and New Orleans is a big enough entertainment for them. Most people close their doors in the dorms. Athletics are not popular. Dating scene is mainly just a hook up scene. I met my closest friends through my best friend from elementary school [we ended up at the same school] Greek Life exists but its not the center of fun. Last weekend I went out to dinner with some friends, went to happy hour, and went to a bar. On a Saturday night, if there was no drinking involved, you could go to dinner [we have the best restaurants!] or hang out and watch a movie. Almost all social life is off-campus.