A big part of your experience will be getting a real feel for college life and independent living. Immerse yourself in a campus setting that will inspire you with the added benefit of caring supervision and guidance from our program counselors. See what Tulane Pre-College is doing to address student health and safety with Tulane University's COVID-19 health strategies.
Live and Eat on Campus
Enjoy a room in one of Tulane’s undergraduate residence halls, your home for the summer. Tulane’s residence halls offer a safe and secure experience with a wide variety of amenities for students, including common areas for studying or hanging out and vending machines for drinks and snacks. Participants are housed in a single-point-of-entry dorm here on Tulane’s campus and assigned floors by age and gender. They also have access to university facilities like the Reily Recreation Center, the Howard-Tilton Library (Howie-T), and the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life (LBC).
Most students will room with another student from the same program, but some students may be in a single-occupancy room. The double-occupancy rooms typically have extra-long bunkable twin beds with moveable desks and ample closet space. Sheets, pillows, and towels are included. In keeping with a true college experience, students are pre-assigned to a residence hall and roommate.
A meal plan is included in the program cost and provides three meals a day and a snack. A vegetarian option is included for every meal, and the Dining Services staff work with participants who have other dietary restrictions.
A Typical Day
Pre-college participants have classes in the mornings and afternoons with a lunch break in between. Some college credit programs offer extra studio time or study sessions outside of class, but students still have plenty of downtime to enjoy hanging out with friends and enjoying campus amenities. After class, you can choose from a variety of fun cultural, social, athletic, and recreational activities at night and on the weekends.
Tulane has a gymnasium, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, squash courts, exercise studios, and a fitness center with an indoor track. Tulane is also home to the Newcomb Art Museum, twelve libraries and special collections, and Dixon Concert Hall. Across the street from Tulane’s campus is Audubon Park, a local favorite for its scenic live oaks, jogging track, and golf course. The LBC features the campus bookstore, the food court, ATMs, and a technology store.
There is always an organized activity to join or you can spend time with your friends from the programs. Each course of study offers some of its own activities outside of the classroom, but we also plan activities that all students will want to participate in.
Arriving and Departing Campus
Residential students should plan to arrive between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on their designated check-in day. Parking on check-in and check-out days is usually available on campus unless there is a scheduled event. Residential students must check out of the residence hall by noon on their check-out day. All students are required to adhere to the travel plans submitted in their enrollment documents.
Admitted Students
Upon accepting your offer of admission to Tulane Pre-College Programs, you must submit the 10% deposit in the student or parent portal within 14 days to secure your spot in the program. Deposited students and their families will receive an email with information about completing the required enrollment forms when they become available.
Students are issued a photo identification card called a Splash Card. Splash Cards allow students to gain access to the buildings and labs and contain their meal plans and Wavebucks. Lost identification cards should be reported immediately to the Tulane Pre-College office. A $30 fee will be charged to replace your Splash Card.
Upon enrollment into a program, students will receive an email from Tulane Technology Services with the following information:
Tulane ID number
Gibson Online username
Tulane email information (Wavemail)
Students will receive a separate email with their temporary passwords and instructions to change their passwords.
These emails will be sent to the primary email listed on your Tulane Pre-College application. We ask that parents/guardians share Tulane usernames and passwords with your student(s) before they arrive on campus. Students need this information to log in to Wavemail, to retrieve class assignments in Canvas, and to log in to Eduroam, the Tulane campus internet.
If you encounter any problems, contact the Help Desk at 504-862-8888 or help@tulane.edu, or review our Student Guide to Technology Services.
We offer a comprehensive handbook for participants. In the handbook, you will find information on everything from what to bring with you to resources to ensure a positive pre-college program experience.
It is our goal to offer universally accessible programming. If you anticipate needing any type of reasonable accommodation or have questions about campus accessibility, please contact Tulane Pre-College Programs at (504) 314-7619 or summer@tulane.edu in advance of your participation or visit.
Maps and Directions
No matter how you plan to travel, you want to know the best way to get here. It also helps to know where you’re going once you're here. You can find driving directions to campus and an interactive campus map on Tulane’s Admission website.
