Niche has put Tulane University in New Orleans at No. 2 on its Top Party Schools list for 2027, making the school one of the country’s most visible names in a ranking that leans on student surveys and campus-life access. The release is new, and it places Tulane just behind the school that finished first.
The ranking is built from several pieces: student surveys, access to bars, Greek life and access to restaurants. In Tulane’s case, that formula helped produce an A+ for party scene, backed by access to bars and student reviews. On Niche’s student poll, 50% of respondents said Tulane best fit the phrase “work hard, play hard,” while 21% chose “work hard, play harder.”
Those numbers help explain why Tulane keeps appearing near the top of these lists. Students there have access to Bourbon Street, and 88% of respondents said Mardi Gras is the biggest social event of the year. New Orleans gives the ranking its backdrop, and the school’s social reputation fits neatly into a city known for nightlife and, by extension, the bar-heavy stretch tied to Bourbon Street.
But the portrait is not as one-note as a party-school label might suggest. Niche also found that 52% of respondents said Greek life at Tulane is average and that no one will treat you differently if you do not join. Even varsity sporting events, which can define campus culture elsewhere, are described by 62% of respondents as attended but not a huge part of campus life. That leaves the ranking with a clear imbalance: Tulane is being recognized for a lively scene, but not for a campus where every social activity runs through the same channel.
Presley Bo Tyler, the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team reporter for Network, is the byline attached to the ranking coverage. For Tulane, the next question is the one Niche did not answer here: which school finished first, and whether Tulane can stay this high when the 2027 list gets measured against other campuses that also sell themselves on nightlife.
