I am so anxious about getting into Tulane right now… it’s probably my first choice school if I get a scholarship and actually get in. If I can have an opinion on whether you think I will be accepted please let me know
-3.9 GPA Unweighted, 4.34 Weighted
-SAT CR- 630, Math- 680, Writing- 710
-ECs: Violin since age 4- has allowed for freelance job opportunities, performance in community orchestras including all county, and formation of a quartet with a few friends
-Varsity tennis (10,11,12)
-Cross Country
-Field hockey and Indoor track as an underclassman
-President of Spanish Club
-President of National Art Honor Society
-Member of Tri M honor society, Rho Kappa honor society, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, National Society for High School Scholars
-About 240 Service Hours (I have more that I forgot to document though!)
-Application and Essay- I think they were decent, my essay was about my father’s death (I don’t know if subject matter helps at all)
-I am a caucasian female from Maryland
My friend just got in the other day and has slightly better stats than me and is an amazing runner. I only hope I can get in too. If I haven’t heard back yet, is this a bad sign?
My Why Tulane essay was nowhere near as well written as my Common app essay. Do admissions counselors take this into consideration when determining acceptance?
Just heard back today between 12-1, I got a deferral and thought it may help to share stats anyway.
[color=purple]Decision: Deferred[/color=purple]
School/major: Applied for History
Objective:
[]SAT I (breakdown): 1400 M+V, 2050 M+V+W, 720M-680V-650W
[]ACT (breakdown): 29 (didn’t send official report but self-reported on Common App)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): N/A
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93 (I calculated; school doesn’t do UW), W = 4.12
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/126 top 4%
[]AP (place score in parentheses): N/A (Taken AP classes but no tests)
[]IB (place score in parentheses): N/A (not offered)
[]Senior Year Course Load: 18 Credits at community college: Math 175 (Calculus II), English 102 (Research Writing), History 101 (Ancient-1500 C.E.), Philosophy 111 (World Religions), Comm 101 (Speech), Applied Music 114 (Jazz Piano), plus Senior Project & an Advisory class at my high school.
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Unfortunately, not many (because my high school was an online charter) so all I received was the President’s Education award.
Subjective:
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 3 years with leadership training/community service group (served as peer-elected Vice President and mentor-appointed Secretary), community theatre involvement through my entire high school career (and many years before that), Actively involved in church (teaching Sunday school, VBS art classes, Co-directing Christmas play 3 years in a row), etc.
[]Job/Work Experience: Freelance web design (self taught HTML/CSS coding; building e-commerce website for local business) and assistant teaching theatre classes.
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Not at much as some have, but still quite a lot. Many of my extracurriculars were service oriented.
[]Summer Activities: Community service, TAing for theatre classes, Educational travel experience
[]Essays: I thought my Common App essay was really good and had it reviewed and edited by a professional college counselor who did as well. Wrote the “Why Tulane?” essay thoughtfully, showing that I did quite a bit of research on Tulane. It was, however, pretty long at 800-900 words; I wish I’d seen the recommendation to cap it at 500 before submitting it.
[]Teacher Recommendations: Only sent one but it was written by my history professor (who got her Master’s from Tulane) and the letter was fantastic; very thorough, descriptive, and positive.
[]Counselor Rec: Really quite good, because my HS is online I didn’t know her too well, but I talked with her a lot about it/myself first.
[]Additional Rec: N/A
[]Interview: N/A
Other:
[]State (if domestic applicant): Idaho (had been told that my score/GPA look even better with Idaho being one of (if not the) worst-ranked states for education)
[]Country (if international applicant): United States
[]School Type: Online Charter
[]Ethnicity: European
[]Gender: M
[]Income Bracket: under $45,000 (with 6 people in family)
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None specifically
Reflection:
[]Strengths: Essays / Recommendations / I think my GPA & SAT scores (though not super high) put me right in the realm that Tulane wants to accept (someone who is likely to attend) / Expressed a lot of interest (I thought), had contact my counselor multiple times
[]Weaknesses: I’m imagining ECs & Volunteering? I’m not too sure yet; this is the first school I’ve heard back from so I’m not sure what specifically would have been the red flag. Also potentially lack of awards/recognition.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Maybe just because my application was predictable? I put a lot of time/thought into my application but I imagine most did as well; maybe just the fact that I had no major “hook” that stood out at this point.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Many places, a few being: NYU, USC, George Washington, University of San Francisco, Fordham, Seattle University, University of San Diego, and some other super-reach ones just because
[]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Congratulations to everyone who got accepted! I was disappointed when I first found out, but have plenty of other applications out as well. Tulane was one of my top options, but not only top one; I still have plenty more schools that I’ll look forward to hearing back from.
@lulu84321 I’m from Idaho, meaning that my counselor would be Nora Colman as well. I just heard back today with a deferral. Hopefully you’ll hear back soon with better news; good luck!
Wow this convo bursted in the past five hours… Im really sorry for anyone who got deferred, but if it makes you feel better, I’m sick to my stomach as i still haven’t heard. Ik I’m probably likely for a deferral at this point, but a guy can hope
And i hate to really clog the convo here, but from what I’ve been hearing, a large chunk of the deferrals have been sent out today, so hopefully i still have a fighting chance ahaha
And another deferral to add to the pile! I thought it may happen based on my stats, but they also took two very intelligent kids, and then a whole host of average applicants. I just think that for an applicant who applied October 6th, two months ago, releasing the day before a whole onslaught of EDs come out is truly cruel and filled with malice. I’m very disappointed with the way they handle notifications, especially with this rolling decision notification. Anyway, to the rest of you best of luck! I’m sure wherever you end up will be extremely lucky to have you
@ars4978 do you know if you got the deferral with the burst at around noon? by the way I’m very sorry, and hope you have an amazing collegial experience wherever you end up.
I believe I did, but when I checked around then I just assumed it was the continuous “still under review” page (I’ve been checking everyday for the past 2-3 weeks or so) I then looked again after school and saw that it was a deferral. I totally get that they can’t take everyone and want to maximize their yield, I just think having the deferrals so late, and the day before EDs begin, is just cruel. @actssmart have you received your decision? If so, I hope everything works out for you! Best of luck!