Flying
Tulane University’s uptown campus is about a 25-minute drive from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (airport code MSY). A continuous airport shuttle will be available on residential move-in days and on move-out days. If a scheduled arrival or departure time is outside of the shuttle service window, students will need to find their own transportation to/from campus. Commercial taxi service, ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, and car rentals are available from the airport.
Airport Shuttle
Tulane Pre-College provides complimentary shuttle services from the New Orleans International Airport (MSY) to campus on designated arrival days, and from campus to the airport on departure days. Requests for shuttle transportation must be included with the travel details you provided in your enrollment documents. Information about the shuttle schedule is available here.
Please note that parking is limited on Tulane’s campus, and on-street parking surrounding campus can be difficult. Parking on residential check-in and check-out days is typically available on campus in designated zones. Visitor parking permits can also be purchased at https://parking.tulane.edu or in the Customer Engagement Office in the LBC from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information concerning public transportation options, visit www.norta.com.
For hotel accommodations and dining near the Tulane campus, please see the Eat, Stay, Play guide on the Tulane Admissions website for suggestions.
Arrival/Departure Schedule
| Check-in/Arrival | 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. |
| Shuttle to Campus | 10:00a.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
| Check-out/Departure | 6:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
| Shuttle to the Airport | 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Arrival Day
10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Residential Check-In will start at 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on arrival days. Once the student has checked into the residence hall, the process of moving in may begin. Tulane Pre-College Summer Programs provides a complimentary shuttle service from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.* from the New Orleans International Airport (MSY) to the Tulane campus.
Departure Day
6:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Residential Check-Out and move out is between 6:45 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on departure days. Once the student has been signed out by a Program Counselor, they are is authorized to leave campus. The complimentary shuttle service to the airport operates 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.* on designated departure days. Students are assigned a shuttle time that is approximately two hours before their flights.
*If a scheduled arrival or departure time is outside of the shuttle service window, students will need to find their own transportation to/from campus.
What to Bring
New Orleans is famous for its heat and humidity, especially in the summer months. The average high temperature in the summer is 92 degrees and the average low is 76 degrees. All rooms and buildings are air-conditioned, including the residence hall and classrooms. Sheets, pillow, blanket, towel and washcloth are provided. Laundry facilities are available for use, free-of-charge, and laundry detergent is provided.
As you begin packing for a Tulane Pre-College Summer Program, please consult our helpful summer pre-college packing list.
At registration and check in we will also provide each student with a Tulane Pre-College t-shirt, a key/card lanyard and holder, and a water bottle.
Spending Money
The only required expenses not included in the program cost are the cost of transportation to and from New Orleans. All extra-curricular activities, as well as transportation to and from these activities, are included in the cost of the program. Students should plan to have spending money for any souvenirs or extras that they wish to purchase. For example, admissions and transportation to the Aquarium of the Americas will be covered by the program. If a student wishes to buy a souvenir or a drink and a snack while there, they will need to cover that cost personally.
We do not encourage students to bring large amounts of cash to Tulane Pre-College. There are ATMs for many major banks on campus in the LBC, and most places that your student may spend money accept debit and credit cards.
Residential Staff
Program counselors are all Tulane students and live in the residence hall with the participants. The residential staff is responsible for creating a living community experience, as well as ensuring safety measures by enforcing curfew and other policies. All residential staff undergoes compliance training for minors living on campus as well as a criminal background check. A pre-college housing supervisor is on-call and available to respond 24 hours a day. Since all program counselors are current Tulane students, they also can serve as mentors to the pre-college students and provide an authentic Tulane experience.
Expectations
We expect the students to live independently much like they would in their first year of college. Residential staff will provide support to the students, however, we expect students to be able to self-advocate and take care of their basic needs. If parents or guardians have concerns about their student's ability to live independently and self-advocate, please call (504) 314-7619 or email summer@tulane.edu in order to discuss their viability in the program.
Permission to Leave Campus
Special requests for students to take longer or off-campus leaves from the program are highly discouraged as they will disrupt the immersive experience of the program. However, special leaves can be requested for approval, which approval may be granted or denied at the discretion of Tulane Pre-College Programs. Information on these policies and procedures are included in the student handbook, which is provided with students' enrollment paperwork in the spring.