Through efforts to attract a diverse demographic of students from across the nation, Tulane flew 90 prospective students to New Orleans to visit campus for Preview TU.

The multicultural fly-in event was hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Admission, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office of Financial Aid and the new Center for Academic Equity during the weekend of Feb. 10-12. 

“We hoped that the weekend would allow students from a diverse background the opportunity to experience everything we, as a premier institution of higher education, have to offer,” Assistant Vice President of Admissions Brad Booke said.

Students from 23 different states registered for the invitation-only event. 

“We chose students who were highly academically qualified, diverse — in not only a racial element, but also gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status,” Admission Diversity Recruitment Coordinator Toni Riley, said.

Tulane students that hosted the visiting students offered the attendees a place to stay, and many hosts also took on the role of being an extra guide for the students.

“I liked the idea of getting to meet an incoming student and encourage someone to come to Tulane, because I love it here and I think that everyone will love it here,” freshman host Rebekah Oviatt said.

The weekend gave the prospective students a preview of life on campus by allowing them to stay with current students, observe classes and engage with faculty.  

“We got a taste of what being a real student was like in the classroom and then by us being able to stay with current students allowed us to know the social aspect too,” attendee Brina Way said.

The weekend included an itinerary of programs and activities, including a battleground tour, a riverboat cruise and many icebreakers. The last day of the program offered attendees time to interview for scholarship opportunities. 

“I think the purpose was to obviously give us all the opportunity to do the scholarship interview, but also to show how Tulane is really trying to make minorities feel welcome and trying to make the school more diverse, even though the minority ratio is so small,” Way said.

The event has been held for multiple years, but this year the hosts and organizers held the event on a larger scale, inviting more than 100 students compared to last year’s 13. 

“The students were so grateful to be granted the opportunity to attend. I received many hugs, from teary-eyed students, who told me that without this program visiting Tulane would have been impossible for them,” Riley said.  “… I am already thinking of plans for expanding the program for next year and possibly adding an additional one in the fall.”