Tulane University of Louisiana

Private · Highly Selective · LA

Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationLA · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads7,767

Student:faculty7:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate78.7%

6-yr grad rate86.1%

Drop-out rate7.5%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$69k

Out-of-state tuition$69k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity35.7%

Gender diversity62%

International4.9%

Identity—

Overview

Tulane is a private research university in Uptown New Orleans whose identity is deeply tied to its city, especially in the years since Hurricane Katrina reshaped both the university and its relationship to the surrounding community. Newcomb College, the historic women's coordinate college, was folded into a more unified undergraduate structure in the post-storm reorganization. A distinctive public-service requirement, in which every undergraduate performs community service, reflects that civic commitment institutionally rather than as an elective add-on.

Academics

The School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine is nationally recognized and unusually prominent for a university this size, and the A.B. Freeman School of Business and the School of Architecture -- the latter with a strong emphasis on preservation and adaptive reuse, fitting the city's own historic building stock -- are also distinctive strengths. A required first-year interdisciplinary seminar program introduces incoming students to New Orleans itself as a subject of study, connecting coursework directly to the city rather than treating it as a backdrop. Latin American studies also benefits from the city's deep Gulf and Caribbean ties.

Campus & student life

Campus life absorbs the food, music, and Mardi Gras culture of New Orleans in a way few other universities can replicate, and Uptown's restaurants, music venues, and neighborhoods are effectively an extension of student life. Greek life is a significant part of social life for many students alongside the community-service requirement. Mardi Gras season effectively becomes part of the academic calendar, with parades and krewes shaping the spring semester's rhythm on and around campus, and the service requirement means students are routinely working in the city's neighborhoods, not just living near them.

Getting in

Admissions is holistic and has grown considerably more selective in the years since Katrina, as Tulane rebuilt with a smaller, more intentional applicant pool before demand surged again. Essays about civic engagement and genuine interest in New Orleans as a place -- not just as a research university that happens to be located there -- can carry real weight.

After graduation

Graduates go on strongly into public health, business, law, and the health professions broadly, with many staying connected to New Orleans or the wider Gulf South through the alumni network and the relationships built during service work. Public health graduates in particular often carry that service experience directly into their careers.

Worth knowing

The community service requirement, structured partly through a first-year seminar program and continuing after, is a graduation requirement, not a suggestion, and it meaningfully shapes how connected students become to New Orleans beyond the campus gates. Greek life is also a bigger part of campus culture here than at most peer research universities.

tulane.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate14%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1400–1520 · ACT 31–34

Test policyoptional

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 10

Early decisionNov 1

Regular decisionJan 15

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App.

Early decision IIJan 15

Financial aid formsFeb 15

Early Decision I and II are binding commitments to enroll if admitted, Early Action is non-binding, and Regular Decision carries no commitment either way.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