Dear Freshman Me

And there you have it, Class of 2017. Just like that, your college career has come to an end. Commencement 2017 was an epic day for us here at Tulane. Commencement was filled with amazing music, fantastic speeches, and the very memorable Helen Mirren. You can catch a wrap up video here.

Commencement is always the best time to reflect back on your Tulane experience. Four years goes by in a flash. For us in admission, we love to see our "kids" who we recruited years ago walk across that Superdome stage. Now, the cycle's started all over again as we are about to kick off New Student Orientation for our incoming freshman next week.

That got me thinking. With one class leaving and another class arriving in a few short months, perhaps there were some parting words of wisdom that the Class of 2017 could leave for the Class of 2021. Better yet, if you had the chance, what would you say to your freshman self if you had four years of college wisdom to bestow? What letter would you write to your freshman you if you could? I asked eight students just that. Here's what they had to say.

As you'll see in their letters, Tulane isn't perfect—no college is. And no college experience is without its ups and downs. That's what college is for. And when it's over, you can look back and reflect taking what you learned to start something. That's what commencement really means: the beginning.

Dear Freshman Nate,

Experience everything, but remember that the world is not designed to just be an experience. This means that you should be adventurous, stay out late across town, take in a new culture and talk with different people about foreign things. But when you go out exploring, remember that society doesn't exist solely for you to develop as a person. You should help develop it. My experiences have shaped me, I have loved my time in New Orleans and at Tulane, they have given me so much. It makes me proud to be able to say that I have given back as well, that's the best advice I can give.


Best,

Nate

Dear Freshman Me,

WAKE. UP. You live in an incredible place, it's time to make it your own! You can hear what your parents say while still doing what's authentic to you. Try new things—especially dope upper-level classes about specific topics—that is the name of the game in college. It's easy to get swept away at the activities expo, which makes balancing school, clubs/orgs, work, and a social life the ultimate feat. Messing up is gonna happen, but finding your people and taking care of yourself can get you through. You can determine who you are, what you care about, how you can be better AND how Tulane fits into all of of this! Ultimately, you have to live all your mistakes. Only you can figure it out. I believe in you. Don't stop doin' you!

Love,
@Rinnney

Dearest Yung A. Silb.,

We made it this far, and it's only going to get better from here. As you progress through college, keep on keeping on with what made us so successful.

• Always remember to find time to relax. It's easy to get caught up in school, work, and extra currics, but you live in New Orleans. Take advantage of the city's homier offerings. Streetcar downtown just for beignets, take a blanket to the fly, enjoy 70 degree weather year-round. School will always be there, and it will always be challenging, find time to chill.
• Clean as you go. This mantra first met me in the kitchen, but it can be applied to all aspects of life. Everyday has its own little struggles, if you address them daily, life goes on much more smoothly than if you wait for your problems to pile up. Keep your room, kitchen, and life tidy. 
• Have fun wherever you go. Be a tourist, make friends with strangers, and never be "too cool" for anything. 
• No matter what, do not wear Mardi Gras beads outside of Carnival season. 

Cheerz,
Aaron

Dear Ches,

Welcome to Tulane! You have a long five years ahead of you, but they will be over before you have enough time to enjoy your 100th beignet. You’ve chosen to study architecture, which from my perspective was the best decision you’ve ever made next to attending Tulane, so stick to it! The hours will be long but be patient with yourself, your professors, and your peers, and know that all of the hard work will absolutely pay off. Take risks, stay caffeinated, and stay focused on a few priorities and projects instead of trying to get involved with everything all at once—you’ve got time to grow, explore, and discover yourself and your strengths. Over these next five years, be sure to fully explore New Orleans and remind yourself that it’s okay to take a full Saturday off to see a show with your friends and relax outside! Running is a great way to explore the urban fabric of New Orleans, while also getting a break and providing some inspiration. Another great way to explore the city is by eating at as many restaurants as possible—be sure to keep a running tab of all the places you have visited, and try your best to never eat at the same place more than once!

Best of luck - you’re going to love it!!
Chesley

Dear Freshman Me,

I so vividly remember move-in day freshman year. The nervous energy as everyone looked each other up and down, wondering if they were staring into the eyes of a future friend, as we all tried to embrace our first encounter with the beast that is NOLA in August. As I decorated my dorm with pictures of my friends and family from home I couldn’t help but question whether I would ever be able to make as strong connections in just a short four years. College is going to be everything you think it will be and nothing all at the same time. It’s great to have a dream of what these four years might look like but just know that it’s not all going to turn out how you planned…and that’s okay because if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. Tulane will challenge you and certainly change you (for the better I can confidently say now). Savor every moment you have as an undergrad and please believe people when they say these four years will fly by.

