Tulane University of Louisiana

You'll step onto Tulane's oaks-draped campus knowing its roots trace to 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana, the South's first med school and the first west of the Alleghenies—evolving into a full university after merchant Paul Tulane's $1 million donation in 1884 made it the era's richest gift to higher ed. Reborn from Hurricane Katrina's devastation in 2005, when students stormed back to rebuild amid flooded streets, Tulane embodies resilient optimism laced with Crescent City swagger. Outgoing social butterflies who crave urban energy thrive here, diving into NOLA's po'boys and second lines, but introverts or those seeking sleepy suburbia might wilt under the relentless humidity and party pulse.