Remember the Prospies

It’s the end of the year, a pretty good time to think back and ask, “Why am I here?” Perhaps the main reason is because we prefer it to anywhere else. At Tulane we continue our education, both academic and in life, in America’s “most unique city.” In the past, we’ve been called the “happiest university.” How we quantify happiness is up for debate, but people can hardly disagree with the fact that, for the most part, Tulanians are happy, something we tend to emphasize over our academics when pitching the school to prospective students.

This time of year is especially important for those who have until May 1 to make the life-changing decision about their college destination. I spoke with about 20 prospies and their families.

Most prospectives I interviewed took a tour around campus and later listened to a student panel. Within each group, there was a sense of geographic diversity, yet something felt homogenous about their experiences. Nearly every student I talked to mentioned that there was a psychology and a business student on their panel.

Some explored the Lavin-Bernick Center food court while others experienced the awesomeness of Bruff. They had been taken in by the official literature, evidenced by their reference to the LBC as the “Lavin-Bernick Center” and Bruff as “Bruff Commons.”

Understandably, some struggled with my follow-up question about what they planned to study at Tulane. A majority were aiming for professional degrees in medicine, law, public health, business, architecture or the arts. Most, however, were still undecided. They knew about TIDES, which was called everything from “interesting” to “potentially fun.” All zero to two credits of the service learning requirement was also emphasized repeatedly to them.

There was also confusion about the honors program, where most assumed they were invited. Some questioned the benefits. Is having four small classes with tenured professors and the opportunity to write a thesis in order to wear a cord at graduation really that important?

Most felt that academics were either undersold or balanced 50-50 with the other attractions. Most were indifferent about taking required labs and humanities. They’d like to use those classes as explorations, but discussion of the common curriculum felt more like a formality. They tended to assume our academics are strong, probably from our U.S. News and World Report college ranking of 50. While we as students think our academics are usually pretty good, we must realize that these students are making a choice in competition with other, higher ranked schools.

For better or for worse, both prospies and parents issued a ubiquitous commentary that “Tulane’s sales pitch is definitely the most unique.” Some had never heard of Tulane until they got the e-mail that said the application was free and had no extra essays. New Orleans is, above all, the most touted element during tours, even over our academics.

The school, however, could at least try to address academic issues more without cutting back on social identity. Then, over time, we could alleviate the party school stereotype and solidify our colloquial reputation as a “Southern Ivy.”

Like the course evaluations that everyone should be filling out right now, hopefully the comment cards from prospective students and their parents address these issues. In the end, hopefully they do choose Tulane.

A.J. Balatico is a junior in Newcomb-Tulane College. He can be reached for comment at abalatic@tulane.edu.