- Maddie

Dear Freshman Me,

     You don't know me, but I know you. You're a newbie. You've just left the comforts of home and can't wait to start your New Orleans adventure. From exploring the French Quarter to kayaking through City Park, there is simply so much for you to do. There are however, some tips/rules that you should know before you decide to hop on the streetcar.

1) Don't be afraid to travel by yourself. Be cautious, but don't let the need to travel in a group prevent you from having your own adventures.
2) Be open to (almost) anything. You will only regret the things that you did not do.
3) Enjoy yourself. You have four years at Tulane, so make the most of them!
4) Do not let one bad grade or experience get in your way.

When it is all said and done, you won't remember the grade you got on an exam. Instead, you'll remember the friendships you made, the adventures you took, and the joy that came with being a part of the Green Wave. Also, the diploma is pretty great! So, freshman me, take my advice for once in your life. Have fun, dance, and don't forget to call your parents!

XO,

Jennifer

Dear Freshman Me:

I want you to know that you don't have everything figured out, and that is ok. Stay open minded and say yes to every opportunity you can. Say yes to joining a sorority even if you swore you never would, and then become its president. Say yes to adding two new majors because of inspiring professors and late night conversations with floor mates. Say yes to Halloween on Frenchman Street, afternoons at the fly and anytime someone offers you food. Say yes to extracurricular projects with peers, and then file patents, start companies and pitch on local and international stages. Keep your heart and mind open, practice empathy, never be afraid to ask for help and remember to breathe.
So, no, the next four years will not go as planned, they are going to be so much more than you could have ever imagined.

-Perri

Dear Freshman Kelsey-

As you anxiously but excitedly get ready to attend Tulane University, everyone fed into your excitement telling you to get ready for the best four years of my life. And the first year went just like that. You fell in love with the city of New Orleans, biking around to find second lines on Sundays or biking at midnight to get beignets at Café du Monde. You met some of your best friends that you graduated with just a few days ago and you even decided to stay that summer after your freshman year to work at Upward Bound, where you found your love for education and working with youth. However, no one prepared you for some moments to come. The anxiety that would hit, the broken heart, the sudden passing of your father, the tears that would stay with you until graduation. It wasn’t until you asked for help from your Posse mentor (which you are very lucky to have) that you learned it’s okay to not always be okay. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to feel sad sometimes when everyone around you is smiling. It’s okay to see a therapist AND a mentor (yes both) once a week. It’s okay to email that professor asking for help. It’s okay to take a deep breath and stop. It’s okay to tell your friends you need help. It’s okay to take care of YOU.

Before attending college, you didn’t even know what mental health was. There was no stopping you. Coming to college you felt things you didn’t know you could. But after your father passed, you remembered something he always used to tell you when we went to the beach (grew up in LA)…. When a big wave comes, take a deep breath, dive all the way under and grab the sand. It will pass right over. So that’s what you did. Sometimes the waves were huge. Sometimes they were small. But you learned to take a deep breath and let the feelings pass. Tulane’s Green Wave came with more than you had planned for—laughter, fun, love, tears, books, food and more—but you'll come out on the other side still breathing. Still smiling. Still biking. Still working at Upward Bound. Staying in New Orleans. Living with your best friend. So get ready to pack your bags. But don’t forget to grab the sand. And something Dad never told you, but I would have told my freshman self, open your eyes while you’re down there. You’ll never know what you’ll discover. On the campus you choose. The city it resides in. Or within yourself.

-Kelsey


Amazing stuff, Class of 2017. Here's to the beginning!

Gap Year

May 1st has come and gone and our class of 2021 has started to take its final shape! Later on this summer, I'll be blogging all about the incoming freshman class. We're really excited about 2021.

14 members of the class of 2021 will be coming to NOLA fresh off a Gap Year. We've seen a growing number of students opting to take a Gap Year before they start at Tulane. We are very supportive of a Gap Year if that is something that interests you. All you need to do is read this info, send us an additional deposit, and then you're on your way. Members of the class of 2020 are coming back from gap years studying cuisine in Paris, learning Spanish in Honduras while researching in the Mayan Highlands, while some will have spent time interning to save money for college or participating in public service projects.

I reached out to four former Gap Year students to get their take on it. Let's meet some of our former gappers here. Take it away, guys!

Sarah Cook, Class of 2018

For my Gap Year, I took two 3 month long trips with an organization called Rustic Pathways which focuses on community service in other countries.  With Rustic Pathways I visited Thailand, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Tanzania, Morocco, and Ghana.  I was with a small group of other students taking Gap Years and every month some people would leave and some would join our group so the number of friends I was traveling with fluctuated.   In Thailand I took a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course and am now a certified WFR, which means that I am equipped to help in any emergency situation.  Using our newly learned skills, we opened up health clinics in small villages without access to health care and we gave them physicals as well as tested their blood type and sugar levels.  We also dedicated a lot of time in Southeast Asia to animal care.  We took a crash course in first aid care for cats and dogs, watched a dog undergo surgery to remove a tumor, vaccinated various domestic animals, worked at a night safari in the nursery with baby tigers, and learned how to be a mahout (elephant caretaker) at an elephant conservation camp.  I learned so many new skills in Southeast Asia, while exploring some incredible countries with vibrant cultures.

In Africa, we participated in a lot of construction projects, and in Ghana we taught middle schoolers how to use computers.  Their national exams require them to have basic computer knowledge and they need to show proficiency in Word, Excel and Powerpoint.  However, when we arrived with the laptops, none of the students had ever seen a computer. It was so incredible to be a part of their enthusiasm and happiness at being able to work a computer, and made me realize how many of the electronics at my house I take advantage of. Other than our service projects, we were also able to explore as tourists.  I summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, scuba dived off the coast of Zanzibar, went on a safari in the Serengeti, and rode camels in the Sahara Desert.  Overall, I had an extraordinary time on my Gap Year, and highly recommend that everyone consider taking a Gap Year.  The places I visited were beautiful, the service I did was very meaningful, the people I met were AMAZING, and after spending the past 12 years in a classroom learning traditional subjects it was fantastic to make the world my classroom.

People often ask if it was hard for me to jump back into a traditional classroom setting after taking a year off.  In terms of academics, I took an online precalculus course over the summer before I came to Tulane to refresh my memory (as I hadn’t taken precalculus in 2 years), but otherwise my academic transition was no different from my friends who did not take a gap years.  In fact, I feel like I am no longer burnt out from my 12 years of previous schooling, and being refreshed has definitely improved my transition process.  After seeing countries where many people don’t have the opportunity to graduate high school, let alone attend college, I am so much more grateful of all of the I am so much more appreciative that I have the chance to go to college.  I am so much more confident now than I was when I graduated high school, and I’ve found that I make the most out of everyday at Tulane.

Tamar Arenson, Class of 2020

My name is Tamar Arenson and I am a freshman, majoring in Political Science and International Relations. When I was a senior in high school, I applied to colleges just like the rest of my friends, but I knew my path would look a little different. I had decided to take a gap year. I had grown up in the Young Judaea community; attending their summer camps, year round programing and travel programs. Young Judaea also offers a gap year in Israel called Year Course. Since I was 10 years old, I knew that before I went to college, I too would go on Year Course.

During my year, I spent the first half working at an elementary school in an inner city as an english teacher. I developed incredible bonds with my students and was able to watch them grow and learn a new language. For the second half of my year, I took classes through my program which ranged from history to art and culture. We also traveled the entire country, exploring different landscapes, communities and religions. Finally, I traveled to Rwanda for 5 weeks where I lived and worked at youth village for orphans in Rwanda that was founded by a Year Course alumna.

Throughout all of these experiences I was also living in an apartment with roommates, ostensibly on my own for the first time. I had to learn to budget my spending, navigate new areas, make new friends and be far away from my parents. I came to college feeling so much more prepared than I would have right out of high school. I had already experienced a transition before, and was excited to do it again! Both my academics and social life soared because I felt so comfortable and excited by my new experience. My gap year not only opened my eyes culturally, through my travels and experiences, but also taught me how to live alone, be in a new place and make the most of every opportunity. I have tried to carry this same mentality through my freshman year of college and can honestly say the two best decisions I ever made in my life were going on Year Course and coming to Tulane.

Kira Farley, class of 2020

Taking a gap year was the best decision I could have made! Get ready for me to sound like I am writing in clichés and coming straight out of a Disney movie, because my experience was a dream. I cannot imagine how my life might have turned out differently had I not spent time outside of the academic world. I spent my gap year living in Paris, France on a CIEE program. My year was chocked full of taking cool classes to learn about the culture of my new home (art history taught INSIDE Le Louvre, anyone??), volunteering in a café where the majority of customers were immigrants (Learning how to make un café crème while simultaneously hearing about someone’s life story was pretty amazing!) and traveling to as many towns, cities and countries as I could! I was only 18 years-old and here I was, traveling to Italy, Spain, London and Germany in one month and the flights cost a total of 50 euros.

I enjoyed high school and was excited for college…who wouldn’t be when you’re going to Tulane! However, I wanted to step outside of the academic setting to learn about myself and the world around me. Did I have apprehensions about being a year behind? Of course, but Tulane made my transition as smooth as butter both academically and socially. I never once felt like an outsider or like I couldn’t handle whatever situation I found myself in. In fact, everyone that I meet tells me that they WISH they had taken a gap year. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my incredible host family, food, friends and experiences in France. I know that taking a gap year helped shape who I want to represent in my years at Tulane and my life beyond. If you find yourself wondering whether or not a gap year is for you, say YES!

Kelsey Williams, class of 2019

Taking a gap year was the best decision I have ever made, and I could not recommend the experience more highly to anyone finishing high school. It allowed me to grow into an independent young adult beyond my refined ability to study for AP exams and write personal statements. Don’t get me wrong – these skills were extremely valuable to me, and are the reason I am able to be studying on a scholarship at a Tulane. However I honestly believe I am a happier, more well-rounded person because I took some time off from school.

I first began thinking about taking a gap year in November of my senior year of high school but finished the college application process. When May rolled around, I accepted my spot at Tulane but requested a deferral of both my admission and scholarship until the following year. I left for 9 months of traveling in late August.

First I went to South Africa and Botswana, for a month each, and completed a course called EcoTraining, which certified me to be a Safari guide. In practice, this was a long, educational camping trip among the lions and elephants.  It was a wonderful way to start the year abroad, because it was a fairly structured environment with a small group of people that became close friends. It was also a completely foreign experience with many new challenges, but everyone spoke my language, so it was navigable. I had limited access to technology and connection to home, which helped me build my confidence. I also developed a new passion for the environment, which I will carry for the rest of my life.

In late October, I flew from Johannesburg to Arusha, Tanzania. For three months I lived with a host family, shadowed doctors in a community hospital, and volunteered at a local orphanage. This was the most challenging segment of my year. There were very few other westerners, so I frequently felt culturally and linguistically isolated. It took concerted effort to step outside my comfort zone and make connections with local people. However, these experiences allowed me to grow significantly as a person, helping me check my privilege and develop a broader worldview. Additionally, this experience solidified for me that I want to pursue medicine and public health. I returned to Arusha last summer on a State Department Critical Language Scholarship to learn Swahili, and I hope to continue working in East Africa throughout my career.

The final stop of my gap year was New Zealand, where I arrived in early February. I stayed the first few nights in hostels while I explored the city and found an apartment and job, and then settled into life in Wellington. I worked as a waitress and barista in a small restaurant downtown, and part-time as a caterer for a larger company. Through my jobs and housemates, I made great friends and thoroughly enjoyed spending three months as an independent adult in the city. By the beginning of May, I had saved enough money to quit my jobs, rent a car, and road trip the entirety of the country for 5 weeks. This was the happiest time of my life. Now, as I write this reflection amidst cramming for organic chemistry and physics finals, it keeps me grounded to have learned that fullness of my life depends on more than higher education and my grades.

Kira and crew 

Sarah on her Gap Year

Kelsey on her gap year

Tamar on her gap year.

Class of 2021

May 1st has come and gone, which means we finally have a good sense of how the class of 2021 will shape up here at Tulane. Things will shift a bit this summer and we'll have a final picture of the class before move-in day when I'll post a full profile of our incoming freshmen. For now, my boss, Satyajit Dattagupta, VP of Enrollment Management, is taking over the blog today to give you a quick synopsis of the class of 2021.

*            *            *

The Class of 2021 is a tremendously talented and cosmopolitan group of students who come from homes all over the United States and the globe. In short, it is incredibly academically accomplished, truly diverse, and globally-oriented. It is one of the most extraordinary classes Tulane has ever welcomed to campus.

Tulane had more than 35,000 applications this year, but we were only able to accept 21% of applicants, making this the most selective class in history.

This is also the most academically strong class Tulane has enrolled. This promising group of well-rounded students will accomplish great things in the coming years, both during their time at Tulane and their lives beyond our campus. Our average SAT scores went up 14 points as well.

The Class of 2021 is also the most diverse group of students Tulane has ever enrolled. The incoming class has 22% students of color and 5% international students. This marks a change that Tulane University welcomes, as it is more representative of both our nation and the world. I am very confident the campus experience of students with such a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, and life experiences will be extraordinarily positive. The breadth and depth of the Class of 2021 is reflected not only in their academic successes but in the various ways they see and understand the world. Learning, working, sharing, and living with people unlike yourself is one of the ways we grow as human beings. This enriches our understanding of our differences and our strengths, builds strong bonds, and greatly benefits our community.

This class is also the most global in Tulane’s history. Bringing more international students to Tulane provides a unique dimension to the classroom and campus experience that is incredibly important. The world is getting smaller, and we are more connected to the people of all nations than ever before. An informed global outlook is so crucial to personal and professional success for international and domestic students alike.

We're also excited to welcome our first class of Spring Scholars in January of 2018. 77 students will be a part of this group. We had so many qualified students apply for admission this year, but sadly we could only offer a limited number of spots. Because of this, we will not be admitting students from the waitlist.

I look forward to welcoming the class of 2021 in just a few short months. Roll Wave!